So it’s hard to categorize this novel, and in discussing the plot, or conceit, not only doesn’t explain anything much about the novel, but actually makes it seem much more banal than it really is. I tell AP Literature (and I would be fired for teaching this one….not really, but maybe), that irony and tone are absolutely the most important factors in understanding fiction. In this book, the tone is everything. The story is about a young Black woman from Philadelphia whose mother is Black […]