REVIEW: You Were Always Mine by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza

"... She'd spent years carrying around her loneliness and isolation like an invisible cape, half nuisance, half shield. There was a silver lining to it - if you didn't get attached to people, they couldn't hurt you."

You Were Always Mine by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza is a sensitive, if imperfect, exploration of race, motherhood and purpose.

Cinnamon is in a good place. Growing up as a Black woman in foster care, a life of uncertainty has made her grateful for the life she has with her husband. Her past remains a secret to everyone, a way of protecting herself from judgment and questions. When she discovers a baby, who happens to be white, left by a new friend (who doesn't want to be found), she's forced to look at what she really wants and whether or not she's willing to open up the door to her past in the process. As she grows closer to the child, the next steps become more risky. Does she want to take on raising a child, and how does she find a mother who doesn't want to be found?

All things considered, I did enjoy this book. It takes what could be considered a "Lifetime movie" premise and adds depth, humanity and complexity. The premise in itself needs expert handling for it not to fall into the schmaltz or afternoon school special category. I felt like it couldn't figure out whether it wants to be biting and challenging or sentimental and heartwarming. It succeeds in the latter but seems to be striving for more edge. And from the beginning, we can predict the beats the story will hit, and it does.

Overall, it's well written and Cinnamon is easy to root for and is richly characterized. But this novel ends up being a bit of a miss for me. It seems to want to explore and comment on different complex and nuanced topics but I feel like it just scratches the surface, never really making the impact I was hoping for.