I was really excited to read this book because the synopsis seemed like it was a fascinating story. I was very much into Ava and Toussaint’s storyline! I might be slightly biased because the story took place in Philadelphia where I am from. But, their story was emotional and I wanted to stay there and see how they would figure a way out. I couldn’t snuggle into Dutchess’s storyline as much because it seemed a bit disconnected to me and it lagged a bit, causing me to lose interest and Dutchess’s storyline. The one thing that brought me back and the ending to Dutchess’s story, which felt rushed.

This book left me unsettled. While it is beautifully written by Ayana Mathis, it's characters are flawed, angry and hurt. The setting is 1985 in Philadelphia and Ava's life is protecting her young son, Toussaint. She has bad luck in choosing men in her life. And she doesn't make the best choices for Toussaint. The other main character is Ava's mother, Dutchess. Dutchess is hanging on to hope of leaving her home to Ava, but they don't have a healthy relationship. Also Dutchess is living in an all black town, Bonaparte which is dying as the citizen leave this Alabama community. Ayana writes about this tormented family and in a way that you the reader keeps reading to find out what happens to them. I felt the ending was rushed and thus unsettling to me. This book has many discussion points for a book club but is not easy to get through.

In exchange for an honest review, I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from Net Galley and Penguin Random House.

The Unsettled by bestselling author Ayana Mathis is not for the faint of heart. It took me a couple of chapters before I could fully appreciate this emotionally jarring novel about a broken family and others whose lives are just as unsettled. This piece of historical fiction is a must-read if you want to get an authentic yet fictional look at Black history.

In mid-1980s Philadelphia, Ava Carson, and her son Toussaint ended up at the Glenn Avenue homeless shelter after being thrown out by her husband. Ava is annoyed with the unending questions asked by the intake counselor and even more sickened by the uninhabitable conditions of their room and the people who work and reside there. She’s determined to get herself and her son out of the shelter “her” way. It’s not so easy for Ava as she wrestles to keep a sound mind. Across miles, in Bonaparte, Alabama Ava’s mother Duchess Carson struggles to survive in a once-thriving town that has dwindled to a few aging residents. She lives mostly in her memories before she lost her husband, but Ava stays in the back of her thoughts as she considers her legacy. Toussaint does what Ava tells him to do but at ten years old he is losing his childhood behind their circumstances. All he wants is to be settled. When his father Cass comes back into their lives, things look better but end up becoming more complicated than before. Between Ava and Duchess, there is much to reconcile for either of them to heal from their difficult past. In the meantime, Toussaint is caught in the middle of a desolate past and an uncertain future.

As a Black woman, this story truly touched my heart for the many untold true stories like this one. Because it holds many truths for single mothers, aging elders in dying towns, and young children who are left to break generational cycles of poverty and educational disparities in Black communities.

This book is extremely well written and serves as a powerful examination of the affects of poverty, racism and mental health on individual lives.

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, Knopf and NetGalley for an electronic Advanced Readers Copy of this novel.

Ava and her son Toussaint end up at a shelter in Philadelphia in the mid 1980s when her husband throws her out when her ex-husband comes to their house. Ava is determined to make their stay there a short one, but societal pressure and other circumstances makes it hard to her to get out. When her ex-husband, Cass, re-appears in their lives, Ava is swept up by promises and follows him. Toussaint is confused but tries to do the best he can to accept his new life.

Meanwhile, Ava's mother, Dutchess, is living in Alabama tries to keep her part of Bonaparte, a once thriving town of black progress and hope, out of the hands of developers.

The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis, is a well written but very disheartening tale of families and the struggle to make things better. It's really good but the topic may not appeal to everyone.

To say I enjoyed this book is hard because of the pain that is portrayed throughout the book. I was invested in the story which kept me reading. The author did a good job of painting the characters backgrounds. I
enjoyed the writing style, I will definitely check out this authors books. Thank you to NetGalley, Alfred A Knopf publishing company and the author for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

A heartbreaking look at the life of one 21st century family. A little too close to home for some readers but this will become an american classic

I really enjoyed The Unsettled. It follows three generations of a family. The oldest, Dutchess , is the mother to Ava, who is the mother to Toussaint. They are all unsettled in one way or another. The first quarter of the book was slow for me, but it really picks up, and by the last quarter you are flying through the pages. The characters are very well-written with my favorites being Toussaint and Dutchess. I found Ava to be selfish and mean-spirited. Some parts made it seem she was mentally ill which would explain a lot. The settings were great, the claustrophobic house for the Ark and Bonaparte were particularly well done. All in all this was a fantastic read by a very talented author.

Eleven years after The Twelve Tribes of Hattie became a global sensation, translated into sixteen languages, Ayana Mathis offers another family portrait. The Unsettled is a story about a multi-generational black family who are estranged from one another and carry the painful freight of the past.
The story opens in an uncomfortable place. Ava Carson and her ten-year-old son Toussaint are forced to find residence in a Philadelphia homeless shelter after Ava’s violent husband Abemi Reed kicks Ava out the house. Shaken and feeling betrayed, Ava gropes through her new life while suffering from headaches, depression, and despair. Her distaste for the shelter’s feeble attempt at normalcy fill her with contempt. It’s a reminder of her own mother who she blames for her hardships.
Hundreds of miles away Dutchess lives on a rutted red dirt road fighting off developers from the Progress Corp who want her land, the last thousand acres left. During the twentieth century, Bonaparte, Alabama- whose placard reads Negro Incorporated Town, established 1868- was sold off, one farm plot after another, or as the locals saw it, taken by “white folk’s thieveries”. Dutchess sneers at the numerous attempts to drive her out. Besides, what would Caro think? Her deceased husband, a furniture maker, was murdered by whites on the very earth the developers want to raze.
Anger is a waste of energy for lethargic Ava who has not looked for a job in weeks and is nearing eviction from the shelter. Out of choices, Ava tells Toussaint they are going to Bonaparte even though it’s been years since she has laid eyes on her mother. But Ava is left with no alternative. Uninterested in finding employment and living in a place where roaches are stomped out of mattresses, she is out of options.
But before Ava could return home to Bonaparte with Toussaint, she stumbles upon Toussaint’s father, a reformed alcoholic with a fiery rhetoric of self-improvement. When Ava encounters Cassius Wright he is preaching to the lost, challenging men to give up their alcohol. He bellows to a crowd about his once prurient habit. “Chivas and Cutty Sark and Crown Royals could fix anything. But only for the night, that was the catch.”
Four months later Ava and Toussaint are a part of Cass’s cultish fellowship called Ark with its strict manifesto and dietary and behavioral rules. They live with him at 248 Ephraim in companion with other families who adhere to the fellowship.
Mesmerized by Cass Wright, Toussaint both inhales and exhales his father’s climatic energy. Mathis describes the hero-worship liturgically: “…mostly he watched his father’s body because there was power in it, and the power was something to believe in and something to be like.” It is Cass’s violence that raises the tension of the story projecting quietly something tragic may happen.
As the tension between Ava and Cass accrues into relational damage, Toussaint escapes by writing. He finds his grandmother’s Bonaparte address and introduces himself. Dutchess is excited to hear from him and records tapes and sends them to Toussaint reflecting on her life as a blues singer, and what if felt like loving her deceased husband Caro. Dutchess’s language is salty and inappropriate but appropriate just the same because grandparents give their children history and wings, they allow them to fly in a straight line instead of circles when their present world is bleak and inescapable.
I read Ayanna Mathis first novel “The Twelve Tribes of Hattie” a story about adult children who resent their mother while also being a personal story about the Great Migration. “The Unsettled” feels similar but more contemporary, and sadder because Mathis layers within the mother-daughter dynamic partner violence, female submission, toxic masculinity, and thievery. Creating a larger social map, Mathis threads a fictional story with current events such as the ongoing fight of rural black families in southern states to keep their ancestral land from developers and the suffering of the homeless. There is also mention of Frank Rizzo, Philadelphia’s notoriously racist mayor that adds gravity to Ava’s story of hardship in 1980s Philadelphia.
I was moved by The Unsettled and by Ava whose pathos had seeped into me midway through the novel. The story, at times, was fraught with tension because of the impulsivity of its characters and the interpretation thereof that the financially fraught act hastily. Nevertheless, the story is sensitive in the way a family story can be. Mathis has an acute understanding that touching the wound doesn’t water down optimism, it gives birth to it. It is imperfect people that surround us in our families. Their love for one another and us may not erase the petty grievances of the past but compromise, forgiveness, and common ground- most notably children- cuts through distance, pain, and lingering bad blood.

loved, loved this book! So glad this author wrote another novel that delved into many different categories and so happy to have read this!

The Unsettled, a story about a mother and her son trying to survive in poverty-stricken Philadelphia in the 1980s, certainly left me that way. Unsetteled. This is not a feel good story and is full of pain and desperation and the upheaval of leaving one abusive relationship only to land in another. Although well written, it is mostly a character driven story, however I had a difficult time connecting with either Ava or Toussaint. There is no doubt that Ava loved her son, however her life choices made me question whether or not she should have continued to have custody over her son. As for Toussaint, I felt bad for the loss of potential in such a smart boy who is dragged down by his family and circumstances, but had trouble truly connecting with him.

I could definitely see this piece being taught in a future black literature class, as it captures mental illness and poverty extremely well. For me personally, it was a just a bit too sad and depressing. Recommended for fans of Toni Morrison and Hanya Yanagihara.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ayana Mathis, and Knopf for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The pacing was hard for me in this one, and of course given the subject and events in the book, it was unsettling.

Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

There is something about a multi-generational novel that draws me in right away. The book is aptly titled as the characters are all unsettled, both literally and figuratively.

The story begins in Philadelphia with Ava, a Black mother, and her son, Toussaint, searching for shelter after leaving her abusive husband. Both are dealing with their own trauma and trying to navigate the system that isn’t designed to help them at all. Meanwhile, we have another storyline from Ava’s mother, Dutchess, who is one of the last Black residents of Bonaparte, AL. White developers are encroaching and threatening to take their land and destroy the legacy of their families.

The story unfolds slowly and felt a bit uneven, but still kept me interested. Ava’s character felt so honest, raw and authentic. Her desire to provide a home for her son where he can feel safe was heart wrenching. I appreciate Mathis’ inclusion of historical events that occurred during the 1980s. The Ark, the cult like group led by Toussaint’s father, is very similar to MOVE, a Black activist group founded in Philadelphia that resulted in repeated conflicts with law enforcement, including a 1985 bombing by the police that resulted in many injuries and deaths.

We watch this family try and try again, broken apart by a broken system, separated by distance, driven to feel safe, seen and loved. Don’t miss this emotional story. Out now!

I LOVED The Twelve Tribes of Hattie and I was so excited to meet the author and get this book at ALA and on NetGalley simultaneously! This book did not disappoint with characters that were so vivid and gorgeously described they will stick with you for a long while. We meet Ava and her mother who, despite being in different places in the world, are both strong women but the title definitely reflects their state of being. We also meet Toussaint, Ava’s son is her main motivation as she tries to find a steady home and life for them. This book will leave you unsettled and thinking for a long time.

3.5⭐️

<i> From the moment Ava Carson and her ten-year-old son, Toussaint, arrive at the Glenn Avenue family shelter in Philadelphia 1985, Ava is already plotting a way out. She is repulsed by the shelter's squalid conditions: their cockroach-infested room, the barely edible food, and the shifty night security guard. She is determined to rescue her son from the perils and indignities of that place, and to save herself from the complicated past that led them there. </i>

Unsettled started strong but soon became a bit disjointed and meandering. It began as a very personal story about the spiraling effects of sudden poverty, providing a window into the many dehumanizing elements found in the system. What could have been an important social commentary then got lost as the story began to jump around in time, place, and perspective- at which point I became confused both on what was going on, and what the point was. Mixed feelings on this read.

Thank you Ayana Mathis, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

I have two words for you...

Bahni Turpin.

Yes, Turpin narrates the audio and I know you won't be shocked to hear that she does a phenomenal job.

Brief Summary
The Unsettled a searing multi-generational novel—set in the 1980s in racially and politically turbulent Philadelphia and in the tiny town of Bonaparte, Alabama—about a mother fighting for her sanity and survival.

This book is really Ava's story -- you get pieces of her growing up in Bonaparte with her mother Duchess, and you get her present, in Philadelphia with her son Toussaint. They struggle. The book opens with them checking into a shelter and it had me thinking about Invisible Child by Andrea Elliot. While Ava may not always make the best decisions, she is real, and author, Ayana Mathis does a remarkable job making Ava jump off of the page and into the reader's heart.

Thank you to @netgalley for this complimentary reading copy and also @prhaudio for the audiobook which to me, is 100% the way to go with this one.
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Rounded up from 2.5 stars. Ayana Mathis writes beautifully and I enjoyed the first half or so of this book. I felt invested in the characters but as the book went on I just stopped caring. It became a bit of a slog for me and I had to force myself to finish it. I read her first book and I don't remember loving it. I don't think I will read another book of hers.

A great new novel by Ayana Mathis! I was very invested in the fate of Ava and her son and did not want to put the book down. This is a book that makes you think and and feel for the characters. It is a novel I will not forget.

You close a book and you think how did it impact me? Was it an amusement? Was it an escape from the hum drum everyday? Was it an exercise in clever wordsmIthing? Did it teach me something? I cannot say what another reader will take away from this excellent book but for me it was another look at how a cult takes hold. Take a charismatic figure, add a cause (be it religious, political, or in this case racial), start out with righteousness on your side, and the ground is fertile for corruption of the original intent that enticed those who signed on. The beauty of this book is that it keeps a reader deeply engaged with the author’s story while addressing some of the concerns of life today.

Special thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.


First I'm sorry to say, I couldnt connect with the writing style of this book. The story felt very disconnected for me and a little too drawn out. I couldn't connect with the characters. I'm a mother, so in some ways I could connect to Ava, mother of Toussaint, her son who is about to be a full teenager. While trying to protect him at all costs, did she ever really make a good life for him, after being kicked out and penniless, only to live amongst cockroaches and filth. I did like the truth of the way our society treats those of us that have it hard, that much is true.

Then the story travels back to Ava's mother, Duchess. A couple of parts were disjointed and not explained. Like who was having sex with the security guard in the facility they stayed in, Ava or someone else, or was it a wishful experience in her mind.

This book deals with poverty, abandonment, gritty conditions, abuse of how women are treated but I think this book may be liked, especially by mothers, or those who have been in poverty before. I just couldn't make it all work for me.