Flournoy's second novel follows five Black women โ Desiree, Danielle, January, Monique, and Nakia โ whose friendship forms in their early twenties and is tracked, in nonlinear order, across twenty years, from 2008 toward the late 2020s, between Los Angeles and New York: two estranged sisters circling a reconciliation; a pregnancy weighed against a life not yet lived; a university librarian whose callout of her institution's slave-trade history brings unwanted fame; a restaurateur determined to succeed without her wealthy family's rescue. Behind the private negotiations runs a darkening public backdrop โ protest movements, pandemic lockdown, climate instability, a country valuing the women less as they age into the wilderness of full adulthood. The novel was longlisted for the 2025 National Book Award for Fiction and was a finalist for both the 2025 Kirkus Prize for Fiction and the 2025 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, and became a national bestseller.
Author: Angela Flournoy ยท Original publisher: Mariner Books (New York), 2025