From debut novelist Nancy Johnson comes THE KINDEST LIE, an Obama-era foray into the divide that sours the relationships between Black and white communities as all members embark on their own searches for the life promised to them as part of the American Dream.

The year is 2008, and Ruth Tuttle and her husband, Xavier, are celebrating the election of President Barack Obama. As one of the few Black engineers at her company, Ruth is feeling especially hopeful on this historic night: she is surrounded by good friends, her marriage is strong, and she and her husband have just purchased their own townhouse. Xavier, a charismatic natural-born leader, is eager to begin filling their new home with babies. Although Ruth goes through the motions and attempts to go along with the plan, she finds herself unable to feel excitement, and he notices.

Unbeknownst to Xavier, there is a very real reason for Ruth’s hesitance. When she was only 17 years old, she gave birth to a boy, a secret she has kept from everyone but her grandmother, Mama, and brother, Eli. Ruth was destined for the Ivy Leagues --- a far cry from her poor, dead-end neighborhood --- and a baby would have not only seriously derailed her plans, but trapped her in a world without options or opportunities. Unwilling to let her granddaughter fail, Mama assisted Ruth in hiding her pregnancy, even going so far as to help her give birth at home and put the baby up for adoption.

Now, 11 years later, Ruth cannot envision herself becoming a mother for a second time without knowing what has become of her son. Is he loved? Does he go to a good school? Have his parents had the “talk” with him about keeping safe in a world that views young Black boys as thugs, and toys and phones as lethal weapons? With her husband’s icy, silent blessing, she returns to the Indiana factory town where she was born, raised and forced into a life of secrecy, intent on finding her son and setting the past right.

When Ruth arrives in Ganton, she finds a town stuck in the past: people still “stick to their kind” for the most part, and, regardless of race, no one can be considered middle-class or above it. Racial tensions are fueled by the closing of the local factory, Fernwood, which has put most of the town’s working men and women --- including Eli --- out of jobs. Poverty-stricken, ignored and desperate, residents are eager for a change, but uncertain that Obama will be the one to make it. Ruth’s arrival --- and her decidedly middle-class success --- draws sharp attention to the many ways that Ganton has been left behind by both Ruth and America.

As Ruth reunites with her grandmother and brother and tries to pull the truth about her son from them, she uncovers more than a few secrets, all painful and thought-provoking. Mama and Eli bear no ill will toward Ruth for her success, but they are also hell-bent on defending their actions that helped her become a Black engineer married to an equally successful man --- and, as Ruth learns, they put her first in more ways than she ever realized. As she investigates the truth about her baby’s adoption, Ruth befriends Midnight, a young white boy nicknamed for his apparent desire to be Black like his friends (as he explains to Ruth, “Fat boys, they call Tiny. Me, I’m Midnight"). But their friendship --- along with the escalating tensions in town --- has unexpected consequences that draw Ruth closer to the truth and the careful bonds of Ganton closer to the fires of destruction.

THE KINDEST LIE is a gorgeously written book with a satisfying mystery at its heart. Though I found Ruth’s naivete a bit unbelievable at times, I thoroughly enjoyed her journey through motherhood. Johnson covers many surprising themes in her jewel of a book, but her passages on motherhood were some of the most emotional for me. Grappling with the belief that she gave her son up and therefore has no right to know him now, Ruth’s desperate need to find him and know that he is safe will tug at the heartstrings of any parent. Her own parental trauma adds some glorious depth to her character and makes clear the stakes of her search. That said, the real strength of this book came from Johnson’s ability to take on headfirst the myriad complex and seemingly unsolvable issues that plague Black America; though Ruth is her protagonist, she doesn’t waste a word or character when it comes to her supporting cast.

At once a mystery, a heartfelt portrayal of motherhood and a searing exploration of the struggles faced by Americans in the wake of the 2008 recession, THE KINDEST LIE is a perfect tapestry of what it means to be American today --- Black or white. With laser precision, Johnson unpacks how class inequalities have fueled racial tensions within the communities that have been largely forgotten, ignored and put into downright dangerous positions by wealthy white politicians and those who vote for them. Through Ruth, Johnson lays bare the many ways that Black families are forced to find loopholes within the system to draw a path to success. Through Midnight, she makes clear the ways that the 1% have redirected the rage of lower-class whites at their Black peers.

This is a nuanced but accessible portrayal of our nation, and though Johnson does not shy away from painful, horrifying truths, she maintains a stunning air of hope through her complex, instantly relatable characters. Through them, she explores the distance between our journeys and the lies we tell ourselves about them --- kind or not.

Beautifully written, endlessly profound and sharply drawn, THE KINDEST LIE is a heart-wrenching and deeply necessary book for all readers, perfect for those who enjoyed A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD or LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE.

After finishing this, I took a few days to truly digest it. The writing is deep and powerful if one is able to just sit and listen to the voice that speaks. Ruth's journey is not unlike many Americans today. I felt the conflict, the friendship, and the hardships.

I think this will be a book I return to in the future. Thank you for allowing me to read it.

I’m judging a 2021 fiction contest. It’d be generous to call what I’m doing upon my first cursory glance—reading. I also don’t take this task lightly. As a fellow writer and lover of words and books, I took this position—in hopes of being a good literary citizen. My heart aches for all the writers who have a debut at this time. What I can share now is the thing that held my attention and got this book from the perspective pile into the read further pile.

If the title of doctor and lawyer had signaled success back in the day, then engineer had to be the 2.0 symbol that you’d made it.

I highly recommend this wonderfully written debut from Nancy Johnson which tackles issues of racial conflict & privilege. The Kindest Lie introduces us to Ruth as she travels back to her hometown to discover what happened to her child from years ago that she gave up. This decision enabled her to continue on her chosen life path & take the opportunities she'd always wanted and planned for herself. Now, as Ruth tries to learn more about her child, she realizes how much the choices she made years ago were made possible through the sacrifices of her family.

Do you ever wonder about the title of a book? 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐄 left me questioning that very thing. A number of lies surrounded Ruth, who’d had a baby at 17, just prior to leaving for college. There were lies Ruth’s family told her about her child, lies she told herself, lies of omission to her husband and friends, and lies that lingered many years later. So, which was the kindest lie? I suspect I know, but don’t want to ruin the story for you!⁣
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While I'd certainly call 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘓𝘪𝘦 a very easy, engaging read, it didn’t blow me away. I found Ruth’s back story to be repetitive and I thought author Nancy Johnson took some of her plot points a little too far, making them hard to buy into. I’d like to go further4, but again, I don't want to ruin the story for anyone. So, I think I’ll just leave it that!⁣

My thanks to William Morrow Books for this ARC.⁣

One of my 2021 goals is to diversify my reading more and read more books by BIPOC authors so I was so excited to join in with the #blcvipbookclub to read The Kindest Lie.

President Barack Obama has just been elected, there is a joyous feeling in the air, and Ruth Tuttle’s husband is eager to start a family, but Ruth cannot seem to escape a secret she has kept hidden for the past 11 years. As a teenager about to leave for Yale University, Ruth gave birth to a baby and was coerced into giving him up and moving forward with her life. Now years later, Ruth cannot stop thinking about her son. Ruth returns to her hometown of Ganton, Indiana to find her son, but as truths start to be revealed, Ruth starts to question if is there such thing as a kind lie?

I was completely blown away by this book. The story is told in the alternating perspectives of Ruth and Midnight, a young white boy that lives in Ruth’s hometown and she befriends on her return to town. The contrasts of race and class were so eye-opening and just another reminder that we need to do better. This is a story that I will think about for a long time! Highly recommend!

4.5/5 stars!
Thank you so much to William Morrow and Netgalley for my gifted copies in exchange for my honest review!

"The Kindest Lie" covers so many topics: race, social class, motherhood, and ambition. But I kept thinking about the word "closure" while I was reading this book. Something that each character, no matter the color of their skin, craved to find their peace.

Following a successful Black engineer, Ruth Tuttle, who kept a secret from her husband and friends for years, she revealed it to her husband after he wanted to start a family. She kept thinking about her son that she gave up before she went to Yale. Returning to her hometown that she left behind after years, Ruth rekindled her relationships with her family and old friends. She befriended a white boy named Midnight. Their stories were intertwined. One was craving a mother's love, and another one tried to confront her past.

After finishing the book, I am unsure if the closure was worth the pain that Ruth caused to her family, who sacrificed a lot for her. It also made me think about fairness when someone made a life decision for others. "The Kindest Lie" proves sometimes it’s hard to face reality so the only way is to tell a lie to ourselves.

This story had me from the first page and held my interest throughout. It handled so many important issues with grace and intelligence. I was fully absorbed in this novel and can't recommend it highly enough.

I was intrigued by The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson the moment I read its title and saw the cover. It’s a complex, well-written contemporary novel that raises more questions than it answers. A former journalist, I’ve heard Ms. Johnson’s work described as focused on the intersection of race and class in the US, and that describes this thought-provoking novel so well.

Main character Ruth, a young urban professional in Chicago, is caught between the euphoria of Barack Obama’s election as President and pressure from her husband to start their family. Serious talk of having a baby raises long-buried emotions and leads Ruth to celebrate Christmas in her hometown, a small Indiana city devastated when the primary employer closes its factory. Ruth reconnects with her brother, the grandmother who raised her, and childhood friends while also meeting people who will cause her to do things she didn’t think were possible.

In some literary serendipity, I read The Kindest Lie immediately after ‘Til I Want No More by Robin W. Pearson. Both were written by talented Black women early in their writing careers, each features a young professional who gave birth at age 17 but didn’t raise their child to attend prestigious universities, and both novels were published on 02/02/2021. Despite these similarities, these are very different stories, but I’d be first in line for a conversation involving both of these authors.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this novel, but it didn't take long at all for me to get wrapped up in this story. There's a host of characters to get invested in and care about, and your heart just goes out to Ruth and two certain little boys in this story. The pages really flew by. I highly recommend this one. Thanks, Netgalley, for my arc!

An engaging book by a promising debut author, The Kindest Lie kept me reading long past my bedtime. Several strong characters interact to tell, on the surface, a straightforward tale of a successful Black woman returning to the struggling working class town of her childhood. Nancy Johnson develops the characters credibly to tell several intertwined tales of race, struggle, disappointment, and loyalty. A satisfying read.

The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson is the story of a young woman who has tried to rise from her humble beginnings. She is happily married, has a good job, and a lovely home. Now the baby her husband wants is no longer a nebulous thing, somewhere in the future, but something immediate. She had to tell him the truth about what had happened to her when she was 17. How would he react? Well, he didn't react well. She went back home, partly to heal, partly to see if she could find her child. As she searched, it became apparent that it was not a legal adoption, but a personal one, arranged outside the law.

This was a heart-breaking story for many reasons. It was intensely personal, for one. It touched spots in me that hurt, despite the fact I had never been in this situation. Johnson wrote from the heart to the heart. It was difficult to read much of the time. Things can be when one has no power over them. I had no power, and she had no power. She just had pain, and her pain transfers to the reader. It was a moving story, although those words seem not enough to describe what she went through. Read it for yourself; it's the only way.

I was invited to read a free ARC of The Kindest Lie by Netgalley. All opinions contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #thekindestlie

The Kindest Lie explores themes of family, being Black in America, the lengths we go for people we love, and sacrifice. The book explores a family secret that is bound to come out. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys family stories and character development. The novel shares an important look at being Black in America that takes an even more important perspective in today’s climate.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of early 2021 and it did not disappoint!

Ruth was raised by her grandparents after her drug addicted mother left her and her older brother. Ruth was smart and ambitious and was accepted into Yale. Then she got pregnant during her senior year and gave the baby up.

Years late, at almost thirty and being pressured to have children by her husband (who has no idea about the prior pregnancy), she goes back home to find her son.

This debut novel was amazing and timely. The book takes place in 2008 and Obama has just been elected. Racial tensions are high in Ruth's hometown. I loved benign the journey with her; she went home to look for her son, but she ended up finding so much more. She discovered truths she didn't know she was looking for. The writing was spectacular. The author tugged at my heartstrings while also weaving an intriguing mystery that made me want to keep turning the pages. I was on the edge of my seat, especially during the last few chapters.

This novel is a debut from Nancy Johnson. We start with Ruth and her husband in a Chicago affluent suburb. Ruth loves her husband but is not sure she is ready to have children with him. Ruth had a baby when she was a teen and was convinced that giving the baby up would be the best thing for everyone involved. Ruth went on to college and became a engineer. Ruth's husband did not know about the baby and when he found out he was upset that Ruth did not trust him with this information. Ruth unable to understand the emotions her husband had decided to go home to Indiana for the holidays. While visiting her hometown Ruth had to come to terms with choices she made for herself and her family in giving the baby away.

All the stars for The Kindest Lie! (#gifted @williammorrowbooks) This book has been getting ALL the buzz lately!
The Kindest Lie is the story of Ruth, a Black engineer living in Chicago at the time of Obama’s winning the election in 2008, who is keeping a secret from her husband: when she was in high school, she had a baby and gave him up for adoption, but she has no idea what happened to him. When that secret comes to light, she feels compelled to return to the small factory town where she grew up, in hopes of finding her child. The book explores race, class, family, and forgiveness, and I just loved it. It’s beautifully written with compelling characters, a vivid setting, and lots to discuss. This is out now and is also a February BOTM pick so I highly recommend getting yourself a copy!

Tough subject matter but enlightening and important to read. The Kindest Lie is on the short list for my next book discussion title.

this is an incredible story following Ruth and Midnight, two very different characters, about how their lives intertwine and how much they learn from the events that occur throughout the story.
I loved it. there's not much to say other than it definitely is a 2021 release everyone should read.

A poignant, thought-provoking story that explores class, race, motherhood, and how a lie and a secret can change the course of many lives. The gift of fiction is that it allows us to step into an other's experience and perspective and The Kindest Lie delivers on this promise.

The Kindest Lie encompasses so much. Not only the experience of being Black in a racially charged small town and the struggle to do what is best for your kid, but also what it means to try to reach the American Dream and how difficult that is for those from a poor economic class.

Most of the story is told from the POV of Ruth, a Black woman who placed her baby for adoption when she was a teen and now wants to return home to find out what happened to him. We also see the POV of Midnight, a poor young white boy who's trying to find a place to belong.

While Ruth does befriend Midnight, for a long time I had no idea why we were seeing events from both perspectives. Midnight is such a heartbreaking character. He struggles without a positive male role model, but some of the choices he makes are just cringe-worthy. I liked how the book ended, and without spoiling anything, how what we learn about Ruth's grandmother's choices cause Ruth to reflect on her own choices and the meaning of motherhood.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for a copy of this book!