No One is Coming to Save Us by Stephanie Powell Watts
Read on for a review of No One is Coming to Save Us by Stephanie Powell Watts, named one of the most anticipated books of 2017 by Entertainment Weekly, Nylon, Elle, Redbook, W Magazine, and The Chicago Review of Books and highly recommended by Oprah!
In a small town in North Carolina an African-American family is reaching for the American Dream. Life is hard and full of disappointments as it seems like a dark cloud is hovering over them. Ava is desperate for a baby yet she battles infertility and secretly reaches out to an online community for support and advice. Her husband, Henry, is upset about the decline in the furniture industry where he works, is cheating on Ava and feels disappointed in himself. Ava’s mother, Sylvia’s, life is stunted; she has never gotten over losing her son Devon and is married to Don, a man she doesn’t trust. JJ Ferguson, Ava’s old boyfriend, is back in town, wealthy and living 
large on top of the hill. He has built a house overlooking the town and is hoping to get back together with Ava as he searches for the feeling of being home.
“We all get disappointed… We want what’s missing. Everybody wants what’s missing.” Wealth, trust, fidelity, love…they all are searching for something to make them feel whole, yet no one is spared life’s challenges.
As Ava, JJ, Henry and Sylvia struggle to find happiness, those occasional glimmers of light are just not enough to make all of their dreams come true.
“They could pretend they had the power to fix their lives. The trick was making themselves believe it. That’s what joy is, isn’t it? Belief for a little while that you have the power to mend everything?”
Stephanie Powell Watts has written an impressive debut as she skillfully weaves thoughts from the characters’ pasts with current events; a true glimpse into how they physically experience life while recalling old memories. She gives us a snapshot of real life where little is perfect and few are satisfied. It is reminiscent of the fact that life can be challenging and making the most out of it gives us the biggest reward.
“If you can’t get what you want, want something else.”
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and look forward to more from Stephanie Powell Watts.
Buy this Book!
Amazon
