It took me a little while to get into this book's stories but once I did I really liked it quite a bit. There are a number of characters and all of them are treated with importance and clarity no matter whether they are a minor or major character. The main focus of the story is on one (maybe two?) families and the relationships inherent in family and friends/coworkers in a small college town. One of the characters is researching rap music and how "crossroads" play a role throughout. And it is the same with this story. All of these characters are at a crossroads and how they deal with that and come out changed (or the same) on the other side of the experience is the main focus. The patriarch of the family, Howard, gets most of the 'space' in the story and I really didn't like him throughout most of the book (though there is hope for him at the end). The story seems to deal a lot with how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us - and the dissonance that can cause. I would have liked to see Kiki better developed as her stories often seemed on the sidelines - but the development of her children (each one so different) kept the plot moving along.