Set in late 2008, the book tells the story of a young woman who returns to her small town Indiana home to find the son she put up for adoption when she was a teenager. The story explores unconditional love, betrayal and how decisions made as a teen can impact a lifetime. The charcters are likeable an well developed. I do feel like there is much left to be explored and hope that we can see more of them in a future novel. Ms. Johnson does an excellent job with her debut piece.

I received this an advanced readers copy.

This is a very good book that covers race, motherhood, and finding out where one belongs. Ruth is a happily married woman who is an engineer. Her husband wants to start a family but Ruth gave up a child as a teenager to be able to go to college. Ruth goes home to resolve her past. There she meets trouble white teenager Midnight. As their stories intertwine, each sees their hometown from different points of view. I enjoyed this book and its characters. This is a book that will stay with me for quite a while. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

Wow! Searing social commentary and a gripping plot are combined in this story about upward mobility, race, class, and privilege. The world is looking good when Barack Obama is elected for the black community and Ruth and Xavier are ready to celebrate, but when its time to start a family, Ruth must explain she is already a mother. At 17, she gave birth to a son who was adopted by an unknown family. Ruth went on to graduate from Yale and marry a PepsiCo marketing executive, but now her conscious is bothering her, and she returns to her childhood home to find her son. Instead, she finds an 11-year-old white kid named Midnight. Midnight’s mother died in childbirth. Ruth and Midnight’s lives become more and more connected as this story is told in alternating chapters. As Ruth’s grandmother warns, ‘You keep turning up the dirt, you bound to run into a snake one day. And it’s going to bite you. Real hard.”

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The family of a young woman lies to protect her future. An unplanned pregnancy is prevented from derailing a young woman's opportunity to attend an ivy league school. Her grandmother protects her and the child is adopted out. Reverberations of the loss haunt the woman until she is pulled home to find out the truth about her child.

This was a well written, character driven book about secrets, family, motherhood, race and community. I enjoyed that the characters were flawed and so realistic. The author has done a wonderful job with her debut book and it’s so timely for right now.

I’ve had this book on my radar ever since September and I knew it was going to be a hard yet worthwhile read. Johnson’s story tackles a lot of tough subjects, including race, poverty, class, motherhood, and marriage. The characters in her book struggle with these issues in ways that will break your heart, but love, faith and endurance also shine through at unexpected times.

This book is set in 2008, right after President Obama’s election. Ruth is filled with hope, but she’s been keeping a secret that will affect her future. After being honest with her husband, cracks begin to spread in the foundation she’s built for herself. Despair and distrust creep into their relationship, and Ruth is also feeling unsettled with her job, her family, and most importantly, her sense of self.

The second narrator in this book is Midnight, a young white boy living in Ruth’s hometown of Ganton, IN, who is just beginning to understand what it means to be poor, what racism looks like, and how small decisions can lead to big consequences.

Through Midnight and Ruth’s POVs we get a look at how racism is alive and well in Ganton, and the unlikely bond they form will uncover more than one secret that Ganton and their two families would like kept hidden. My heart went out to Ruth as a woman trying to find answers to questions and choices she’d long ago buried, and it went out to Midnight (and his friends) who seemed too young and vulnerable to be dealing with such heavy issues.

Johnson doesn’t hold back in her observations on racism and how the poor get poorer, and I am here for it. Every page begged the question - are we ever going to do better? Though this book was set in 2008, it could have been now. It’s fiction, but based in so much truth that it could have been a story I’ve read in the news recently.

I highly recommend this debut novel! It’s serious, but there’s joy to be found as well.

The Kindest Lie was a wonderful and thought-provoking novel about family relationships, motherhood, sacrifice, race and the mistakes made because of love and fear. Each character was complex, imperfect and flawed but ever so relatable. It was a fantastic debut novel by Nancy Johnson. I look forward to her future work. Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

This is a powerful book about race, class, inequality, motherhood, sacrifices, and the lies we tell to protect ourselves and others. It’s also a book about choices: the choices made for us by someone who wants the best for us, the choices we’re too weak to make, and the choices we can’t make because of our race, class, age, or where we live.

I loved how complex and realistic every character felt. There were no heroes or villains, only flawed people doing the best they could with what they had. The story is told through the point of view of two characters: Ruth and Midnight. Ruth is a black engineer returning to her hometown of Ganton, Indiana to find the son she abandoned when she was seventeen. She befriends Midnight, a white boy grieving his dead mother who yearns for connection. Although I was more invested in Ruth’s story, without Midnight’s insight, the novel wouldn’t be as powerful. His POV digs deeper into the themes of race, class, and inequality.

I also loved the setting of 2008 and Ganton. The town helps show the real repercussions of the recession, since the auto plant where most of the characters worked closed six months earlier. And the story happening right after Obama’s election really brought the themes of race into the forefront in how each character reacted to the first Black President.

This book will make a great pick for book clubs. There are so many themes and character moments to discuss. The characters felt so real, they stayed with me, making me wonder how their future lives turned out in the post-Obama years. I definitely recommend this book to everyone, especially those who enjoy books with complex themes and true-to-life characters and situations.

This book was an emotional roller coaster that managed to touch upon some important and tough issues. Ruth has come far from the small town she grew up in. She’s an engineer and a Yale graduate married to a very successful man. She goes off of birth control as she and her husband have been talking about children, but Ruth finds she can’t think about children until she resolves a secret from her past. When Ruth was 17 she got pregnant and had a baby in secret that she gave up for adoption. After admitting this to her husband she heads home to try to find what happened to her son. She doesn’t find what she’s expecting but her journey is a worthy read. Lots of topics are addressed and po.lit is are mentioned although the book is not political. The book tackles racial injustice, poverty, educational disparities, adoption, and neglect.

Okay... so when I read the blurb for this book I thought it was right up my alley. And I did enjoy most of it. The parts that I found frustrating and over the top I can’t discuss because I don’t like spoiler filled reviews.
Things that I can say, Ruth and Xavier’s marriage is weird to me. For people that were so connected, I found him cold and not compassionate.
I understand that her grandmother had a tough decision to make, but I felt it was handled so wrong. Not wanting your granddaughter to be part of the statistic and doing what she did was too much.
I have a friend that stated that Johnson did too much with this novel... I have to agree. Choose one topic and do it well. Dealing with all the stigmas, race relations, etc, it was all just a little too much and done okay. I think this story could have been great if the focus was narrowed.

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. I started this book on Biden’s Inauguration Day and it was amazing to feel the feeling of hope just like the book with Obama being elected in 2008. A great debut novel that explores race and social inequalities. I love how the book showed both a black and white family and their struggles in a small town. I was a bit frustrated with Ruth and Xavier on their lack of communication but it did not deter me from enjoying the book.

Thanks to William Morrow and Netgalley for an advanced copy of The Kindest Lie.

While the Kindest Lie is extremely well written, it's a little more character driven than I usually like and I honestly can't stand the main character Ruth. The themes of what is success, race & class issues and motherhood that this book raises are fascinating and complex.

In The Kindest Lie it’s 2008 and Obama has just been elected President, sending a wave of hope across the country. Ruth Tuttle is a happily married, Black engineer living in Chicago. Her husband Xavier is eager to start a family but Ruth can’t shake deep feelings about the son she left behind when she was just 17.

Only Ruth’s grandmother, Mama, and brother, Eli, knew about her son, who was given up for adoption. Ruth heads to her hometown in Indiana to address her unresolved feelings and find answers to burning questions she’s tried to stifle for years.

There, she observes a rundown state with poverty and racism on the rise. Ruth gets little help in her quest from Mama and Eli, who believe the past should stay in the past, and remind Ruth of the sacrifices they made for her. She meets a young white boy, Midnight, who is seeking any form of connection and eventually, the 2 of them find themselves in a dangerous situation.

The Kindest Lie is an excellent debut novel, exploring race, family, class, community, and the repercussions of one decision, affecting numerous people. While there are many themes here, Nancy Johnson writes about them well, in a way that doesn’t feel like overload. I appreciate how the characters were all realistic — none of them perfect, many with secrets, yet for the most part, still likable. The story is interesting and provides a lot to think about.

I highly recommend this book for book clubs because there’s so much to discuss. The Kindest Lie is about secrets, family, race, class and the broken promises of the American Dream. Nancy Johnson does this really well with the contrast between the settings of Chicago and a working class small town in Indiana, and with the two flawed POV characters, Ruth (a Black Ivy-educated engineer) and Midnight (a motherless white boy whose best friend is Black). Ruth is consumed by guilt over her secret—that she gave up her baby at 17. The story really takes off when she goes to confront her family. The complex and realistic characters are all sympathetically and deeply drawn.
I received a free arc of this book from an Instagram giveaway.

For a debut novel I am really impressed with this author. She brought up a lot of current topics. There was racism, motherhood, adoption, social class and family just to name a few. I fell in love with the well developed characters and could feel Ruth's frustration with her mother when she was trying to find information on her baby boy she had when she was just a teenager. I could feel her mom's happiness when Ruth showed up on her doorstep before Christmas, because she hadn't seen her daughter in 4 years. Even with all the poverty in her small home town, her mom always had food on the table and was always cooking. Their neighbor and white friend Lena, who owns a gift shop helps to take care of her grandson, Midnight. Ruth befriends this young hooligan which makes her realizes that maybe she could have been a good mother to her adopted son.
There are so many different layers to this story. Nancy Johnson wrote it with such sincerity, understanding and warmth. This would definitely be a good book club choice because there is so much to discuss.

Thanks to #WilliamMorrow, #netgalley, @NancyJohnson & #bookclubgirlsearlyread for an ARC of this book..

The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson is an impactful read about motherhood, race and class.

This is one of those books that you know will leave a lasting impression. And it definitely did. While it’s still early in the year, this is the best book I’ve read so far and I know it will be on all the top lists by the end of 2021. I hope one of the celebrity book clubs pick this because there is just so much to discuss and dissect! I finished the book a couple days ago and I’m still thinking about it.

The story really explores motherhood from a different perspective—one who had to give up motherhood but yet still is a mother and cares for her son. Ruth does eventually learn about what it means to be a good mother. This novel also focuses on race relations and social injustice. This town is segregated in many ways and there is a clear divide between the white and black communities.

The Kindest Lie is a dynamic but also a quiet story in many ways. Highly recommend!

I love reading books that allow you to experience life through someone else's shoes! The Kindest Lie really made me think about how race, poverty and family affect us all. It begins in Chicago as Ruth and her husband Xavier optimistically celebrate Obama's Presidential win in 2008 and think about starting a family, but are thwarted by secrets from Ruth's past. She returns to her hometown to resolve her past issues before they can move forward. Ganton Indiana is a factory town which is full of complex characters and troubled relationships that interact to create a great story that will remain in my thoughts for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book. It was well written and presented characters different from myself so it was an enlightening read. I was frustrated that the husband was so upset about being ‘lied to’ and did t seem concerned about how the experience affected his wife. I also struggled with her very intelligent character drawing some very big conclusions without any proof, even though she was ultimately right.

I guess it meant I was very engaged with the characters and story. I also liked how the young boy’s perspective was portrayed. It captured the naivety and selfishness a child might have not fully understanding what was happening in their world.

Brilliant writing and compelling story, this book had strong Transcendent Kingdom vibes for me. Set in Chicago on the eve of Obama’s presidency, the Kindest Lie is a powerful exploration of race, class, and motherhood. This is a debut and I can’t wait to see what’s next from Nancy Johnson!

Thank you William Morrow and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book!

Thank you Book Club Girls, Harper Collins, and NetGalley for an advance copy of The Kindest Lie. The time is ripe for this debut, which covers motherhood, race, and class in America right after Obama's election in 2008. Following two main protagonists, Ruth and Midnight, The Kindest Lie navigates the pressures and sacrifices of motherhood, the black-white divide in the U.S., and the struggles small towns in the country have faced. Her husband's increased interest in starting a family drives Ruth back to her hometown in Indiana to find out the truth about the long-held family secret that enabled her to leave the city, attend an Ivy league school, and become successful in Chicago. Her search for closure is a journey worth taking with her as is her connection to Midnight, the young child of a family friend,