I wanted to read this book because it had an interesting and unique premise -- an egg donor meets the child who results from the donation. The main character, Skye, is a lesbian with serious trust issues and who pushes most people away, so having children was not something she intended. When an old friend, Cynthia, was dealing with infertility and asked Skye to be an egg donor, Skye agreed. With the help of her assistant, Toni, Skye runs a successful business arranging group tours to foreign countries. She is back in west Philly for a couple weeks every few months to rest and recuperate before the next round of international travel. She has a permanent room at the B&B run by Viva, a trans woman and the only friend she has managed to keep long-term. At the opening of an art exhibit, Skye is approached by a twelve-year-old girl named Vicky who announces that she used to be Skye's egg. The initial meeting does not go well, especially as Vicky catches Skye trying to climb out of bathroom window to escape. It does not get much better when Skye later meets Vicky's guardian, Aunt Faye, with whom she had a confrontation of sorts recently; Cynthia died of cancer two years earlier. However, eventually Skye decides she wants to try to get know Vicky. The story focuses on the developing relationship between Skye and Vicky, as well as Skye reconsidering her relationships with her mother (estranged) and brother (tense), and how she has handled relationships -- familial, platonic, or romantic -- in the past.
The story has some very humorous moments and some very poignant moments, and addresses a variety of societal issues. One of things I particularly liked about the book was the description of the black community in West Philly. As a white guy from the Midwest, I have no knowledge of the black community in West Philly. However, the way West Philly is described in the book makes it seem like this is a location with which the author is intimately familiar and that she is seeking to infuse the spirit of West Philly into the book. She does not romanticize or idolize the community, but rather describes it a way that feels raw and real, warts and all, but also a community where one can grow and thrive and make deep connections.
I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.
Katie Spencer
J. Rose O.