Family Spirit
A Novel
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4.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Diane McKinney-Whetstone’s latest character-rich, page-turner blends her signature style with a little magic in her depiction of the Maces, a vibrant family of Philadelphia clairvoyants with issues.
Ayana has inherited the Knowing gene that the Maces believe have been passed down to at least one girl child in every generation from as far back as they can trace. But her mother has tried to convince her that she is nothing like those weird Mace women. To keep the peace, Ayana lies to everyone--to the Maces, insisting she’s never felt a Knowing, to her mother about participating in the rituals, and to herself about her relationship with a man who helps her recover time and time again from the mania she experiences after seeing into the future. Ayana’s aunt Lil, banned from the Mace home decades ago after violating a sacred vow, has returned to Philadelphia for a medical procedure. She settles into the chaos of her brother’s home where Ayana, a failing college senior, has also returned.
After a harrowing premonition, Ayana must decide whether to deepen family schisms by enlisting her aunt’s help, even as she learns the shocking details of Lil’s breech.
Meanwhile Nona, becomes more of a participant than creator as her own drama is deftly interspersed throughout, as she too yields to the power of the Mace family and its indomitable spirit.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This emotional family saga from McKinney-Whetstone (Our Gen) introduces Ayana Mace, who feels torn between her father's side of the family, who share her hereditary ability to see into the future, and her mother, who loves Ayana but shuns the Mace gift. Now Ayana has a vision of the Mace family home in Philadelphia exploding, and in the chaos, her aunt Lil falling, presumably to her death. She reassures herself with the knowledge that Aunt Lil was mysteriously exiled from the family before Ayana was even born, making the vision seem unlikely—until Lil shows up in town to deal with a medical issue and reenters the family's lives. McKinney-Whetstone's tale then splits, taking readers through Ayana's present struggles with her sense of self, the history of Lil's banishment from the family, and, in a metafictional twist, the story of Nona, the woman writing the novel in which the Mace family are characters. Crisp, detailed prose makes every story line feel lived-in and real, with a particular highlight being the complex but realistic family dynamics and dialogue. This layered fantasy feels almost fairy tale–esque, comfortable and cozy in its own mythology.
