Grateful for to receive this book from NetGalley but it was not for me. I prefer when "issues" in a book are written with more nuance - found this a bit too hard hitting and would have liked more subtlety. I also find it frustrating when I see that certain things can be more quickly resolved - if only the characters would communicate - so was frustrated here many times.

I couldn't get through this title. It ended up not being for me, but I hope it finds a hope with other readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was a good book about a long held secret and how it can tear a family apart as it starts to unravel. You know I love family stories and that is exactly what this book is. It wasn’t really a summer read, but it kept me reading until the very end.

I loved this book. A good look at race, motherhood and class. This sorry made a deep impression on me.

The Kindest Lie was a confusing read for me. Although I am not a plot driven reader, I really struggled to care about the story progression in this one. I really loved the characters, and thought that they were well formed and real, but the story just could not propel me along well enough to feel fully invested. I do love stories set around the Obama administration and election, so this book definitely had that going for it! This one was just okay for me.

A gripping read exploring themes of motherhood and sacrifice. I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend to literary fiction fans!

This book reflects lives lived in a location that many people will never experience. I think that Ms. Johnson actually reflects that location well--even to the point that a pregnancy and delivery was handled in secrecy and the baby adopted out privately--kind of hard to understand. I thought I had the story figured out, but then found out I was wrong--which made the book more interesting. I think by the end of the book I was ready for it to end--so many jumps among families and time., I think my brain was tired keeping up with everything.

This was a bit of a slow moving book which was hard because it was also a challenging read tacking difficult topics including racism, adoption and family. It is a promising debut by this author.

I had better hopes for this title that were realized. The writing was solid, but there were significant gaps in the narrative that let down the story

While it was a good debut, I am not gushing over it. Ruth tells her husband of four years her big secret. When Ruth was 17, she became pregnant. She had the baby in secret and her grandmother arranged to give the baby away so that Ruth could go to Yale. After she discloses this to her husband, she goes back to her hometown in Indiana to try to find out what happened to her baby. This book was well-written, but it dragged a little bit. I think Ruth was written as a sympathetic character, but I found her to be very selfish and something she did near the end of the book really bothered me. Her grandmother, who I think was supposed to be sort of a the bad guy, but with a good heart was the real hero to me, despite her flaws.

The Kindest Lie tackles several heavy topics in its story of Ruth and Midnight - issues of race, poverty, abandonment, the meaning of family, memory, secrets - and does so very well. By the time I finished reading, my heart ached for virtually everyone in the book. Even though it can be difficult to like the characters at every moment in the book, you can't help but feel for them and what they're going through. Absolutely a book worth reading and thinking about.

I love a book about family secrets, and this one was thought-provoking and emotional. It was slow-moving, but not in a bad way -- it was nice to savor the main character and the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC digital copy. I have not been compensated for my opinion and this is an honest review.

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish reading this ARC digital copy before needing to switch to other books that were being archived. The book is no longer on my Goodreads "want to read" list, but I will update my review to reflect an updated opinion if I decide to finish at a later date.

I had high hopes for this book. The premise is interesting and relevant to today’s problems. A black woman and a white boy bond over shared interests and backgrounds. It’s 2008. Obama has just been elected President. The book starts with the black woman (Ruth) has a teenage pregnancy but gives the baby away so that she can fulfill her potential by going to Yale. She develops an upper middle lifestyle but decides to go back to the small town she grew up in. The book then comes off the rails. The story meanders and becomes unreliable as you read. The characters lake development. I would not have finished this book had I not felt obligated by the free book.
#neygalley #nancyjohnson #the kindestlie

This book focuses on topics like family secrets, race, and motherhood but it just didn't grab me. The first half was slow and I also did not connect with Ruth as she was a fairly unlikeable character. I wish there were more depth to the story - there were so many different topics covered that I wish the author would have focused on one or two and gave those a great story.

Ruth is too self-absorbed for me. I could not relate to her. I did finish the book, but I felt there could have been so much more developed..

“A lie could be kind to you if you wanted it to be, if you let it.” Many lies are uncovered in this book. The kindest lies are the ones meant to protect. Wow thIs book explores so many topics such as racism, motherhood, and identity. The characters were so richly portrayed with their realistic depth of emotions. The details and the family background to this story are so interesting. This book took me by surprise because I found myself thinking about it long after I finished it. I am grateful to William Morrow publishing for the chance to read something I probably would not have picked out myself. Highly recommend it!

I wasn't sure what to expect with THE KINDEST LIE, and began reading without knowing much about the story, characters, etc. The novel was recommended to me by a trusted reading friend and I'm so thankful that I gave it a try. I absolutely love Nancy Johnson's writing, thoroughly enjoyed this story (and the conversations it sparked for me with others), and will be looking forward to more of her work.

This was a well written, character driven book about secrets, family, motherhood, race and community. I enjoyed that the characters were flawed and so realistic. The author has done a wonderful job with her debut book and it’s so timely for right now.

This was a good book but for me it fell flat for me. there was so much discussion leading up to the big event that I found myself bored sometimes. It felt very complicated for no reason. I would have preferred more about the main characters family and marriage. More about the adoption. it was still good and I am sure will leave lots of people with thoughts