Title: Kin by Tayari Jones
Book Beginning/ First Line Friday snippet:
My first word was "mother," spoken out loud and with texture. MOTHER.
Friday56 snippet:
All the other women were gathered around Annie's grandmother, petting her and circling her in hymns.
Summary: Vernice and Annie are two motherless girls. Annie is raised by her grandmother, Vernice by her aunt. Both girls feel the loss profoundly but they do have each other, they will always have their best cradle friend. But after high school their stories diverge and the difference become very stark.
Review: Oddly I was reading this novel, one of the hit books of 2026, when my husband and I started listening to the nonfiction audiobook of The Warmth of Other Suns by Wilkerson. Both books tell a similar story of what it was/is like growing up in the South if one is Black. The injustice is just galling. When I would say as much to my husband he would remind me that it is okay to read stories about hard things and that I shouldn't shy away from reading books that make me feel uncomfortable or sad. I agree with him but it became pretty hard for me. The timing of reading the two books at the same time was too much. I got pretty trapped in my own feelings so I had a hard time wanting to read the book, though I recognized its literary excellence. For this reason today I am sharing a few thoughts from other reviewers on Goodreads. They seem to have a better perspective than I do.
This book is the literary hit of 2026—full stop. It’s gut-wrenching, thought-provoking, empowering, heartbreakingly realistic, deeply embracing, and profoundly resonant. It takes the word kin and restores its true meaning: kin isn’t defined by blood, but by the people who truly see you, who hear the words you can’t say, who touch your soul, who hold space for your flaws, your mistakes, your missteps, and still call you theirs. -Nilufer
In novel after novel, [Jones] explores the dynamic quality of love without questioning its persistence. How we relate to one another — even those most dear to us — is not “an ever-fixèd mark.” Given the vicissitudes of time, she asks, how could it be? Our affections are altered by distance, thinned in some places, amplified in others, the way sound changes as it travels. -Ron
Three things stand out—how vivid and believable the characters are (it’s a great character study), how beautiful the language is, and how much I felt the place and time. -Debbie
The theme is deep female friendships and how those can be kinships that go even deeper than biological ties. But what stood out for me, even more than the "cradle" friendship of Niecy and Annie K, was the writing. Beautiful, lyrical prose in which the similes and metaphors were so apt, so surprising, so so so perfect, I felt chillbumps rising on my arms a few times while listening to the audiobook. The dialect and narrator accents were spot on as well. -Emily
Thank you Goodreads reviewers for the assist.
My rating: 4 stars.
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First Line Friday hosted by Reading is My Super Power to share the beginning quote from your book.
