SKYE FALLING is a bighearted book about a thirty-eight and three-quarters Black queer woman, Skye, who's spent years only briefly touching down in her hometown West Philly. Skye's got her reasons for this. But suddenly she meets a young girl who "used to be her egg" and feels like she ought to stick around town for more than a few weeks.

It took me a couple tries to get into this one, but once I did I felt that the story flowed fairly easily. It's written rather conversationally, almost like the main character is speaking directly to the reader at times.

I enjoyed watching Skye's personal growth, especially her attempts at more meaningful relationships. But I'm afraid I waited too long to read SKYE FALLING -- after seeing several rave reviews, I was expecting a bit... more. Still, this is fine contemporary fiction and I'll certainly be interested in whatever Mia McKenzie writes next.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

Skye Falling by Mia McKenzie is a strong debut that wasn't anything like I thought it would be but was exactly what I needed. The writing is raw and powerful, and the topics addressed are of the moment: race, class, police brutality, LGBTQ+, and reproductive justice issues.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

I’ve heard so much about this super popular book but I wasn’t sure if it would be something I would like. Although it wasn’t my favorite it did surprise me so if you aren’t sure about this one give it a try!

This book was such a joy to read! Skye is a queer black woman in her 30s, and reading about her adventures was amazing. This book was equal parts messy, joyful, and at times hilarious and felt so raw and real.
Skye is faced with a really unexpected turn of events, resulting from past decisions, and the author manages to balance the unique and interesting story with more nuanced critiques of race and class in American cities. The writing was just so amazing and the story was so original.
This was especially impressive for a debut novel! I'm so happy I got to read this book, and look forward to anything else Mia McKenzie writes!
thank you to netgalley for providing me with an e-arc of this book.

This was one of those books where I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting into. It is definitely one of those books where you have to warm up to the main character. Skye is brash and seemingly has a cavalier attitude about her relationships with others and how she treats those she cares about. However, as the book progresses you start to get a clearer image of who Skye is and why she approaches relationships the way she does.

There are a lot of critical social issues addressed in the book which served as a timely reminder of how much work there still is to do in this country. I really appreciated the insight into the black community in West Philly. I am a white girl from the south, so I really had no clue about the culture of the area. It was nice to get a glimpse into that community, even if fictionalized.

This one took me by surprise in the best way possible. I went into it fairly blind, and was immediately drawn to skye. the author balanced some intense topics with incredible wit and humor in a way that kept things from feeling too heavy. While I’ll never be able to relate to faye’s full struggle as a black woman, her desire to distance herself from others so she wouldn’t be hurt or disappointed resonated so deeply. This book contains some incredible messages, especially in regards to mental health and the importance of community, whether that community be as large as a church congregation or as small as a family.

This is not a novel where you fall in love with all the characters right away. But you will get there. Skye is definitely a confident don't give 2-- about anything. And she lives life for today. the past is the past till twelve years later the past knocThis is not a novel where you fall in love with all the characters right away. But you will get there. Skye is definitely a confident don't give 2-- about anything. And she lives life for today. the past is the past till twelve years later the past knocks on her door. The author does an amazing job of peeling back layers of the situation AND the characters.
There is a family drama, personal crisis, self-confidence (embrace who you are), LGBTQA positivity, and so much more. Great as a YA too. ks on her door. The author does an amazing job of peeling back layers of the situation AND the characters.
There is a family drama, personal crisis, self-confidence (embrace who you are), LGBTQA positivity, and so much more. Great as a YA too.

Thank you Netgalley for this book.

This book was exactly what I needed right now. I love reading dark, gritty books. But every now and then I need a palate cleanser, and this book was perfect for that. It’s hilarious, real, honest, and still deals with tough stuff. I loved this book and the main character was just so perfect. Flawed, but I couldn’t help but cheer for her.

From Goodreads: Twenty-six and broke, Skye didn’t think twice before selling her eggs and happily pocketing the cash. Now approaching forty, Skye moves through life entirely–and unrepentantly–on her own terms, living out of a suitcase and avoiding all manner of serious relationships. Her personal life might be a mess, and no one would be surprised if she died alone in a hotel room, but at least she’s free to do as she pleases. But then a twelve-year-old girl shows up during one of Skye’s brief visits to her hometown of Philadelphia, and tells Skye that she’s “her egg.” Skye’s life is thrown into sharp relief and she decides that it might be time to actually try to have a meaningful relationship with another human being. Spoiler alert: It’s not easy.

Things get even more complicated when Skye realizes that the woman she tried and failed to pick up the other day is the girl’s aunt and now it’s awkward. All the while, her brother is trying to get in touch, her problematic mother is being bewilderingly kind, and the West Philly pool halls and hoagie shops of her youth have been replaced by hipster cafes.


Skye is just delightful. She’s a mess, but McKenzie gave her such a fantastic voice. Back when I was teaching, this book would have been at the top of my list of what a good voice should look like as an example for my students. Skye and her egg, now 12-year-old Vicky, are navigating their relationship. Skye isn’t her mother but is her mother. She’s more like a fun, cool aunt, which is hard because Vicky’s aunt, Faye, who Skye tried to pick up one day, is the stern disciplining aunt. Between Faye and Skye, they are both trying to guide Vicky’s life but the three of them haven’t figured out how to do that. This book does deal with tougher things like parental death, abuse, gentrification, police brutality, but not in a heavy, break your heart, kind of way. Sometimes I need an escape from my dark books. But I can’t go full-on chick-lit romance. Those are definitely not for me. But this book was the perfect book to sink into.

I wanted to read this book because it had an interesting and unique premise -- an egg donor meets the child who results from the donation. The main character, Skye, is a lesbian with serious trust issues and who pushes most people away, so having children was not something she intended. When an old friend, Cynthia, was dealing with infertility and asked Skye to be an egg donor, Skye agreed. With the help of her assistant, Toni, Skye runs a successful business arranging group tours to foreign countries. She is back in west Philly for a couple weeks every few months to rest and recuperate before the next round of international travel. She has a permanent room at the B&B run by Viva, a trans woman and the only friend she has managed to keep long-term. At the opening of an art exhibit, Skye is approached by a twelve-year-old girl named Vicky who announces that she used to be Skye's egg. The initial meeting does not go well, especially as Vicky catches Skye trying to climb out of bathroom window to escape. It does not get much better when Skye later meets Vicky's guardian, Aunt Faye, with whom she had a confrontation of sorts recently; Cynthia died of cancer two years earlier. However, eventually Skye decides she wants to try to get know Vicky. The story focuses on the developing relationship between Skye and Vicky, as well as Skye reconsidering her relationships with her mother (estranged) and brother (tense), and how she has handled relationships -- familial, platonic, or romantic -- in the past.

The story has some very humorous moments and some very poignant moments, and addresses a variety of societal issues. One of things I particularly liked about the book was the description of the black community in West Philly. As a white guy from the Midwest, I have no knowledge of the black community in West Philly. However, the way West Philly is described in the book makes it seem like this is a location with which the author is intimately familiar and that she is seeking to infuse the spirit of West Philly into the book. She does not romanticize or idolize the community, but rather describes it a way that feels raw and real, warts and all, but also a community where one can grow and thrive and make deep connections.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

In this terrific contemporary novel, main character Skye is in her late 30s who has been living a pretty transitory life - she runs a successful travel business but uses it in many ways to avoid entanglement with people, whether it be family, friends, or relationships. But everything changes when a 12 year girl finds her and tells her she is the result of the egg that Skye donated to a friend 13 years before.

I couldn’t be more different than Skye - she’s a single black lesbian with no kids and a difficult childhood with a messed up family, while I’m a married straight white mom with a happy family - and yet, Mia McKenzie so skillfully brought Skye to life in a way that I totally felt like I could see the world through her eyes and understand her actions, even if sometimes I wanted to give her a good shake! And all the side characters are wonderfully brought to life as well, even those that made just brief experiences. Both funny and sad and heartfelt, I really enjoyed and recommend this one. 4.25 stars.

If you like contemporary fiction, read this book. It's incredibly written. The characters are so well-rounded, I loved how the main character was written. I don't usually adore character-driven stories, but this one is definitely an exception. My only criticism was the ending for Faye and Skye seemed inconclusive, but not in a way that's like, life goes on and their story with them, but more like, I was rooting for them and then I wasn't and now I'm still supposed to be? I don't know, towards the end, I had conflicting feelings about a relationship I spent most of the book rooting for. Other than that, I was thoroughly entertained throughout the story. It has romance, reliability, HUMOR, like GOOD humor, which I can't even express is so rare for me to find in books. Usually, when a book tries to be funny, it's for a specific demographic that I'm not a part of, or it's just trying way too hard, but the main character and I are absolutely not in the same demographic and I found her hilarious. And the romance isn't glamorized! It's real, and it's great! I cannot recommend it enough, please read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Who is she talking to? Did she really say out loud “tbh” or was it “to be honest”? Why does Viva talk straight up in Spanish when no one else is a Spanish speaker, or just add random Spanish words in an otherwise English sentence? There’s no consistency in which words or what kind of words. Like, one time she’ll say “pero,” but the next time it’s “but”. It’s just some arbitrary word the author chooses to emphasize that Viva speaks Spanish.

Way too many similes. The similes have similes.

Slang is used in a super strange way. Like, one sentence ends with “dassit,” which is how it would come out if you said it out loud, but you wouldn’t actually write that down. And how are you going to throw that in and repeatedly call something a “refreshments table”? Who in the actual world calls it that?

Whole sentences are capitalized for emphasis. Is this story being texted to someone? Is it a YouTube comment? Like, what is this style?

The writing sounds like an old person trying to write like a young person and not quite understanding what young people actually say and do.

Skye is rude af. She is not a nice person, I don’t know why anyone would invite her to anything. She says in a super shitty way that she doesn’t want her picture taken, and Viva just laughs it off. No, Viva, it is not funny for a woman pushing 40 to be acting like a spoiled child.

Mia McKenzie’s original and bold new novel centers Skye, a near-40-year-old queer woman whose always lived by her own rules. Her life is turned on its head when a young girl finds her and reveals that she is the product of one of the eggs Skye donated in her twenties.

Yikes. This writing is cringey as heck and the MC was completely unlikeable. The Spanish sentences thrown in were really frustrating & the random "text" chat language along with unexplained slang was jarring. I kept being pulled out of the story due to choppy weird writing. All of the humor fell flat.

I gave this book one star on my goodreads. Many thanks to NetGalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

DNF @30%
Something about the way this book was written did not vibe with me at all. I'm bummed about that because it sounded like SUCH an interesting read. I think that if you're interested in the synopsis definitely give this book a try but personally, it didn't work for me.

This book was okay. It took me awhile to get into the story but even then I wasn’t super into it. The storyline was interesting but overall I don’t think it was for me.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I loved this book! Skye was such a fun and honest character, and I really enjoyed her story especially when she meets Vicky. These characters make this novel so good! There were so many situations that had me laughing out loud. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys humor and wit.

Skye Falling was a fun read about growing and friendships. I enjoyed how I could see myself in Skye and relatable this book is.