https://boomerhighway.org/the-kindest-lie/

It's Black History month and Nancy Johnson's debut novel, THE KINDEST LIE, has just hit bookstores, gifting us with an evocative and emotional story.

Ruth Tuttle inhabits an unsettled world before and after Obama, a world of struggle and success--a world where family love is sometimes misguided and often based on secrets. An engineering degree from Yale has transported Ruth from the small Indiana town of Ganton, where she was raised, to the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. The novel begins on a special night--Ruth and her husband Xavier have gathered friends to await the results of the 2007 presidential election. When Obama wins, there is joy in the room, the future now seemingly boundless.

"Her whole life, Ruth hadn't dared to believe this could happen, and she almost forgot to breathe. A picture of the little house in Ganton came to mind...Mama at the kitchen table counting money on the first of the month. Papa's body quivering underneath his plant uniform as he tried to walk straight in the early days of his illness...To get here, to this moment. To this man with the funny name. To this day in history."

But their joy that night sparks in Xavier an amazing idea: if they had a child, now it might be possible for that child to become president. Ruth immediatly pushes back, asking: “Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself?” knowing if this is truly what Xavier wants, her life will change, she being forced to face her past in Ganton, to remember Ronald Atkins.

They met in high school, Atkins, a white football player, Ruth's mouth becoming dry, just speaking his name. A story, eleven years past its due date, Johnson writes: "Ruth thought back to when she was seventeen, with Mama and her brother Eli looking down on her half-naked body in the bed, their faces tight with worry, urging her to push."

And then in those powerful moments of Obama winning, Ruth surrounded by her successful husband, her smart and successful Black friends, she questions if she has truly ever left Ganton, left Mama, the grandmother who raised her after Ruth's own mother left, seeking drugs, shrugging off responsibility, knowing that Mama would step up, would always be there rescuing family, even naming Ruth and her brother Eli.

Johnson writes: Ruth: one syllable, old school and biblical. A name that Ruth’s grandmother said would at least get her to the interview.

But though smart, farsighted and an indomitable Black woman, Mama cannot protect Ruth from every aspect of life, from Ronald Atkins, from the physical power of teenage sex, when this white football player tells a young innocent Black girl, "I see you," Ruth becoming fired with desire because, "Everyone saw him."

But as the “little knot of unripe fruit” grew, “everything felt like walking on the edge of a cliff.” Johnson knows how to fill in the background, these two burdened lovers dancing to “killing me softly" which in retrospect is exactly what Ronald Atkins did to Ruth. 

Johnson has created in Ruth, a character who epitomizes a woman who has found a new pathway and turned away from her past. But when that past rises, Ruth must know everything, make Mama tell her: who she gave her son to, where he is now living, how his life has been without her. Back in Ganton, a town suffering from a dying economy of closed plants, workers out of work, Ruth comes face to face with the poverty affecting people of all colors and stations. Searching for her son, she encounters a white boy of a similar age, named Midnight, encounters the loss, anger and futility that can affect children, no matter what color they are.  

Johnson has created real people, brought us into their kitchens to watch them cook wonderful foods, into a beauty salon to hear of their joys and sorrows, their complaints concerning how to raise a child, keep a business going. Though it's the holidays, there is poverty at Christmas, at New Years, where weather holds people inside to once again find joy in friendship and the lights of a small Christmas tree. Johnson's real people. We see it all, their weaknesses and strengths. We experience their honesty and their hidden lies, not only in reference to their own lives--where they live, how they live, how they struggle--but also in how they reveal their pride in Ruth and what she has accomplished. As Eli, her brother reminds her, “Nope, one baby don’t put you at ho status…” Certainly KIND and also honest.

Ruth is a successful Black engineer living with her husband in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. President Obama has just been elected and hope is in the air, but when her husband wants to start a family of their own, Ruth is forced to reckon with her past. She left her hometown in a factory town in Indiana to go to Yale- but not before she gave birth in secret at 17 years old. Before she can move forward she feels drawn home so she can make peace with her past, but this proves to be easier said than done.

This story is layered and heartfelt- and let’s be honest, messy! (But not as heavy as you might expect). It’s character driven and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Midnight, a young white boy who is desperate for connection, who could be a link to finding her son. These characters came alive, to the point where I was telling my husband all about them, as though they were my friends. The author takes on race and class and does so in a way that illustrates how privilege often doesn’t have anything to do with money. It’s about family, found family, motherhood, and reckoning with choices that are too late to change. I really really loved this debut, and hope you do too! I think if you enjoy Catherine Adel West’s SAVING RUBY KING or Tayari Jones’s AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE, this could be for you.

I just finished an amazing debut novel, The Kindest Lie, by Nancy Johnson. I think this book could have the power that To Kill a Mockingbird had in the 1960’s. Johnson explores, race, poverty, teenage pregnancy, grandparents raising their grandchildren, and more in this book that takes place after the 2008 election. The main character, Ruth, left a small manufacturing town in Northwest Indiana on a scholarship to Yale. As an engineer she is married to a successful husband, Xavier. A successful couple living o. The south side of Chicago and a few years of marriage, Xavier brings up the subject of having children. This throws Ruth into a tizzy. Ruth needs to tell him that she had a child when she was seventeen. Xavier sends her home to figure out her life.

This book has so many layers. Once I started reading, I was totally under the spell of this story. Everyone makes mistakes, has secrets, and constantly trying to figure out life. I loved the characters, their faults and their kindness. I know my bookclub composed of present and retired high school teachers in northern Indiana is going to love this book. I can’t wait to discuss! Thank you Harper Collins and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

This is a book that should be read and digested. Such a poignant and important novel with flawed and relatable characters.

I loved every page. This one will stay with me

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this title. I enjoyed The Kindest Lie. The characters were well-drawn and sympathetic, particularly Ruth and Midnight. Having lived in Chicago and now Indiana, I enjoyed and could relate to the setting. The themes of race, motherhood, socioeconomic class, family secrets, and abandonment are handled realistically. You'll think about this book after you've finished. A read-alike for Tayari Jones, Angela Flournoy, Jesmyn Ward.

A young girl gets pregnant and a decision is made by her mother for her to have the baby keep it. This decision has haunted Ruth all her life. She is successful and is married to a good man who wants to start a family. Ruth has been able to put this off until now. She finally tells her husband that she birthed a child when she was younger and this causes many issues. Ruth decides to go home to ask her family for answers. While looking for an old family friend, she meets Midnight, and so this wonderfully written novels really excels. The relationship between Ruth and Midnight is special. All of the characters pull you 'in, even the minor ones. This book is about life, the good, the bad and the ugly.. I highly recommend this book, it will stick with you for a very long time. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

This powerful novel seems so very timely. Set just when Barack Obama is elected to his first presidential term, we meet Ruth and Xavier, a black married couple living in Chicago. They both have great jobs and Xavier is ready to start a family. Ruth has lots of qualms and has never been honest with her husband about the baby she had as a teen and gave up for adoption.

Ruth finally acknowledges the truth to Xavier and knows that she needs to return home to reconcile with her past before she can move forward. Her hometown in Indiana is struggling as the plant has shut down and there is still a lot of racial tension. Ruth finally confronts all the secrets around her teenage pregnancy and learns just how much her grandparents and brother did for her.

Along the way we get to meet many of the memorable inhabitants of the town and I really grew to root for the families, and especially the child who calls himself Midnight and is trying to find his place. There are themes of secrecy, the strong presence of the church, family bonds, and strength of community.

There is a tense incident at the end that had me on the edge of my seat. Near the end, the author brought me to tears and I realized just how much this book had gotten to me! I can’t wait to read what this author writes next!

Ruth heads back home to her small town from Chicago to find out the story about what happened to her son that she gave up for adoption her senior year in high school. Her family wanted her to escape the small town and dream big. But 11 years later, as Ruth and her husband prepare to start a family, she is haunted by the past she left behind.

This is a wonderful book from a debut author. The Kindest Lie addresses issues of race, class, and family in a beautiful way. I got Such a Fun Age and The Hate You Give vibes, but in a subtle way.

I would love to read a sequel to this - either a continuation of Ruth and Xavier’s life, or of any of the side characters like Midnight or Corey. The book doesn’t seem set up for a sequel, but I just really enjoyed the characters and would love to read more about them.

Thank you to @bookishladiesclub for the chance to read this early and to @bradeighgodfrey for leading a great discussion about the book.

The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson is an outstanding novel by this gifted first time author. The story revolves around the life of citizens in a poor community filled with diversity., prejudice, love, and secrets. The novel begins with the celebration of the election of Barack Obama by a group of well to do characters. As the novel progresses it is learned that there have been many sacrifices and secrets kept in order for the main character to be “successful” in this world. This Yale graduate, Ruth, has benefitted from the many sacrifices that have been made by her grandparents, who raised her, in order for her to be able to pursue her degree in engineering and escape from the grips of poverty. Ruth has kept a secret from her husband, Xavier, that threatens to destroy her marriage. She had a baby out of wedlock at the age of seventeen and she does not know what happened to this child. The husband is shocked and outraged that she has kept this secret from him. Ruth returns to her hometown in search of the truth regarding this child. The test of an excellent novel is that it allows you to be both entertained and also able to broaden your world and make you a more enlightened individual. The Kindest Lie achieved all of these things. I would like to thank Nancy Johnson, Harper Collins, and netgalley for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Stunning debut novel. Without a doubt.

Thank you William Morrow for sending copies for the BLC VIP Book Club could review. It was an honor to dive into this new novel.

The Kindest Lie follows a successful wife and engineer Ruth after President Obama is elected in 2008. After grappling with a secret pregnancy she never revealed to her husband, Ruth heads back to her hometown to confront her feelings, but the reality of her crumbling town reveals issues of racial tensions, motherhood, and the American dream.

It’s rare to read a novel that envelopes you into a world then outlines so many themes well. Ruth and Midnight, the two POVs we follow are stark examples of issues within small towns, and quite frankly, our entire nation. Ruth’s plot line sparked more thought for me over Midnight’s but both provided such a intricate backdrop for a time in our history when life seemed to be burgeoning with hope and newness. This novel also shows racial tensions that have been a large tapestry in the Black community and reminds us of how far we still must go to be better.

I look forward to Nancy Johnson’s future works. 4 stars. Solid. Stunning. Insightful.

3.5 stars. I loved the themes of motherhood and race relations for this book. The dialogue was written very well and each character was given a very distinct voice. It was interesting to have Midnight’s perspective although I didn’t always look forward to it. I struggled through the middle of the book though - it felt very flat and I wasn’t as interested in where the story was going compared to the beginning and end. I wanted a few items addressed in the end that weren’t tied up especially concerning Xavier/Ruth. It was a good debut and I’d be interested to read more from the author.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC. Enjoyed this book a lot. Really made me see things for how they really are. Author had me fully engaged from the beginning. Characters felt so real to me. Will recommend to others. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I love character deep dives and this fantastic debut novel encompasses everything I love about this sub-genre. The characters are multifaceted and imperfect and the plotline explores the idea of how one decision can have a multitude of repercussions. ⁣
⁣
Told through multiple points of view, author Nancy Johnson explores, race, motherhood, and class while also keeping you guessing and trying to put together the pieces of the main characters’ secret history and how to make peace with the past. I think it is my fascination with understanding people in general, but learning more about someone often allows you to understand who they are and the decisions they have made. 
⁣
This Kindest Lie made me long for the days of our in-person library book club because I know it would make for such a layered and impactful conversation. I highly recommend this book and I can't wait to read whatever Nancy Johnson writes next! 

Thank you to William Morrow Books for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

“...Every mother’s choice had repercussions for generations, and it fanned out into a web that could ensnare you or catch you when you slipped. It all depended on how you looked at it.”
.
.
Happy pub week to @nancyjauthor !
.
This story is full of full and rich characters, and a plot that covers the highs, the lows, and all the stuff in between that makes a life.
.
In this story we meet Ruth, a successful engineer in Chicago, just as President Obama is first elected. We feel her optimism tempered with the secret that she has been harboring her whole life that breaks free at this moment, as her husband pressures her to have a child - that she has already had a child, a boy, that she gave up as a teenager. This leads us back to her home life in a manufacturing town as she recounts the events leading up to the birth, her journey to find out what became of him. @nancyjauthor explores the bonds of family, the trauma of racism and poverty, and what it means to be a mother.
.
I loved this book, and especially related to her pain as she wrestled with her guilt over her success that was made possible by the sacrifice of her family, and with her despair as she considered every little boy she passed on the street as potentially her own. Thank you to @williammorrowbooks and @netgalley for the opportunity to read this beautiful novel❤️

This is such an impressive debut. It doesn't feel at all like it is the author's first book.
I loved the themes the author explores here, and she does it in an amazing way. She twines together race and class and really makes the reader think about how those things are interrelated. The reader is left to ponder the true meaning of family and community and how secrets held can affect both.

Ruth is a complex character, she has accomplished a great deal in her life, yet her past still haunts her. I didn't like the way she treated Xavier, but I grew to appreciate the depth of her dilemma and inability to truly connect with him until she dealt with her past. The relationship in the novel that really stood out was the one between Midnight and Ruth. Midnight's character is achingly portrayed, the reader gets a true sense of this young boy and his struggles.

This book moves along at a fast pace, but still leaves room for thought. It would make an excellent book club choice.

After Obama is elected to his first term as President, Ruth Tuttle and her husband Xavier are elated, hoping for a new era of change. With solid careers, a townhouse in Chicago, and luxury automobiles, Xavier suggests they grow their family. His request triggers her to reveal a carefully guarded secret: before attending Yale, she became pregnant and gave her child up for adoption.

Realizing she can’t move forward with her life until she learns what happened to her son, she returns to Ganton, Indiana, her hometown. The factory that has employed generations closed, leading to high unemployment, and racial divisions affect everyone in the community.

As Ruth searches for answers, she meets Midnight, a twelve-year-old who is starved for love, attention, and supervision. With Ruth, he finally feels seen, feels special. The two develop a closeness but their conflicting needs collide, inciting a series of devastating events.

Ruth’s family did everything possible to give her the privilege she enjoys, yet back in Ganton she is oppressed by racial prejudice and discrimination. Midnight, a white child living in poverty, doesn’t realize the power he yields by virtue of his race. The book adroitly alternates between their points of view, giving each a distinct voice.

In addition to negotiating the dynamics of the town, Ruth struggles to uncover her son’s identity, stymied by her grandmother and brother who refuse to give her information about the adoption. For her son, her marriage, and her family, she must decide if she can forgive the kindest lies.

Nancy Johnson writes beautifully and insightfully about race, relationships, ambition, and the sacrifices and mistakes of motherhood. I was transfixed by the book and fearful of what might happen to the characters as more secrets are revealed and resentments raised. Midnight is a character I wanted to hug through the pages, while I tried to understand and empathize with Ruth’s obstinacy.

Both the characters and setting were rendered vividly, and the themes powerful but not heavy-handed. I thought it was a wonderful and thought-provoking read.

“A lie could be kind to you if you wanted it to be, if you let it.”

THE KINDEST LIE opens on election night in 2008 filled with hope and celebration, but Ruth is struggling with the secret she’s kept from her husband for years: that she gave birth to a baby when she was a teenager. Ruth returns to her small hometown to dig into her past, coming to terms with the life she left behind, the sacrifices her family made for her, and the racial and economic tensions surrounding her. this debut is a unique look at motherhood in all of its various forms. I wished there were a bit more closure between Ruth and Xavier at the end. The way they glossed over the days apart and the huge conversation that needed to take place seemed a little unrealistic. Otherwise I enjoyed this one and appreciated the themes she explored! 4/5⭐️—I liked it!

ARC provided by the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

This is really a 3.5 star rating - sometimes I round up, sometimes I round down. Overall, a really powerful story without being completely gut wrenching or heartbreaking.

The Kindest Lie touches on so many relatable topics to our current times. Reading a novel such as this brings to life the many challenges black people face. growing up and living in America. Though it takes place at the time of Obama's election, it is sad to realize that things haven't changed that much. I was quite impressed with this debut novel from Nancy Johnson and will be watching for her next. Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the advance copy to read and review.

Ruth Tuttle Shaw is in her late twenties and living her best life in Chicago, Illinois. She has an Ivy-league education, a good job as a chemical engineer, and is married to an amazing, loving, and successful man, Xavier Shaw. They have a wonderful home, a wide circle of friends, and after four years of marriage, her husband is ready to start a family. The only problem is Ruth has never told him about the child she gave up for adoption eleven years earlier. To say that this revelation puts a strain on their marriage is somewhat of an understatement. They quickly go from a major high in celebrating the historic election of the first Black president of the United States to a secret that just might tear their relationship apart. Unsure of how to proceed with Xavier, she decides to head back to Indiana and begin the search for her biological child.

Patrick "Midnight" Boyd, is an eleven-year-old white child living in poverty in Ganton, Indiana. His mother died from preeclampsia when he was seven years old and he currently lives with his maternal grandmother. Midnight has one functional arm due to nerve damage in the other caused by some boys intentionally setting him on fire. His best friend is Corey Cunningham, a Black kid and the primary reason he was set on fire, for defending his friend of a different race. Midnight is unaware of his privilege as a White boy and only sees that Corey has more money and a better home life and family than he does. When he learns that might be sent to live with relatives in Louisiana, his fear of leaving all that he's known and his jealousy of his friend begin to eat him up. After learning a secret about Corey, that jealousy becomes so overpowering that it just might lead to something neither he nor Corey will be able to come back from in a community that is torn behind poverty and racial animosity.

<b>The Kindest Lie</b> is told in alternating voices of Ruth, a twenty-something Black female, and Midnight, a White tween male. The only things they appear to have in common are being raised in near poverty in the same small town. But Ruth's maternal grandparents and Midnight's maternal grandparents were actually good friends back in the day. Ruth and her brother were raised by their maternal grandparents and Midnight is being raised by his maternal grandmother. Ruth attempts to befriend Midnight and the two seem to be more different than the same, superficially. However, both are seeking answers to questions about family and love although they are going about in different ways. <b>The Kindest Lie</b> is a story about hope, love, motherhood, family, race relations, secrets, dreams, dreams deferred, as well as the lies we tell ourselves and to others. It's also a story about what family is willing to do to make some of those dreams come true. For those of you that have read <b>The Vanishing Half</b> by Brit Bennett or <b>Such a Fun Age</b> by Kiley Reid, you'll definitely want to grab a copy of <b>The Kindest Lie</b> to read. If you're interested in reading a well-written debut novel that tackles hard questions in a hopeful manner, again, you'll want to grab a copy of <b>The Kindest Lie</b> to read. This book is one of my #mustread recommendations for 2021.

Happy Reading, y'all.