This was such a beautiful, beautiful book, so full of heart and hope, just a gorgeous experience. It follows Ranita, who’s just finished her time in prison and is adjusting to life back on the outside, fighting to stay clean and sober and to regain custody of her kids. She’s also trying to come to terms with her late-found queerness, which blossomed during her stint in prison with Maxine (side note, please can the author write a book about Maxine next because I would read that ten times over). The story flips back and forward in time, so we see snapshots of Ranita’s life as a child, as a wayward teenager, during prison, and then after her release. I loved all the chapters, Lee writes with such assuredness and Ranita was an incredibly developed character. My heart broke for her a million times over - she did not have an easy life. Lee addresses complex mother-daughter relationships, emotional abuse over physical, with welts left just as deep, sexual abuse at church, the lure of alcohol and drugs as numbness, but above all the ability to heal and redeem.  I love everything about Ranita’s journey, but obviously especially the queer aspects of her life she begins to seek out and embrace. 

My one critique is that the issue with Ranita’s old partner, DQ, didn’t seem fully resolved. There’s one confrontation with him when she’s back home, but then he just melts away. It felt a little too neat, but honestly with all the shit Ranita has to deal with, she deserves a win like that!!