And Then There Was Us

This short YA novel, set in Toronto, follows 18-year-old Coi, a young woman who has a tumultuous relationship with her abusive mother who has come in and out of Coi's life. Coi has very complicated feelings for her mother and her stern and austere maternal grandmother and readers witness how Coi struggles to process her childhood trauma which is complicated even more by the sudden death of her mother.  

Loosely based on the author's family, And Then There Was Us is a well-paced and powerful read. Carter explores conflicting emotions, forgiveness, the sometimes complicated, messy and dysfunctional nature of family and how the resulting trauma can be passed down from one generation to the next. 

Written with compassion and perfectly paced, Carter easily pulls his readers into his story that packs an emotional punch. I look forward to reading more from Kern Carter.

Disclaimer: I had the pleasure of meeting Kern Carter at the Ontario Library Association Super Conference in January and eagerly brought home a copy of his debut novel with no expectation of a review. All opinions are my own.

My Rating: 4 stars

Author: Kern Carter

Genre: Young Adult, Canadian, BIPOC author

Type and Source: Trade Paperback from publisher at Ontario 

Library Association conference 2024

Publisher: Tundra Books

First Published: April 9, 2024

Book Description from GoodReads: A mother's death forces a teen girl to reevaluate their tumultuous relationship in this powerful coming-of-age novel for teens. For fans of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter .

Coi is just eighteen years old, but has already survived years of physical and verbal abuse from her mother. After being kicked out of her mother's house at age fourteen, Coi has lived with her father, and together they've created a peaceful life. That peace ends suddenly when her mother dies.

While Coi struggles to find kindness in her heart for the woman who only hurt her, she starts having lucid dreams, forcing her to relive moments of abuse and emotional trauma that eventually led to Coi's abandonment.

Her mother's passing also reopens the door to her mother's side of the family, including her beloved younger half-sister, Kayla, her stepfather and her grandmother. Each of them challenge Coi's long-held views about her mother, especially Kayla, who, Coi realizes, is taking their mother's loss hard. As she reconnects with her family, Coi learns to see parts of her mother she never experienced, and for the first time since she was abandoned, opens her heart to forgiveness.