THIS BOOK. It handled sensitive topics with care and empathy, and it tackled a side of motherhood we don’t see often enough. I know that it will stick with me for a long time. And for that reason it was one of the best books I read this month. It’s a hard book to talk about without giving away too much because the ending is what threw me for a loop. Talking with MINDFUL LIBRARIAN, and her reaching out to the author to see if we could hear about why she ended it that way, I was able to process my reaction and appreciate the story even more. To be clear, this isn’t an easy read so feel free to message me or look up content warnings on StoryGraph if you want to know more before going in. For fans of Seven Days in June and Patsy.

Review contains major spoilers

I am really struggling with how to write this review. The book is written really well and the characters are well developed.

The story follows Efe, a British Ghanaian woman and Sam, who she meets in high school and eventually marries. Efe never wants to have children but becomes pregnant after she and Sam marry and Sam pressures her to continue the pregnancy. She has a difficult pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experience. When she becomes pregnant again after the dust has settled and she has finally developed a routine with her family, she tells Sam that she can't continue the pregnancy but he basically ignores her and proceeds as if they're happily planning for a second child. Efe panics and absconds to Ghana where she has an abortion with the support of her sister. We as the reader don't really know how Efe feels about her abortion, besides the fact that she needs it to survive, but the portrayal of the abortion itself is highly stigmatizing. The doctor is a shadowy figure and she has complications. When Sam finds out that Efe has had abortion, he is furious. Efe's mother is also furious with her. Efe never really has a voice in the discussion at all.

At the end of the book, following a long process of Efe and Sam reconnecting from afar, Efe is rebuilding her sense of self, painting and prioritizing herself. She is about to show her art in an exhibition, whereSam is planning to surprise her. But then Efe's taxi gets in an accident and they are run off of a bridge and she dies.

Throughout the book I clung to the idea that this was a nuanced, uncomfortable portrait of a woman who was forced into motherhood and had regrets, while still loving her family. But with this ending, it just reads like a warning to wayward women, or a promise of punishment if you dare to evade motherhood. I was so upset at the conclusion of this book. It took what could have been a four star read to a one star. I hate to give any book this low of a rating but I think this is honestly harmful.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the free ARC in exchange for honest feedback.

Sacrificing yourself for things you didn't want in the first place, then being asked to do so again.. selfish? At first I thought so, but maybe it’s also just life. And when things get too hard how do you handle it? With Efe and Sam perfection isn't their strong suit but their friendship is, which takes this plot from beginning to end.
The story is told in snapshots of reminiscing, you don’t get the whole picture at once, but it comes together to give you an entire story. This one was just ok for me, it was a bit slow in spots but covered many topics well.

This book had me speechless. there is no way this is a debut, that is just how well it is done and how amazing it reads.
The character development was good. only a couple of characters i felt were throw away.
the story itself was just... wow.
everything about this book is just... i have no words
this is a book i wish i could read for the first time again

Wow! "Rootless" by Krystle Zara Appiah is an absolutely tremendous debut novel! It will definitely be considered one of the best books of 2023. This book completely ripped out my heart and shook me to my very soul. And, even though I am a middle aged white woman, I felt seen! Efe's character, her desire to fit into the box society has created for women, and her struggles with motherhood really resonated with me. Not all women are meant to be mothers, no matter what everyone around us says, and it doesn't do anyone any good to pretend to be someone we are not because, sooner or later, that façade will crumble and leave destruction in its wake. Efe's husband and family ignored and belittled her struggles with pregnancy, motherhood, and mental illness simply because, to them, it was unthinkable that a woman wasn't a natural mother and caregiver. They couldn't fathom the idea that a woman might be whole without a child. It broke my heart to see Efe lose herself so completely and then have to struggle so hard to regain her identity.

This book is thought provoking and is definitely not a light read. I thought the author did a fabulous job portraying both sides of the issues and there were really no bad guys in this book, just misguided ones. I won't soon forget Efe; this is a book that will stick with me for quite some time.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the privilege of reading an advanced digital copy of this fabulous book, in exchange for my honest review.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
On the one hand, this is a powerful debut that feels gritty and honest - marriage and parenthood are hard. But the unexpected ending and the lack of character development - Sam's, in particular - left me wanting more. In the end, I found this book depressing.

This book was a slow read, but the message was intentional. Society says that mothers automatically just have “it”, you know the “it”, the motherly instinct, the automatic love for said child. Efe shows us in this novel the struggles with not wanting to have a child, feeling alone, going through postpartum depression, and even being in a marriage that has you feeling like a ghost version of yourself. This book reflects how culturally, one is expected to be. But reality takes precedence. Efe walks out on her family and decides to take charge of her life. Sam and Olivia pays the cost. They’re left to pick up the pieces and continue life without her near. Then tragedy strikes and they have to make their recent months a permanent reality.

Wow! Rootless follows Efe, mom, wife, and art enthusiast, born in Ghana and living in London. The book starts with Efe walking out on her family, and over the pages we travel backward to discover what actually happened. While there are many amazing parts to this novel, what really knocked me to my knees was the descriptions of early motherhood. Krystle Zara Appiah expertly described the pain, hurt, anxiety, and depression that can also accompany being pregnant and having a child. Bravo!

What a sad love story. There was definitely some wrongdoing on both sides but i ultimately wanted to see Sam and Efie find their way back to eachother. This was very well written and Rich with Ghanaian culture.

This story of Sam and Efe is a powerful, relatable struggle.

I was amazed at how oblivious Sam allows himself to be. Him thinking everything was perfect is astonishing.

I absolutely hated him at one point.

Efe felt unseen, ignored, desperate. She was struggling, drowning really under the pressure.

Overall the story was amazing.

It contains
- postpartum depression
- abandonment
- self harm

Mayhaps this is unkind, but I really felt like I was reading the notes of a book more than an actual book at times.

Not in a way that I thought the book as written was poorly done. If anything it was more middle of the road than anything. It was just the way that the flashbacks were executed that left me wanting more.

This is hardly the first book to have the book start at something that the reader is supposed to consider the present in terms of the narrative arc of the story, end that first chapter on something of a cliffhanger to keep the reader invested enough to wade through a series of flashbacks until we can finally catch back up at some point to the moment where we left off. It's just that because it's hardly the first book to use this storytelling execution method it's not that interesting to read when the writing is average. It didn't help that each chapter felt like we were rushing through plot points in the most cookie cuter way imaginable.

Ultimately this was a book about motherhood and marriage and in some instances making the best of a situation that you find yourself in... All of which felt pointless when 80% of the book were these lackluster flashbacks. We spent so much time with understanding what drove Efe back to Ghana that we really took the scenic route, but the version of the road that was not at all scenic and was actually one of the dullest car rides you could go on. That when we finally got to the point in the narrative that the pieces fit together for the reader, we were on the same page as the characters, not only was there not a lot of page time for use to see the resolution to this, but the characters themselves did not seem interested in sorting any of that out.

As a result we got an ending that made me want to toss my kindle across my bedroom and ask whatever higher being exists out there the four hour and twenty minutes that I spent reading about Efe and Sam and their small collection of close family members back.

I can't endorse the book, I can't say that anyone should rush out and read it. There are some buried gems about motherhood and not feeling ready for that, elements that felt like they were trying to shine a light on postpartum depression, general conversations about self harm and mental health struggles... they are just surrounded by text that was again, very uninspired.

5 stars

"Speechless" feels more accurate. This is an exceptional debut and easily one of the most moving and memorable novels I've read in a long, LONG time.

Efe and Sam meet each other early on, and their story starts in the recent past and jumps back nearly 20 years to their early encounters. Readers have the incredible privilege of knowing these two - their secrets, their desires, their truths - in ways that even they are not aware of until much later. As their relationship evolves, they grow together in some ways and very far apart in others, and the entire journey is indelible. I like to know as little as possible about a book before I pick it up, and that worked well for me here. I'm glad I had no idea what to expect beyond whatever trials and tribulations of a marriage I might guess at, at best. I recommend these elements of surprise for prospective readers, too. Go on the journey *with* them.

There are aspects of Efe's character that are so relatable to me that I couldn't help but root for her, but that didn't stop me for also rooting for Sam, and that's a mark of both great character development and brilliant plotting. How can one be on both sides of a situation like this? Read and learn.

While Efe and Sam's relationship is at the center, what makes this novel even more special is the way in which the secondary characters are woven through the years and various stages. Friends, acquaintances, mothers, fathers, sisters...everyone brings new texture to these characters' experiences.

I can't say enough about this novel. It's incisive, honest, painful, beautiful, shocking, comfortable, and moving all at once. In case this isn't clear, I loved this, recommend it highly, and commit to keeping my eyes _Clockwork Orange_-style peeled and open for whatever Appiah produces next. This is a gift.

This book here is definitely worth the read from following Efe and Sam from teenage years all the way to the years where they married with a child and started to go through the struggle of family life. Now I see why Efe left and the first place she had to get right with her self. But I’m disappointed in Sam for what he did 😡. Then this ending I’m crying now.

This is a hard book.

It's hard to follow a woman through her life and watch her feel lost and out of control. It's hard to watch love try its best but get it wrong. It's hard to see someone reach out for a lifeline and come up short. It's even harder when your protagonist is a force like Efe in Rootless.

Krystle Zara Appiah's debut novel creates a richly detailed universe tethered to Efe, Her traditional Ghanaian parents send Efe and her younger sister to stay with their aunt in the UK to get an education beyond what they can obtain at home in Ghana. While her sister handles their parents expectations, Efe struggles from the start. Despite her trouble with the finance-based coursework encouraged by her parents and her overall lack of enthusiasm to start a family, she eventually marries Sam, a friend from University who studied to be a lawyer, and begins to create a life she's proud of.

Sam loves Efe fiercely, and the two seem like the ideal couple to their friends and family. When Efe becomes unexpectedly pregnant, she forgoes her chosen childlessness and puts he dream job on hold to embrace the family Sam is absolutely beaming to start. Sam wasn't prepared for Efe's post-partum depression and fails to reconcile how she can be so unhappy with their dream life. When he calls in Efe's family for support, they find themselves unsure how to treat her. Can't she snap out of it? What is so wrong with the beautiful life we all wanted for you?

Although their attempts were occasionally misguided, the love from her family and friends pulls Efe back from the edge. She and Sam make it through their rough patch, and she finds herself connecting on a deeper level with her young daughter and finding the footing to feel like herself again. Efe's homeostasis doesn't last for long before she's face-to-face with a life changing decision and she's forced to find out if her husband and her family's support is truly unwavering.

The author's ability to create a rich, detailed world for Efe and her family is the beating heart of this novel. It's so effortless to fall into place with Efe and to see her family and friends' love through her eyes. The empathy and nuance surrounding her struggles with mental health, family pressure, career pressure, and finding herself are beautiful layered and feel as real as each character. Efe's struggles are far from textbook, and it makes them feel so very human.

So I'll say it again: this is a hard book. It's not, however, a hard decision to read it.

Thank you so much to Ballantine Books for the copy of this ARC.

Rootless starts off with Sam noticing a charge on a shared credit card with his wife for a plane ticket. Efe decided to leave Sam and their daughter and fly back to Ghana as their marriage has reached a crisis point. From there, the book goes back to when Sam and Efe first met and closes in on the present timeline, and I really loved that structure. Their meeting was so sweet and I loved all the 90s/early 2000s references. We learn about the ups and (lots of) downs from their pasts and get to understand who the characters really are and delve into their experience as Ghanaians living in London.

When we get to Part 2, closer to present day, I had a harder time with this book. Sam and Efe both made some choices that I really wasn't on board with, but still think they can reconcile their marriage. The ending had a CHOKEHOLD on me - totally unexpected - but I think it worked well for the novel..

There are some pretty major trigger warnings in this book that I think will affect the reading experience pretty heavily, as it did for me, so be sure to research those.

Rootless explores the relationship of Efe and Sam, seemingly so similar in background and interests but so far apart in what they truly want. We start off with Efe leaving her husband and child in present day. Then we backtrack to the 90s when they meet. We see how their friendship then love grows, get a peek into their childhoods and get an understanding of their struggles. I started out really enjoying this book but lost interest along the way. I’m surprised because this really has all the elements of books I love but something was lacking in the character development for me. Overall this was a sad, intriguing read and I think a lot of people will love it but it won’t make a lasting impression for me personally. 3.5 stars

Have you ever wanted to read a book solely based on its title or cover?

I don't even know which caught my attention first: the beautiful cover or the resonant tittle, but as soon as my eyes landed on this book, I was eager to read the blurb and find out what this book would be about.
Being an immigrant myself, I was immediately drawn to the story of a young Ghanaian woman adapting to a new life in London. It seemed right up my alley because it was so relatable, but it was something else, completely foreign to my reality, that ultimately made me request the ARC—this niggling curiosity as to what would make a mother suddenly buy a one-way ticket and move nearly 5,000 miles away from her toddler without even saying goodbye.

Well, I find out quickly because I couldn't put this book down. The writing is brilliant, and the characters come off the page as the narrator weaves through the hours, months, years in Efe and Sam's past and present.

I don't have children yet. Granted, I can only imagine what's like to go through all the strain and changes—physical, emotional, and financial, to mention a few—that mothers experience. But following Efe's journey felt almost like living it along with her, and it got me really thinking on how unfair this ingrained expectation that every women should compromise who they are once they become a mother is.
The pressure from society, family and friends, culture and customs, that women should want to become mothers, the notion that we're selfish when children aren't a dream or even a desire for whatever reason, that they can't have a life and aspirations outside being someone's mom is dehumanizing, while parenthood looks totally different for men but not because of the obvious physiological reasons.

Efe's story will stay with me for a long time. There's only one reason it isn't a five-star read for me, but I can't disclose it without giving spoilers, so I'll keep it to myself. 🤐

Thank you, NetGalley, Krystle Zara Appiah, and Ballantine for the free ARC.

⚠️ This book doesn't shy away from heavy, highly sensitive topics, so please check for triggers before picking it up.

Efe never wanted to be a mother, she was always a free spirit. She married her high school sweatheart Sam, but even this couldn't hold her down. She goes through so much, and puts her husband and daughter through it too. THis books hits, new mothers, depression, and so many other things that people do not speak about. Even though this is a fiction it hits so many spots in real life. I was impresed with the writing in this book.

We love a story about the complicated nature of being a mom. Not everyone feels like it is a "gift" to be a mother. We are doing a disservice to women when we talk about the beauty of motherhood, we alienate women. This book reaches out to all women as they deal with what it really means to be a mother.

Can you ever be rooted in a home that's on the brink of collapse?

Brief Synopsis: Rootless is a heartrending love story about motherhood and sacrifice, providing an intimate look at what happens after a marriage collapses, leading two people to rediscover what they ultimately want--and if it's still each other. As Efe says, "Love and regret aren't mutually exclusive."

The story begins with Sam discovering a significant amount of money missing from Efe, his wife, and his savings account. After repeatedly being sent straight to voicemail, Sam discovers that Efe is 5,000 miles away leaving both him and their toddler behind.

This book will make you angry, disappointed, aggregated, happy and sad. It’s a mixed bag of emotions, but I’m so happy I read it.

I felt taken on a journey, especially as the story is told in such a unique way with each chapter being a year in the past and each one gets you closer to the present.

I went from severely disliking Efe as a character, to sympathizing and relating to some of her feelings at a deep level. If you’re a mom, I think you’ll feel the same.

So powerful.

TW: There are tough topics covered in this book. I recommend checking any warnings prior to reading this book.