“An extremely engaging and lovingly written novel, with a heroine to root for” - Starred Booklist review of SKIN AND BONES by Renée Watson

Award-winning YA and children's author Watson brings her poetic writing and coming-of-age themes to her first adult novel. Lena, 40 and fabulous, is crushing it at her job as the director of diversity, equity, and inclusion at Multnomah County's public libraries and organizing an exhibit about Portland's historic Black communities. Lena's fiancé, Malcolm, loves her daughter, Aaliyah, just as much as she does, and she has a great support system in best friends Aspen and Kendra. And yet. Lena still feels self-consciousness about her weight, stares from strangers, and her doctor's dismissiveness. She still struggles to confront daily microaggressions, mostly from well-meaning white coworkers. When tragedy brings Aaliyah's father back into Lena's life just as Malcolm confesses a long-held secret that ends their engagement, Lena realizes she must learn how to truly love herself—and how to live in a world that judges her and her decisions. Watson's writing shines in short chapters, some reading as poetry, as she weaves Portland's Black history into a story that contends with the legacy of trauma as well as the beauty of inheritance. An extremely engaging and lovingly written novel, with a heroine to root for—there's nothing not to like.