Starred review from December 14, 2020
Pearson (A Long Time Comin’) delivers a satisfying tale of one woman’s secrets returning to haunt her. Maxine Owens is preparing for her wedding to Theodore Charles when she decides it’s time for her to come clean about a secret she’s been keeping from Theodore and his family: Maxine’s 13-year-old adopted sister, Celeste, is actually her daughter. Maxine, who was 17 and unprepared for motherhood, gave up rights to Celeste, and even Celeste still believes Maxine is her sister. As Maxine debates how and when to tell Theodore, her ex-husband, JD, comes back to town to help with his mother’s illness and to connect with the daughter he never met. When Maxine and Theodore meet with Maxine’s pastor and his wife for their premarital counseling sessions, Maxine is reminded that she is not condemned for her past and her faith plays a vital role in her healing. As Maxine comes to feel her “sins are... only a hair’s breadth” away, her desire to confront her past intensifies and tension rises between Maxine and the people who know her secrets and those who don’t. Pearson’s excellent characters and plotting capture the complexity and beauty of family, the difficulty of rectifying mistakes, and the healing that comes from honesty. Pearson rises to another level with this excellent story.