Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge

 My Rating: 3.6

Coming of age as a free-born Black girl in Reconstruction-era Brooklyn, Libertie Sampson was all too aware that her purposeful mother, a practicing physician, had a vision for their future together: Libertie would go to medical school and practice alongside her. But Libertie, drawn more to music than science, feels stifled by her mother’s choices and is hungry for something else—is there really only one way to have an autonomous life? And she is constantly reminded that, unlike her mother, who can pass, Libertie has skin that is too dark.

I wanted to love this novel but, by about 60% of the way in, I was so tired of Libertie. Her character had nothing that was likable. The novel dragged and I was so happy to be done with it.