Emotional Family Saga

The Color of Family is a moving and dynamic family saga that offers a poignant look at the complexities of familial relationships and societal challenges. While its unique structure may leave some moments underexplored, the novel's strengths lie in its rich character development and emotional resonance. Jerry McGill has crafted a narrative that is both heart-wrenching and thought-provoking, making it a worthwhile read for those interested in stories about family, race, and reconciliation.

For those looking for a deeply emotional and thought-provoking read, The Color of Family by Jerry McGill is highly recommended.

Though this book is short it packs quite a punch! There is so much going on within the pages that it feels like the story is too big for its container.
This is a family drama that follows the entirety of the Payne family, parents Harold and Camille and their 6 children from birth to adulthood. It mostly focuses on the two sons, James and Devon. Both are superb athletes who dream of going pro but after a tragic car accident, Devon must not only rethink his dream, but also learn to live with the resentment he has towards not only James, but the entire family.
The writing of this reminded me very much of the tv show, This is Us. We are given so many flashbacks to Harold’s and Camille’s childhoods and the time lines and character stories hop around from chapter to chapter. The writing is absolutely beautiful, but the story feels incomplete. It’s funny to say that with so much is covered, but you don’t get a full in-depth look at anyone, not even Devon, though you get more about him than anyone else.
The ending was truly lacking and I wish this was a couple hundred pages longer. However, this would make a phenomenal tv series and if I was in that industry I’d totally be pursuing it.

This was a new for me author and this story did not disappoint. From the family dynamics, to the evolution of the characters, this story had me hooked from the beginning to end. This was such a great and captivating read that highlights what can happen when a family keeps secrets. I will be looking for future works as well as seeing if the author has anything in their blacklist.

Talk about family drama. This family had a lot of “issues” that surface. Family death, child sexual abuse, imprisonment, jealousy, and so much more. This book had my emotions all over the place. Sad, anger, happiness all in one. Great book and quick read. Thanks Netgalley.

"The Color of Family" by Jerry McGill is a poignant journey to reconcile with estranged family. McGill's writing is powerful and raw, conveying the pain, love, and longing that grapples with his past and his present. The book is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the enduring power of family.

This is a great story of family interactions spanning different times and focussing on individual members over time. So much sympathy for Devon and his challenges and his realization of himself. Story captured my attention from restart.

Familial connections as I like to call it has become one of my favorite sub-genres and after reading the synopsis for The Color of Family, I knew that it would fall perfectly
under this category. This story is centered around a family full of secrets, some being kept to prevent hurt while other are being kept as a weapon. While I’m not a huge fan of swapping POVs, I felt that it was necessary to move this story along. Overall, I think the author did a great job of showcasing an issue that plague many families which is holding onto things that are only suppressed but never truly healed. Things that we never take time to sort through, but pushed down instead will always float back to the top. I believe that your family lay the foundation for a lot of the choices one makes in life, the way they carry themselves, how they view the world, etc. and if that foundation isn’t strong the structure will crumble. That’s a thought that stayed with me throughout my reading. All in all, this was a great read and I can’t wait to read more from this author in the future.

It felt like there was a really good story in here. The telling of it didn’t always flow so well. Getting the story from so many perspectives was confusing at times. I think I would’ve enjoyed a more linear timeline. Despite the disjointed feeling, the story itself was so interesting. I wanted to know where Devon would end up. His path was so interesting. James’ character was odd. I found it hard to connect with him. I was especially interested in their mom and her background. I would’ve appreciated getting a deeper understanding of her character. Despite some struggles with the delivery, I think this was a dynamic family saga.

Sadly, I just don't think this was the book for me. It felt very unfinished, and I don't know if that was the point. I felt like I was reading the foundation for a story, and not the story itself. That said, it would have been a strong foundation. It also did a lot of telling and not a lot of showing, which didn't leave a lot to the imagination. It seemed a little rushed at times when I really just wanted the words to have time to breathe.

This book was so good. It was full of twist and turns. The character development was superb and the overall story was magnificent

An interesting dissection of the ways a family can split and leave people inside certain roles, about the gap between what a family looks like on the outside and how it feels and functions on the inside. It's a disjointed narrative, dropping the reader into a variety of POVs and scenes over a most chronologically timeline. This does leave the reader in the dark, maybe wanting to know more -- about people's motivations, about backstories, or what will happen next -- but for me, it worked because it reinforced the gap between appearance/interior feeling that I think was the point. I was sucked in by the characters.

I recieved this book as an arc from netgalley and I was so excited to start it. But sadly this book just wasn‘t for me. It felt more like a rough draft of a book than the finished book. The topic is so interesting and it had so much potential but sadly it wasn‘t executed as well as I‘d like it to be.

Description:

Who wants to believe their family could ever be broken?
Devon and James Payne are brothers and rivals since childhood. But they share an affinity for sports that brings glory to their Connecticut town and promise for the future. Then they’re in a car accident. Devon is paralyzed for life, while James goes on to live the dream.
For the Paynes, the tremulous repercussions of that evening never settled. Over the course of a decade, Devon decides to visit his seven siblings now scattered across the globe. Each has moved on, yet each struggles to cope with the traumatic event that irrevocably connects them. Devon confronts not only his own demons and family secrets but also the guilt and heartbreaking betrayals that followed in the wake of the tragedy. He also discovers the power of forgiveness―and that coming to terms with the past is the only way to live free in the present.

This book has a wonderful level of depth, diversity, emotion, and mistakes. Some of the moments were very surprising and left me at a loss for words, while others were more mellow. I def recommend this book for the diversity alone! Thank you @netgalley for providing me with an ARC chippy in exchange for my honest review.

Following the different members of the Payne family throughout the years was an interesting look at how things can affect family members differently. Seeing how one incident and its consequences change the Payne's lives and the dynamics within their family was sad, but easy to understand the feelings and actions of the characters.
The way each chapter focuses on different members of the family was nice, but I wish the details of each family member were used to tie in each of their stories a little bit more.

Thank you NetGalley and Little A for the copy of The Color Of Family. I have been anxiously awaiting a new book by Jerry McGill since I read Bed Stuy because I am in love with his writing and his skillful use of language. This book was no exception, and even though the story was not as involving to me, I still sped through it, reveling in the writing. Devon is a really interesting character, and I felt a little lost when the focus moved away from him because his journey was so compelling.

The Color of Family tells the story of what happens when life and its traumatic events cause us to become bitter and to lose sight of the gift that it is simply to be alive. The Paynes are a highly regarded family of Black excellence and among all of the children of the family, James, is his mother's pride and joy. This is unspoken, of course, but one of those things that is simply understood in the family dynamic.

When Devon is born he is ushered into the shadow of his brother, James, which breeds a lifelong type of resentment and dynamic of competition. On one fateful day, Devon over drinks and gets into a car accident where he becomes paralyzed for life and James survives. James goes on to live out his dreams of becoming an athlete and Devon has to adjust to a new set of unfortunate circumstances.

When James needs a kidney replacement down the line, Devon has to decide as the only viable donor, whether or not he will show up for his brother. His decision surprised me. It was easier to comprehend the weight of his decision once I understood how James marrying his high school crush deepened the hurt experienced after the accident.

This novel is a powerful reminder of the ways family dynamics can breed resentment, disconnection, and trauma that is lifelong if gone unaddressed. I found myself feeling deeply empathic towards each character in the story- even the characters that some might feel don't deserve compassion. The ending of the story truly brought the narrative full circle and in the end I believe Devon does find the peace he was searching for while surrendering to the facts of life.

Thank you so much to the author and publisher for the e-arc copy!

Thanks to NetGalley for this book in advance so I could publish this review. Four stars from me! I was hoping the story would captivate me like McGill's Bed Stuy did but it didn't. I still loved the writing and the story though. It was just filled with a lot of characters and at times seemed to be a bit much.

The Color of Family by Jerry McGill is a captivating story and one I had such a hard time putting down.
A moving novel about secrets, guilt, friendship, race, and reconciliation.
Jerry McGill has written a beautiful story here.
I enjoyed everything about this one.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank you to NetGalley and Little A for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.