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Deceptive Calm
Against the turbulent backdrop of declared martial law in South Carolina, a stunning light-skinned beauty, Vanessa, lives in a Catholic orphanage for Blacks. After a series of racial traumas, Vanessa obtains the birth certificate of a deceased white baby and uses this document to assume the child's identity. She moves to California and enrolls at UC Berkeley under her newly acquired name.
Vanessa marries into one of California's wealthiest families. Her charmed life abruptly ends eighteen months after the birth of her first child who is diagnosed with sickle cell trait. Discovering that the woman he married is Black, as is his toddler son, Vanessa's ruthless husband plots his revenge but they both survive. The police investigation that follows seems pretty clear-cut until a curious, young detective uncovers some clues to her private life where nothing is as it appears. The aftermath of the discovery brings down a pillar of San Francisco society.
Vanessa marries into one of California's wealthiest families. Her charmed life abruptly ends eighteen months after the birth of her first child who is diagnosed with sickle cell trait. Discovering that the woman he married is Black, as is his toddler son, Vanessa's ruthless husband plots his revenge but they both survive. The police investigation that follows seems pretty clear-cut until a curious, young detective uncovers some clues to her private life where nothing is as it appears. The aftermath of the discovery brings down a pillar of San Francisco society.
296 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 1, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 472 reviews
August 28, 2024
A mix of crude, unemotional storytelling and unnecessary (and not 100% accurate) historical tidbits, I fought for my life getting through this book. Since we're missing any kind of introduction or epilogue, I read the entire book assuming it was based on a true story, especially given the terminology/phrasing used and the wild timelines. While I couldn't stand the writing, I wanted to stick it out for the story alone.
Come to find out, it is complete fiction from the mind of a white Southern woman who, according to her website, "...pitied the treatment of Black people that she witnessed in the 1960s." Given this information, the writing style is guileless and heavily disturbing regarding the lack of emotion behind these fictional characters. We miss the entire idea of character development, simply skipping along to the next attention-grabbing piece of the story instead of providing context and depth. Cringe-worthy sentences like, “she loved his caress since an orphan’s life never contained much touching" are tossed in as a sloppy workaround. The experiences and inner monologue of someone "white-passing" would be absolutely fascinating in this specific timeframe, and instead, we're left with a hollow, passive narrative of a privileged on-looker.
While I do not doubt the experiences or treatment of Black and bi-racial Americans during the Jim Crow Era in the South whatsoever, I do not believe it is the place of the white majority to tell their stories for them. I sincerely look forward to a similar story from someone who has the right to tell it.
Come to find out, it is complete fiction from the mind of a white Southern woman who, according to her website, "...pitied the treatment of Black people that she witnessed in the 1960s." Given this information, the writing style is guileless and heavily disturbing regarding the lack of emotion behind these fictional characters. We miss the entire idea of character development, simply skipping along to the next attention-grabbing piece of the story instead of providing context and depth. Cringe-worthy sentences like, “she loved his caress since an orphan’s life never contained much touching" are tossed in as a sloppy workaround. The experiences and inner monologue of someone "white-passing" would be absolutely fascinating in this specific timeframe, and instead, we're left with a hollow, passive narrative of a privileged on-looker.
While I do not doubt the experiences or treatment of Black and bi-racial Americans during the Jim Crow Era in the South whatsoever, I do not believe it is the place of the white majority to tell their stories for them. I sincerely look forward to a similar story from someone who has the right to tell it.
August 10, 2024
This is probably the worst book I have ever read. Full review will be shared on Onlinebookclub.org
September 18, 2024
Rarely have I had such a visceral reaction to a book as I did with Deceptive Calm by Patricia Skipper. This is a novel that not only failed to deliver but left me deeply unsettled for reasons that go beyond its poor writing. At its core, something about this book just did not sit right with my soul—primarily the fact that a white woman authored a story about the plight of a Black woman passing for white. It felt unnecessary, and at times, the narrative came across as a vehicle for the author to gratuitously use racial slurs under the guise of storytelling.
The plot—if you can call it that—is riddled with holes, inconsistencies, and juvenile writing. The story is incoherent, with random time jumps and jarring transitions that made no sense. It reads more like an unedited brainstorming session rather than a novel. A prime example of this chaos is the bizarre scene in the library where Vanessa, the main character, and her friends are researching the term "illegal immigrant." This inexplicably leads to the sudden, absurd idea to steal a dead white baby’s birth certificate as part of a "high school prank." Who in their right mind steals someone’s identity as a prank? The leaps in logic throughout this book are astounding, and not in a good way.
And then there’s Trisha, the friend who inexplicably takes up several chapters of the book—chapters that serve no purpose to the main storyline. In fact, at one point, I began to wonder if Deceptive Calm was actually supposed to be about Trisha and her career, given how much the author lingered on her job and personal life. Her character’s significance is never made clear, and her presence ends up adding to the overall sense of disjointedness.
The writing style itself is juvenile at best and frustratingly lazy at worst. There’s no continuity or congruency between scenes, and Skipper frequently refers to established characters with unnecessary labels. For example, Vanessa, the main character, is established early on as an orphan, but two sentences later, she’s randomly referred to as “the orphan,” as if we hadn’t just spent the entire book getting to know her. Dr. Hale, who is already identified as a surgeon, is similarly referred to as "the surgeon" in later passages—again, completely unnecessary and jarring. This clumsy writing only serves to further disrupt any sense of immersion.
The structure of the plot is equally disappointing. After dragging the reader through Vanessa’s monotonous career climb and personal life, it’s only about 60% into the book that the actual synopsis starts to take shape. Just as the storyline starts to gain momentum, it falls apart again. Vanessa marries a wealthy, racist man, has a child, and discovers that her baby has sickle cell anemia—this is when Vanessa’s true racial identity as a Black woman is revealed. From here, the book takes a nosedive, attempting to cram as much drama and action into the final chapters as possible.
By the time the story reaches its climax, Vanessa’s husband and father-in-law have concocted a plan to “get rid of” her and her child to avoid the shame of having Black family members. Ten pages from the end, there is still so much unresolved. The husband and father-in-law are arrested, Vanessa’s friend Trisha is mysteriously stabbed with a toxin, Vanessa’s love interest Barry is injured, and they’re all in various states of peril. Despite all this tension, the book abruptly ends with Vanessa and Barry professing their love in his hospital bed—no closure, no resolution, and not even an epilogue to tie up the loose ends.
The inclusion of bizarre, awkward sex scenes throughout the book only adds to the mess. Many felt forced and irrelevant, as if the author just decided to drop them in for shock value or filler. These scenes did nothing to advance the plot and only contributed to the feeling that Skipper was trying too hard to make the story more “edgy” than it needed to be.
All of these issues—the lack of continuity, the forced drama, the gratuitous racial slurs, and the shallow character development—make Deceptive Calm one of the most frustrating and unenjoyable books I have ever read. By the time I reached the end, I was left with nothing but regret that I’d wasted time and money on this book. I’ve seen some shockingly high ratings for this novel, and frankly, I have to wonder if those readers and I experienced the same story.
If you're looking for a well-written, insightful exploration of race, identity, and social issues, I strongly urge you to look elsewhere. Deceptive Calm is a chaotic mess that feels exploitative, with no real purpose or payoff. Save yourself the time and money. Or, if you're feeling adventurous, read it and come find me—maybe we can commiserate together.
The plot—if you can call it that—is riddled with holes, inconsistencies, and juvenile writing. The story is incoherent, with random time jumps and jarring transitions that made no sense. It reads more like an unedited brainstorming session rather than a novel. A prime example of this chaos is the bizarre scene in the library where Vanessa, the main character, and her friends are researching the term "illegal immigrant." This inexplicably leads to the sudden, absurd idea to steal a dead white baby’s birth certificate as part of a "high school prank." Who in their right mind steals someone’s identity as a prank? The leaps in logic throughout this book are astounding, and not in a good way.
And then there’s Trisha, the friend who inexplicably takes up several chapters of the book—chapters that serve no purpose to the main storyline. In fact, at one point, I began to wonder if Deceptive Calm was actually supposed to be about Trisha and her career, given how much the author lingered on her job and personal life. Her character’s significance is never made clear, and her presence ends up adding to the overall sense of disjointedness.
The writing style itself is juvenile at best and frustratingly lazy at worst. There’s no continuity or congruency between scenes, and Skipper frequently refers to established characters with unnecessary labels. For example, Vanessa, the main character, is established early on as an orphan, but two sentences later, she’s randomly referred to as “the orphan,” as if we hadn’t just spent the entire book getting to know her. Dr. Hale, who is already identified as a surgeon, is similarly referred to as "the surgeon" in later passages—again, completely unnecessary and jarring. This clumsy writing only serves to further disrupt any sense of immersion.
The structure of the plot is equally disappointing. After dragging the reader through Vanessa’s monotonous career climb and personal life, it’s only about 60% into the book that the actual synopsis starts to take shape. Just as the storyline starts to gain momentum, it falls apart again. Vanessa marries a wealthy, racist man, has a child, and discovers that her baby has sickle cell anemia—this is when Vanessa’s true racial identity as a Black woman is revealed. From here, the book takes a nosedive, attempting to cram as much drama and action into the final chapters as possible.
By the time the story reaches its climax, Vanessa’s husband and father-in-law have concocted a plan to “get rid of” her and her child to avoid the shame of having Black family members. Ten pages from the end, there is still so much unresolved. The husband and father-in-law are arrested, Vanessa’s friend Trisha is mysteriously stabbed with a toxin, Vanessa’s love interest Barry is injured, and they’re all in various states of peril. Despite all this tension, the book abruptly ends with Vanessa and Barry professing their love in his hospital bed—no closure, no resolution, and not even an epilogue to tie up the loose ends.
The inclusion of bizarre, awkward sex scenes throughout the book only adds to the mess. Many felt forced and irrelevant, as if the author just decided to drop them in for shock value or filler. These scenes did nothing to advance the plot and only contributed to the feeling that Skipper was trying too hard to make the story more “edgy” than it needed to be.
All of these issues—the lack of continuity, the forced drama, the gratuitous racial slurs, and the shallow character development—make Deceptive Calm one of the most frustrating and unenjoyable books I have ever read. By the time I reached the end, I was left with nothing but regret that I’d wasted time and money on this book. I’ve seen some shockingly high ratings for this novel, and frankly, I have to wonder if those readers and I experienced the same story.
If you're looking for a well-written, insightful exploration of race, identity, and social issues, I strongly urge you to look elsewhere. Deceptive Calm is a chaotic mess that feels exploitative, with no real purpose or payoff. Save yourself the time and money. Or, if you're feeling adventurous, read it and come find me—maybe we can commiserate together.
August 14, 2024
There was a significant amount of irrelevant information from the beginning that made the story hard to follow. It wasn't until the last 40% of the book that actually had a story to follow. I feel as though there was much too much detail in the beginning that tailored off towards the end leaving little detail for the most interesting part of the story.
It feels as though the author may have been unsure how to start the story she wanted to tell thus the excessive filler in the beginning. (The excessive history excerpts being one of the fillers that deemed redundant) It also felt like I was reading multiple stories in one which further confused me. It's missing endings to some situations that I wonder what the point of it was.
It feels as though the author may have been unsure how to start the story she wanted to tell thus the excessive filler in the beginning. (The excessive history excerpts being one of the fillers that deemed redundant) It also felt like I was reading multiple stories in one which further confused me. It's missing endings to some situations that I wonder what the point of it was.
February 2, 2025
Buckle up. This is going to be a long one.
Now, before I get started, I want to make a point: the author clearly had a lot of passion for certain parts of this book. Clearly, she had a story she wanted to tell, and to write and publish a book in general is a great achievement. I'm sure a lot of work went into this.
However, passion and hard work are only parts of what make a good book, and they are, surprisingly, SMALL compared to a dedication to editing, learning, self-awareness, and a willingness to improve.
Passion and hard work were not enough, and it feels to me like they are all this book has going for it. The nicest thing I can say about it is that it is clear this was written by a human and not AI.
To call this a one-star read is an insult to other one-star books I have read. In fact, if I could give it negative stars, I would. If I owned this physically, I would not give it away or inflict it upon a thrift shop or used book store, I would burn it.
Call me dramatic, but this entire experience left me awed at how bafflingly bad a book could be. Normally if I come across a self-published book that is very bad I won't rate it or I won't finish it, but there are reasons for all of this hubbub this time around, and some VERY particular things in this book that, to me, warrant a scathing review regardless of its circumstances of publication.
Now, like many other reviewers here I read this for the promise of money from a review site. I was getting endless emails about a "limited time offer" (which went on for months, apparently) to get paid a nice amount of money for reviewing the book. Seeing the book and its ratings, I wasn't too interested.
Then they raised the payment, so I finally bit.
I have not been paid. Technically, there are steps I could go through to get me closer to being paid, but after seeing several people here say that their reviews got rejected and payment was not given because they rated the book negatively (and my initial review for it was rejected for reasons that honestly seemed like extreme nitpicks to me, considering they have sent me emails rife with grammatical errors themselves), I don't want to waste my time jumping through hoops and likely not being paid in the end, regardless.
So here I am. On Goodreads. Ready to tell you all about the single worst book I've ever read.
In detail. With spoilers. No, I'm not marking them. Don't read this book. Don't do it.
Also, I'm going to need to tackle this in categories. So, let's get into:
The Writing:
Let's get the technical problems out of the way first.
There were actual sentences, paragraphs, and transition scenes missing in this book. I wish I was joking, but the amount of times that things would happen out of nowhere, characters would abruptly change topic of conversation with no hint of a segue, and there were literal transition scenes and sentences missing was INSANE. Characters were referenced who never showed up previously, there were long historical and descriptive rambles that added nothing to the story or atmosphere and simply destroyed the pacing, and the characters were kept at such an arm's length from the reader that it was impossible to have any emotional investment in them. In a book marketed as a historical romance.
On a note of the long rambles, there were also completely uncalled-for rambles describing medical things that felt like they were pulled straight out of a wikipedia article...such as a lengthy description on how breastfeeding works, given from a nurse to Vanessa when she gave birth. It was literally an entire page on the ebook. That's about a third to a half of a page in print, which is TOO MUCH DESCRIPTION OF HOW BREASTFEEDING WORKS.
There were also several grammatical and spelling errors that compounded the issue, making everything worse. I'm sure I missed some of them while reading, since I was so distracted by the disjointed prose.
I highly doubt this book was edited by a professional. Honestly, I would be surprised if the author even self-edited it or used beta readers. It reads like a very, VERY rough first draft.
The Plot:
What plot?
Tell me, is the plot here in the room with us?
Is the plot anything more than a jumbled, chopped-up mess of attempted thematic ramblings?
No?
The basic description is that it's about a white-passing black woman living in the south. (Even though she's in California for most of the book.)
But no, it isn't, it's about her white friend working in media.
But no, it isn't, it's about a nun who won't shut up about the civil war.
But no, it isn't, because it's about...marital abuse?
Ahh, maybe it's about the abrupt murder plot that has motivations that fall apart at the barest touch of scrutiny and tie back to the themes of racism that were missing through most of the book and only showed up when it was convenient for the author. (The entire murder plot, by the way, happened in the last forty or so pages, and followed completely random detectives that had never shown up previously in the book.)
What is this book about? The life and times of a woman with all the personality of a plank of wood that has a hole drilled into it.
That description is important. Let's get into...
Characters:
Our leading plank of wood is named Vanessa.
She's beautiful. Everyone lusts after her. She has all the backbone of a jelly fish and all the personality of a limp noodle. The only trait I can confidently say about her is that she's a workaholic (which gets abandoned the second she has a child which, though fair, did remove the only character trait she had outside of crying at the drop of a hat and being as passive as a leaf caught in a river).
She is so passive, in fact, that she managed to make the sex scenes between her and the man she allegedly love COME OFF AS MORE RAPEY THAN ACTUAL SCENES OF SEXUAL ASSAULT THAT I HAVE READ.
But oh, I get ahead of myself.
The love interest is a dude named Barry.
Barry is a trash fire of a human being. He had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. I do not buy his alleged "love" of the main character, and he had all the charm of a rabid dog. I hated him.
Trisha is the white friend. Trisha is annoying and inconsistent. That's all I can say about her.
Sister Roe is a history-obsessed nun that interjected random historical facts into every single conversation, no matter how irrelevant. She had no charm, and was insufferable on every page she was on.
Tod is the trash-bag husband of Vanessa. He sucked too, and yet I only hated him as much as I hated Barry, not more. That's not a great look for comparing the hero and villain of a story, when they are equally awful.
The other characters were all so bland and meaningless that they aren't worth talking about, so let's get into...
The "Romance":
This is the least romantic thing I've ever read, and it all boils down to the utter passivity of Vanessa.
You know how I called her a plank of wood with a hole drilled through? There's a reason for that.
There is not a single scene in this book--either between her and her "true love" Barry or her abusive husband (even pre-abuse)--that doesn't come off as sexual assault.
NOT EVEN ONCE does she initiate or show interest in even kissing either of these men--it's always them suddenly shoving their tongue down her throat and having their way with her. She is never described as kissing them back, and during the extremely unpleasant sex scenes she is never shown to do anything more than lying there and taking it, regardless of who her partner is. (The only times when she is described as doing something is when she's coerced into giving her "true love" a guided hand job and the second when her abusive husband forces her to give him a BJ).
A lot of this is due to the distance the narrative has with her in particular. The scenes are extremely clinical and distant, with no sense of emotion. Even in the scene where she LOSES HER VIRGINITY, we don't know what she feels about it. (A scene where her "true love" boyfriend literally coerces her into sex after she says no, saying, AND I QUOTE: "If you really love me, you'll do this for me.") The only thing we know that she feels about it is that she was a bit uncomfortable and cried the entire time, but since she cries every other page her tears really didn't mean much aside from making the scene come off as even more rapey.
Forgive my crass language, but this really is the worst side of this book, and it's important to get across just how bad it is, especially as it is a big part of why I feel the need to be so harsh on it.
The real kick in the teeth is that the book desperately wants to audience to believe that Barry--manipulative, CHEATING, Barry--and plank-of-wood Vanessa are madly in love with one another and destined to be together. We're supposed to cheer for these two.
The story literally ends with Vanessa sweeping into his hospital room after he got stabbed while trying to help her with a problem (long, convoluted, stupid plot there), and she cries (what a shock) while confessing her undying love for him.
...all the while, her best friend (white girl Trisha) is also hospitalized, fighting for her life after she was poisoned by a doctor who was trying to kill Barry, and she sacrificed herself to save him. Trisha, who literally has been the only loyal friend she's had her entire life.
We don't find out what happens to Trisha. Last thing we see of her, she's getting poisoned. Maybe she lives, maybe not. Who knows?
(On a side note, when I described this ending plotline to my husband, he said it sounded like a bad soap opera. I agree.)
And, since it's so pertinent to the characters, let's talk about...
Inconsistency:
There was not a single character who was consistent throughout their entire storyline. Either the narrative told us they were one thing while they acted the opposite, or they actually broke previous characterization.
Sister Roe was supposed to be a mother to Vanessa, yet wasn't even remotely upset at Barry when he cheated on her. (Barry's father, by the way, also seemed uncharacteristically aloof about the whole issue. Nobody who should have been upset was upset aside from Vanessa.)
While some of Tod's broken character was explained away, none of it explains why he went from fairly chill to MURDEROUSLY RACIST without even a sign of his racism brought up earlier. I feel like if someone's willing to kill his own wife for being black, at least a comment or something would have been brought up over the years of them knowing one another. It was completely out of the blue.
The worst for it, however, was Vanessa.
One moment she's the meekest, most spineless person on earth, the next we're supposed to believe she's a hardcore feminist standing up to the Man and being the Best Reporter Ever.
One moment she's sleeping with her fiance, the next she's an inexperienced virgin on their wedding night.
One moment she's pregnant out of wedlock and immediately has an abortion without a second thought (in the 60's, no less), the next she's a devout Catholic who can't abide the idea of divorcing her abusive husband and is demanding to be married in a Catholic church.
One moment she's so traumatized by the abortion that she can't stand the idea of having sex because she fears pregnancy, the next she's totally fine with having kids and giving up her career for motherhood.
None of these things go together. She wasn't a character, she was a McGuffin to get across whatever point the author was trying to make.
And on the final, most important point, let's address...
Themes:
This is a "theme" book. By which, I mean it is a book that wants to tackle heavy subjects.
This also commits the cardinal sin of "theme" books: trying to tackle too much, and failing to do any of the issues justice.
It wants to tackle racism, and abusive relationships, and abortion (in the most disgusting, pointless, awful scene in the book that was over-graphic, excessive, and felt exploitative, by the way. It felt like it was there for shock value and nothing else. It made me viscerally angry, and I ended up skimming it to get it over with). It wants to tackle being an orphan, being a white-passing black woman, navigating a male-dominated career as a woman, grief...etc;...etc;...the list goes on.
This is too much, and all of them were tackled with the delicacy of a child wielding a hammer.
There was no focus. There was no consistency. In the attempt to cover every Big Issue possible, none of them were given the depth or attention required, leaving the entire thematic narrative a jumbled, broken mess.
Overall:
Don't read this. Don't waste your time. This is the worst book I've ever read.
Review and rating to come.
It's...gonna be an interesting one...
Now, before I get started, I want to make a point: the author clearly had a lot of passion for certain parts of this book. Clearly, she had a story she wanted to tell, and to write and publish a book in general is a great achievement. I'm sure a lot of work went into this.
However, passion and hard work are only parts of what make a good book, and they are, surprisingly, SMALL compared to a dedication to editing, learning, self-awareness, and a willingness to improve.
Passion and hard work were not enough, and it feels to me like they are all this book has going for it. The nicest thing I can say about it is that it is clear this was written by a human and not AI.
To call this a one-star read is an insult to other one-star books I have read. In fact, if I could give it negative stars, I would. If I owned this physically, I would not give it away or inflict it upon a thrift shop or used book store, I would burn it.
Call me dramatic, but this entire experience left me awed at how bafflingly bad a book could be. Normally if I come across a self-published book that is very bad I won't rate it or I won't finish it, but there are reasons for all of this hubbub this time around, and some VERY particular things in this book that, to me, warrant a scathing review regardless of its circumstances of publication.
Now, like many other reviewers here I read this for the promise of money from a review site. I was getting endless emails about a "limited time offer" (which went on for months, apparently) to get paid a nice amount of money for reviewing the book. Seeing the book and its ratings, I wasn't too interested.
Then they raised the payment, so I finally bit.
I have not been paid. Technically, there are steps I could go through to get me closer to being paid, but after seeing several people here say that their reviews got rejected and payment was not given because they rated the book negatively (and my initial review for it was rejected for reasons that honestly seemed like extreme nitpicks to me, considering they have sent me emails rife with grammatical errors themselves), I don't want to waste my time jumping through hoops and likely not being paid in the end, regardless.
So here I am. On Goodreads. Ready to tell you all about the single worst book I've ever read.
In detail. With spoilers. No, I'm not marking them. Don't read this book. Don't do it.
Also, I'm going to need to tackle this in categories. So, let's get into:
The Writing:
Let's get the technical problems out of the way first.
There were actual sentences, paragraphs, and transition scenes missing in this book. I wish I was joking, but the amount of times that things would happen out of nowhere, characters would abruptly change topic of conversation with no hint of a segue, and there were literal transition scenes and sentences missing was INSANE. Characters were referenced who never showed up previously, there were long historical and descriptive rambles that added nothing to the story or atmosphere and simply destroyed the pacing, and the characters were kept at such an arm's length from the reader that it was impossible to have any emotional investment in them. In a book marketed as a historical romance.
On a note of the long rambles, there were also completely uncalled-for rambles describing medical things that felt like they were pulled straight out of a wikipedia article...such as a lengthy description on how breastfeeding works, given from a nurse to Vanessa when she gave birth. It was literally an entire page on the ebook. That's about a third to a half of a page in print, which is TOO MUCH DESCRIPTION OF HOW BREASTFEEDING WORKS.
There were also several grammatical and spelling errors that compounded the issue, making everything worse. I'm sure I missed some of them while reading, since I was so distracted by the disjointed prose.
I highly doubt this book was edited by a professional. Honestly, I would be surprised if the author even self-edited it or used beta readers. It reads like a very, VERY rough first draft.
The Plot:
What plot?
Tell me, is the plot here in the room with us?
Is the plot anything more than a jumbled, chopped-up mess of attempted thematic ramblings?
No?
The basic description is that it's about a white-passing black woman living in the south. (Even though she's in California for most of the book.)
But no, it isn't, it's about her white friend working in media.
But no, it isn't, it's about a nun who won't shut up about the civil war.
But no, it isn't, because it's about...marital abuse?
Ahh, maybe it's about the abrupt murder plot that has motivations that fall apart at the barest touch of scrutiny and tie back to the themes of racism that were missing through most of the book and only showed up when it was convenient for the author. (The entire murder plot, by the way, happened in the last forty or so pages, and followed completely random detectives that had never shown up previously in the book.)
What is this book about? The life and times of a woman with all the personality of a plank of wood that has a hole drilled into it.
That description is important. Let's get into...
Characters:
Our leading plank of wood is named Vanessa.
She's beautiful. Everyone lusts after her. She has all the backbone of a jelly fish and all the personality of a limp noodle. The only trait I can confidently say about her is that she's a workaholic (which gets abandoned the second she has a child which, though fair, did remove the only character trait she had outside of crying at the drop of a hat and being as passive as a leaf caught in a river).
She is so passive, in fact, that she managed to make the sex scenes between her and the man she allegedly love COME OFF AS MORE RAPEY THAN ACTUAL SCENES OF SEXUAL ASSAULT THAT I HAVE READ.
But oh, I get ahead of myself.
The love interest is a dude named Barry.
Barry is a trash fire of a human being. He had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. I do not buy his alleged "love" of the main character, and he had all the charm of a rabid dog. I hated him.
Trisha is the white friend. Trisha is annoying and inconsistent. That's all I can say about her.
Sister Roe is a history-obsessed nun that interjected random historical facts into every single conversation, no matter how irrelevant. She had no charm, and was insufferable on every page she was on.
Tod is the trash-bag husband of Vanessa. He sucked too, and yet I only hated him as much as I hated Barry, not more. That's not a great look for comparing the hero and villain of a story, when they are equally awful.
The other characters were all so bland and meaningless that they aren't worth talking about, so let's get into...
The "Romance":
This is the least romantic thing I've ever read, and it all boils down to the utter passivity of Vanessa.
You know how I called her a plank of wood with a hole drilled through? There's a reason for that.
There is not a single scene in this book--either between her and her "true love" Barry or her abusive husband (even pre-abuse)--that doesn't come off as sexual assault.
NOT EVEN ONCE does she initiate or show interest in even kissing either of these men--it's always them suddenly shoving their tongue down her throat and having their way with her. She is never described as kissing them back, and during the extremely unpleasant sex scenes she is never shown to do anything more than lying there and taking it, regardless of who her partner is. (The only times when she is described as doing something is when she's coerced into giving her "true love" a guided hand job and the second when her abusive husband forces her to give him a BJ).
A lot of this is due to the distance the narrative has with her in particular. The scenes are extremely clinical and distant, with no sense of emotion. Even in the scene where she LOSES HER VIRGINITY, we don't know what she feels about it. (A scene where her "true love" boyfriend literally coerces her into sex after she says no, saying, AND I QUOTE: "If you really love me, you'll do this for me.") The only thing we know that she feels about it is that she was a bit uncomfortable and cried the entire time, but since she cries every other page her tears really didn't mean much aside from making the scene come off as even more rapey.
Forgive my crass language, but this really is the worst side of this book, and it's important to get across just how bad it is, especially as it is a big part of why I feel the need to be so harsh on it.
The real kick in the teeth is that the book desperately wants to audience to believe that Barry--manipulative, CHEATING, Barry--and plank-of-wood Vanessa are madly in love with one another and destined to be together. We're supposed to cheer for these two.
The story literally ends with Vanessa sweeping into his hospital room after he got stabbed while trying to help her with a problem (long, convoluted, stupid plot there), and she cries (what a shock) while confessing her undying love for him.
...all the while, her best friend (white girl Trisha) is also hospitalized, fighting for her life after she was poisoned by a doctor who was trying to kill Barry, and she sacrificed herself to save him. Trisha, who literally has been the only loyal friend she's had her entire life.
We don't find out what happens to Trisha. Last thing we see of her, she's getting poisoned. Maybe she lives, maybe not. Who knows?
(On a side note, when I described this ending plotline to my husband, he said it sounded like a bad soap opera. I agree.)
And, since it's so pertinent to the characters, let's talk about...
Inconsistency:
There was not a single character who was consistent throughout their entire storyline. Either the narrative told us they were one thing while they acted the opposite, or they actually broke previous characterization.
Sister Roe was supposed to be a mother to Vanessa, yet wasn't even remotely upset at Barry when he cheated on her. (Barry's father, by the way, also seemed uncharacteristically aloof about the whole issue. Nobody who should have been upset was upset aside from Vanessa.)
While some of Tod's broken character was explained away, none of it explains why he went from fairly chill to MURDEROUSLY RACIST without even a sign of his racism brought up earlier. I feel like if someone's willing to kill his own wife for being black, at least a comment or something would have been brought up over the years of them knowing one another. It was completely out of the blue.
The worst for it, however, was Vanessa.
One moment she's the meekest, most spineless person on earth, the next we're supposed to believe she's a hardcore feminist standing up to the Man and being the Best Reporter Ever.
One moment she's sleeping with her fiance, the next she's an inexperienced virgin on their wedding night.
One moment she's pregnant out of wedlock and immediately has an abortion without a second thought (in the 60's, no less), the next she's a devout Catholic who can't abide the idea of divorcing her abusive husband and is demanding to be married in a Catholic church.
One moment she's so traumatized by the abortion that she can't stand the idea of having sex because she fears pregnancy, the next she's totally fine with having kids and giving up her career for motherhood.
None of these things go together. She wasn't a character, she was a McGuffin to get across whatever point the author was trying to make.
And on the final, most important point, let's address...
Themes:
This is a "theme" book. By which, I mean it is a book that wants to tackle heavy subjects.
This also commits the cardinal sin of "theme" books: trying to tackle too much, and failing to do any of the issues justice.
It wants to tackle racism, and abusive relationships, and abortion (in the most disgusting, pointless, awful scene in the book that was over-graphic, excessive, and felt exploitative, by the way. It felt like it was there for shock value and nothing else. It made me viscerally angry, and I ended up skimming it to get it over with). It wants to tackle being an orphan, being a white-passing black woman, navigating a male-dominated career as a woman, grief...etc;...etc;...the list goes on.
This is too much, and all of them were tackled with the delicacy of a child wielding a hammer.
There was no focus. There was no consistency. In the attempt to cover every Big Issue possible, none of them were given the depth or attention required, leaving the entire thematic narrative a jumbled, broken mess.
Overall:
Don't read this. Don't waste your time. This is the worst book I've ever read.
Review and rating to come.
It's...gonna be an interesting one...
December 18, 2023
I could not finish this book unfortunately. Very poorly written, no cohesive storyline, juvenile punctuation. It’s a shame because the actual content had a lot of potential which is what kept me reading longer than I should have.
October 8, 2024
This is quite possibly the worst book I have ever read. I only read this book as I was going to be compensated for my review, however, after leaving my honest review I did not receive compensation and am no longer able to access my account and was told there were errors in my review on the review website. Not only that, they list the compensation as a "bonus" and state your review is a "volunteer" non-paid review. Horrendous book, regret reading.
At the beginning of this story, there was a lot of unnecessary dialogue and information that made it hard to follow and a bit annoying to read. This book seems to have no main storyline for the first half of the book, with it picking up some semblance of cohesion after the halfway mark, then completely fumbling for the last chapters of the book. The writing style of this entire story is extremely juvenile; the beginning is choppy with several short sentences, bouncing between too much dialogue and between several characters. It is confusing to follow.
The book did become more cohesive and not as difficult to read after the halfway point, however, the storyline still made no sense and seemed rushed. In a matter of pages, the story did a complete 180 on the writing structure and suddenly the characters were in a completely different part of their lives. This skipped over any real character development in the story and made it impossible to bond with the characters and empathize with them at their low points in the story. It felt as if the author did not know where they were going for the first 150 pages and only just started figuring it out mid-writing. Vanessa is the alleged main character in this story, but many parts focus on her best friend, Trisha, which makes the story even more confusing as they are completely uneventful and add nothing of substance.
The last 10% of this book was utterly ridiculous. It was not only rushed but also sloppy, unrealistic, and extremely disappointing. The author haphazardly decided to have a "feel good" ending with the unsavory characters getting what they deserve but had no build-up to their negative endings. This book has graphic descriptions of sexual encounters that can be uncomfortable as well as unnecessary. The men in this book involved with the main character are very coercive.
This story felt as if it was not appropriate being written and told by a white woman, there were uses of racial slurs, and depictions of racism and hate crimes seemed not only unrealistic but written in an ignorant manner. There are depictions of sexual assault in this book.
At the beginning of this story, there was a lot of unnecessary dialogue and information that made it hard to follow and a bit annoying to read. This book seems to have no main storyline for the first half of the book, with it picking up some semblance of cohesion after the halfway mark, then completely fumbling for the last chapters of the book. The writing style of this entire story is extremely juvenile; the beginning is choppy with several short sentences, bouncing between too much dialogue and between several characters. It is confusing to follow.
The book did become more cohesive and not as difficult to read after the halfway point, however, the storyline still made no sense and seemed rushed. In a matter of pages, the story did a complete 180 on the writing structure and suddenly the characters were in a completely different part of their lives. This skipped over any real character development in the story and made it impossible to bond with the characters and empathize with them at their low points in the story. It felt as if the author did not know where they were going for the first 150 pages and only just started figuring it out mid-writing. Vanessa is the alleged main character in this story, but many parts focus on her best friend, Trisha, which makes the story even more confusing as they are completely uneventful and add nothing of substance.
The last 10% of this book was utterly ridiculous. It was not only rushed but also sloppy, unrealistic, and extremely disappointing. The author haphazardly decided to have a "feel good" ending with the unsavory characters getting what they deserve but had no build-up to their negative endings. This book has graphic descriptions of sexual encounters that can be uncomfortable as well as unnecessary. The men in this book involved with the main character are very coercive.
This story felt as if it was not appropriate being written and told by a white woman, there were uses of racial slurs, and depictions of racism and hate crimes seemed not only unrealistic but written in an ignorant manner. There are depictions of sexual assault in this book.
December 9, 2024
I do not like writing bad reviews for books. I feel it is harmful to an author and isn’t beneficial when I love books so much I just want to find anything positive to focus on…. Except when there is not anything positive to focus on.
This book was a dumpster fire of epic proportions. First off what business does a white woman have writing an “historical” account of a Black woman pretending to be white in South Carolina in the 60s. Maybe this could have been looked past if the writing was not so unfortunate. The characters were poorly written, the story was not engaging but disjointed and all over the place. The story doesn’t even really start until almost half way through the book. That’s alot of pages to read about nothing.
It’s really unfortunate that I can’t think of anything I enjoyed about the story except turning the last page and being finished.
I read this book as I came across it on the online book club site and was offered compensation to read and review. This book was purchased by myself with the expectation that once read and reviewed would receive the financial compensation. I have been hearing that other reviewers are getting scammed on this and due to expressing a negative review they are then not financially compensated and then accounts are blocked and reviews are deleted. This seems very sketchy to me and I’m hoping this isn’t the experience for me. We shall see.
This book was a dumpster fire of epic proportions. First off what business does a white woman have writing an “historical” account of a Black woman pretending to be white in South Carolina in the 60s. Maybe this could have been looked past if the writing was not so unfortunate. The characters were poorly written, the story was not engaging but disjointed and all over the place. The story doesn’t even really start until almost half way through the book. That’s alot of pages to read about nothing.
It’s really unfortunate that I can’t think of anything I enjoyed about the story except turning the last page and being finished.
I read this book as I came across it on the online book club site and was offered compensation to read and review. This book was purchased by myself with the expectation that once read and reviewed would receive the financial compensation. I have been hearing that other reviewers are getting scammed on this and due to expressing a negative review they are then not financially compensated and then accounts are blocked and reviews are deleted. This seems very sketchy to me and I’m hoping this isn’t the experience for me. We shall see.
March 4, 2025
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
July 4, 2025
"Deceptive Calm" by Patricia Skipper is one of the worst books I've ever read. I only finished it because I hate not finishing a book I have started. That is the only reason I subjected myself and my time to this rambling excuse of a novel.
The main characters, Trisha and Vanessa, are best friends in 1960s South Carolina. Throughout this book, the reader is often reminded that Vanessa is beautiful, but beyond being black, although she can pass for white, we don't know what she looks like. Vanessa is quiet and reserved, was raised in an orphanage, and is therefore quite insecure. Trisha is the exact opposite, not only in personality but because she is white. The author doesn't describe her physical features either; we are not even told until later in the book that Trisha is white. We are only informed at the beginning that she has blonde hair, which is not definitive. Vanessa's first boyfriend, Barry, who is a narcissist in the making, is supposed to be devastatingly handsome, but again, beyond his being black, we have no idea what he looks like. No features of her or anyone else in this story are described at all. It's almost as if someone's race and whether or not they are beautiful is the only way the author can describe a character to the reader.
This story follows Trisha and Vanessa through their relationship as they navigate life. They stay friends despite being different races, moving to different cities, having different jobs, and different relationships. These women never grew apart through 20-plus years of life and are a testament to a true friendship. Further on, Vanessa ends up getting married to a textbook narcissist (white and also devastatingly handsome), from whom she gets Trisha's help in escaping.
However, this book is so hard to follow through their lives because of how it is written. The reader is subjected, over and over again, to scenarios that do not make sense, and some things that happen have no point at all. For example, instead of describing a mood or a reaction, we're told the character "feels concerned," just like how we are told over and over again that these characters are devastatingly beautiful or handsome. Some situations and conversations are not appropriately outlined or have no context, so the reader gets confused about what is happening or who is talking to whom. When Barry visits Vanessa at the orphanage, we are told that he didn't ring a bell, which wasn't the doorbell, but we are not told what bell it was or why he should've rung it. The reader is left just as confused as Barry. Vanessa and Trisha decide to lead a revolt one summer alongside Mexican farm workers, which leads to absolutely nothing to further the story. Vanessa gets an abortion with Trisha by her side for support, but Trisha tells the cops that they were blindfolded, so they couldn't describe the "fat guy that did it." Then, for some reason, never fully explained beyond a "prank", Vanessa decides to commit a felony and use a dead baby's identity to get a fake birth certificate as a white person. This also goes nowhere because everyone still finds out that she is black. So what was the point? And the way the standout character in the book, Sister Rosalie, is written makes her a parody of herself. I was born and raised in the South, and I have never met a black woman who talks or behaves like Sister Rosalie. This is a character that is obviously contrived by someone who thinks they are in touch with Southern African Americans. Sister Rosalie is also a history buff, but she is so much so that she almost exclusively speaks in history lessons. I also love history, but I do not bring up random battles or obscure historical people with no reason or context, much less hit people with a history pop quiz when they have just awoken from brain surgery, as she does in this book. This and other characters' regurgitated medical knowledge and biological terminology make scenes read like they were pulled out of the author's notes rather than being part of fluid, organic conversations.
The writing did get a little better as the book went on, which made me think the writer should've written a couple more drafts of this book before submitting it for publication. There are graphic sexual scenes and profanity throughout the story's middle to the end, so this book is suited for adults. But ultimately, I wondered if I had read the same book everyone else had. Why was this book rated so highly? I was so excited to read this story when I read its summary. A black woman raised in the South in the 1960s among civil riots, class divisions, abortion, racism, and all other culture-defining topics. But it seemed like the author was trying specifically to hit all of these hot-button issues with no idea how to tie them all together. There's no flow to the story; things just.... happen. There is one plus: I could not find any grammatical or punctuation mistakes in this book. It was the writing itself that killed this story. Because of these reasons, which I hope I have illuminated, I give this book a 1 out of 4 rating. This could've been a great book. It just needed a better writer.
The main characters, Trisha and Vanessa, are best friends in 1960s South Carolina. Throughout this book, the reader is often reminded that Vanessa is beautiful, but beyond being black, although she can pass for white, we don't know what she looks like. Vanessa is quiet and reserved, was raised in an orphanage, and is therefore quite insecure. Trisha is the exact opposite, not only in personality but because she is white. The author doesn't describe her physical features either; we are not even told until later in the book that Trisha is white. We are only informed at the beginning that she has blonde hair, which is not definitive. Vanessa's first boyfriend, Barry, who is a narcissist in the making, is supposed to be devastatingly handsome, but again, beyond his being black, we have no idea what he looks like. No features of her or anyone else in this story are described at all. It's almost as if someone's race and whether or not they are beautiful is the only way the author can describe a character to the reader.
This story follows Trisha and Vanessa through their relationship as they navigate life. They stay friends despite being different races, moving to different cities, having different jobs, and different relationships. These women never grew apart through 20-plus years of life and are a testament to a true friendship. Further on, Vanessa ends up getting married to a textbook narcissist (white and also devastatingly handsome), from whom she gets Trisha's help in escaping.
However, this book is so hard to follow through their lives because of how it is written. The reader is subjected, over and over again, to scenarios that do not make sense, and some things that happen have no point at all. For example, instead of describing a mood or a reaction, we're told the character "feels concerned," just like how we are told over and over again that these characters are devastatingly beautiful or handsome. Some situations and conversations are not appropriately outlined or have no context, so the reader gets confused about what is happening or who is talking to whom. When Barry visits Vanessa at the orphanage, we are told that he didn't ring a bell, which wasn't the doorbell, but we are not told what bell it was or why he should've rung it. The reader is left just as confused as Barry. Vanessa and Trisha decide to lead a revolt one summer alongside Mexican farm workers, which leads to absolutely nothing to further the story. Vanessa gets an abortion with Trisha by her side for support, but Trisha tells the cops that they were blindfolded, so they couldn't describe the "fat guy that did it." Then, for some reason, never fully explained beyond a "prank", Vanessa decides to commit a felony and use a dead baby's identity to get a fake birth certificate as a white person. This also goes nowhere because everyone still finds out that she is black. So what was the point? And the way the standout character in the book, Sister Rosalie, is written makes her a parody of herself. I was born and raised in the South, and I have never met a black woman who talks or behaves like Sister Rosalie. This is a character that is obviously contrived by someone who thinks they are in touch with Southern African Americans. Sister Rosalie is also a history buff, but she is so much so that she almost exclusively speaks in history lessons. I also love history, but I do not bring up random battles or obscure historical people with no reason or context, much less hit people with a history pop quiz when they have just awoken from brain surgery, as she does in this book. This and other characters' regurgitated medical knowledge and biological terminology make scenes read like they were pulled out of the author's notes rather than being part of fluid, organic conversations.
The writing did get a little better as the book went on, which made me think the writer should've written a couple more drafts of this book before submitting it for publication. There are graphic sexual scenes and profanity throughout the story's middle to the end, so this book is suited for adults. But ultimately, I wondered if I had read the same book everyone else had. Why was this book rated so highly? I was so excited to read this story when I read its summary. A black woman raised in the South in the 1960s among civil riots, class divisions, abortion, racism, and all other culture-defining topics. But it seemed like the author was trying specifically to hit all of these hot-button issues with no idea how to tie them all together. There's no flow to the story; things just.... happen. There is one plus: I could not find any grammatical or punctuation mistakes in this book. It was the writing itself that killed this story. Because of these reasons, which I hope I have illuminated, I give this book a 1 out of 4 rating. This could've been a great book. It just needed a better writer.
March 16, 2025
Before reading: I was commissioned by Online Book Club to review this book but had to buy it myself. Many reviewers were banned for negative reviews, harassed via email, and never received the promised payment. I only learned this too late, so I won’t bother submitting mine. Despite really needing that $50 due to my shoulder fracture and inability to work for 3 months, I refuse to bootlick this disaster. (P.S. The positive reviews are likely fake, and all 1-2 star reviews are now inaccessible from the site.)
A Disastrous, Confused, and Ethically Troubled Novel
Upon finishing Deceptive Calm, I felt compelled to leave a negative review. A bit of background research revealed that the author, an elderly white woman, claimed she wrote this book because she "pitied the treatment of Black people that she witnessed in the 1960s." This alone raises ethical concerns — it simply wasn’t her place to tell this story. But set aside the issue of authorship: the writing itself is an absolute disaster.
A Promising Start That Quickly Falls Apart
The novel had potential. It did. It opens with a powerful scene: a school bus carrying Black children is violently attacked by the KKK, and a white girl named Trisha is struck in the head with a brick. This brutal introduction immediately establishes the novel’s core themes of racism, violence, and oppression. Trisha is rushed to an African American-owned hospital, where she requires a blood transfusion. In response to a student’s inquiry, Dr. Hale explains, “Blood is typed and has nothing to do with race.” This serves as a compelling metaphor, emphasizing that beneath skin color, the same blood flows through all of us. At this point, the novel appears to be setting the stage for an in-depth exploration of the racial discrimination faced by African Americans in the late 20th century. I found myself anticipating how the young, aspiring protagonists would develop and eventually contribute to the fight for racial equality.
I particularly appreciated the novel’s effort to depict racial discrimination as a complex, multifaceted issue — not solely one-sided. It highlights how African Americans, too, sometimes judge who belongs in their community based on skin color. Vanessa, a white-passing orphan abandoned at a Black Catholic orphanage, faces repeated rejection for adoption because her skin is “too light.” Even her love interest, Barry, has parents (Dr. and Mrs. Hale) who secretly look down on her for “not being dark enough.” Vanessa aspires to become a journalist, and I imagined that the novel might provide a unique perspective on a Caucasian-looking African American using her influence to combat racial injustice.
A Midway Shift to a Different (and Worse) Story
The story establishes its themes and conflicts early on but does not gain momentum until much later in the book (which I didn’t mind). Sister Rosalie, the Black nun who raises Vanessa at the Catholic orphanage, stands out as a particularly compelling character — fiery, intelligent, and deeply passionate about American history. She frequently lectures others on “her own distorted version of” historical events. While this aspect is widely criticized for being boring and long-winded, I found it to be a brilliant way to weave in historical context while masking any inaccuracies, allowing the author to reshape history to suit her narrative. I assumed these extensive historical tidbits would later contribute to the story’s development — they didn’t.
A series of melodramatic events lead Vanessa to change her identity and leave Charleston for a fresh start. The protagonists’ actions have faced heavy criticism (more on that later), but I wasn’t too bothered — speaking as someone in her early 20s, this is just your typical stupid 20-year-olds doing stupid things. I can certainly see some peers doing some shit like this.
Understandably, racism largely fades from the narrative after Vanessa begins her new life passing as white. She and Trisha, still in Charleston, keep in touch as they struggle to navigate the male-dominated TV industry. The focus shifts to workplace sexism, addressing gender bias and wage gaps. By this point, the author is juggling a lot, but given how well she handled racial violence earlier, I trusted her ability to pull it off. With Vanessa as the best-rated primetime TV host in San Francisco and Trisha as the first female manager in her field, they have immense potential as voices for change. I assumed this is where the story is headed.
The story had finally gained momentum by now, and it was a downhill avalanche.
Unbelievable Plot Twists and Contradictions
Vanessa falls in love with Tod Von Westerkamp, a charming, charismatic bachelor and the sole heir of San Francisco’s most affluent old-money family, only to find herself trapped in an abusive marriage. At that point, I thought the novel was evolving beyond historical fiction into a coming-of-age story — one where Vanessa, through love, loss, betrayal, and heartbreak, perseveres and ultimately emerges as a powerful advocate for justice and equality, much like Dr. Maya Angelou.
However, as I read on, the pacing becomes rushed and erratic, with abrupt, illogical developments seemingly thrown in at the last minute for cheap dramatic effect.
1. Religious Hypocrisy & Convenient Morality
Vanessa, raised by a devout Catholic nun, is portrayed as deeply religious. Yet, she determinedly underwent an abortion in her early 20s without hesitation — but later refused to divorce her abusive husband because of her faith? The author vividly depicts Vanessa’s sexual encounters with Tod (and Barry), ALL of which feel coerced, and range from borderline rape to outright sexual abuse. Given this, her refusal to leave Tod due to religious beliefs feels painfully contradictory.
2. The Absurd Racial Reveal
Vanessa’s son’s sickle-cell anemia is what outs her as Black to the Von Westerkamps — but the medical explanation is both flawed and absurd. The doctor explains that “Two genes for sickle hemoglobin must be inherited from BOTH parents to develop the disease.” Yet, in the IMMEDIATE next sentence, he bizarrely claims, “It has proven to be a recessive gene, so Tod’s gene must be very, very recessive.”
Even more ridiculous is, in the novel's own words, "San Francisco Bay Area’s five million population" believes Vanessa was white. But SOMEHOW, the doctors and the Von Westerkamps, as if by reflex, INSTANTLY concluded that she must be Black — while Tod is simply a Caucasian with extremely recessive genes. By that logic, couldn’t Vanessa’s gene also be recessive?
A few pages later, Vanessa's toddler son was described as having "dark olive skin and tight black curls," despite both parents supposedly being smooth-haired Caucasians. Seriously? It took a sickle-cell aneamia diagnosis for ANYONE to question the child’s racial identity? Now, Tod is being extra generous here. If I were in his shoes, I’d at least question Vanessa’s fidelity.
3. The Cheap, Last Minute Rescue and Ending
When the Von Westerkamps plot to murder Vanessa and her son to erase their “tainted” bloodline, they are miraculously saved by a previously unmentioned ghetto community. Meanwhile, the police traces Vanessa’s history back to Charleston and uncover her Black orphanage origins—something Tod’s private investigators, hired by the sole heir of the most affluent family in San Francisco to vet his fiancée before marriage, somehow missed.
The police enlist the help of Barry (now a medical doctor), who sneaks into the hospital, obtains evidence of the child’s diagnosis, and gets injured in the process. Then, in the LITERAL LAST TWO PAGES, Vanessa and Barry reunite at his hospital bed, kiss, profess their love, and promise to spend the rest of their lives together — the end.
No epilogue. No resolution for the Von Westerkamps’ attempted murder. No mention of whether Vanessa will return to journalism now that her racial identity has been exposed on national television due to the murder case coverage. And Barry — the man who ditched her without a fight because his family disapproved, coerced her into sex (leading to pregnancy and a near-fatal illegal abortion), cheated on her during their long-distance relationship, married his affair partner, and had kids — still has the audacity to call Vanessa the love of his life (without apology, repent, or even mentioning the issue)? None of them addressed.
Final Words
This review is longer than the essay I wrote for my high school national exam. The unnatural dialogue, occasional grammar and spelling errors were minor compared to the train wreck that is this book.
Where is the character growth? Where is the justice? The book just ends on a bafflingly cheap, romance-driven conclusion. With this, one might question: what was the point of the KKK terrorism, workplace discrimination, historical background, and the painstaking buildup of Vanessa and Trisha's careers? In the end, it was all for nothing.
Reddit stories are better written than this mess. At least most redditors wouldn’t need 300 pages to say: "My high school sweetheart dumped me because his family thought I was too white, and he lacked the spine to fight for me. Pregnant and alone, I got an abortion, nearly died, changed my name, and started over passing as white. I married San Francisco’s most eligible bachelor — who turned out to be a sexually abusive scumbag. My IUD failed, he discovered I was Black, and tried to murder our son and me to 'purify' his bloodline. I survived. My high school ex helped the police, got injured for me, and we instantly reconciled despite not having spoken to each other for almost two decades, vowing to spend the rest of our lives together."
P.S. If you share the same opinion, you are more than welcome to contact me and bond over this
A Disastrous, Confused, and Ethically Troubled Novel
Upon finishing Deceptive Calm, I felt compelled to leave a negative review. A bit of background research revealed that the author, an elderly white woman, claimed she wrote this book because she "pitied the treatment of Black people that she witnessed in the 1960s." This alone raises ethical concerns — it simply wasn’t her place to tell this story. But set aside the issue of authorship: the writing itself is an absolute disaster.
A Promising Start That Quickly Falls Apart
The novel had potential. It did. It opens with a powerful scene: a school bus carrying Black children is violently attacked by the KKK, and a white girl named Trisha is struck in the head with a brick. This brutal introduction immediately establishes the novel’s core themes of racism, violence, and oppression. Trisha is rushed to an African American-owned hospital, where she requires a blood transfusion. In response to a student’s inquiry, Dr. Hale explains, “Blood is typed and has nothing to do with race.” This serves as a compelling metaphor, emphasizing that beneath skin color, the same blood flows through all of us. At this point, the novel appears to be setting the stage for an in-depth exploration of the racial discrimination faced by African Americans in the late 20th century. I found myself anticipating how the young, aspiring protagonists would develop and eventually contribute to the fight for racial equality.
I particularly appreciated the novel’s effort to depict racial discrimination as a complex, multifaceted issue — not solely one-sided. It highlights how African Americans, too, sometimes judge who belongs in their community based on skin color. Vanessa, a white-passing orphan abandoned at a Black Catholic orphanage, faces repeated rejection for adoption because her skin is “too light.” Even her love interest, Barry, has parents (Dr. and Mrs. Hale) who secretly look down on her for “not being dark enough.” Vanessa aspires to become a journalist, and I imagined that the novel might provide a unique perspective on a Caucasian-looking African American using her influence to combat racial injustice.
A Midway Shift to a Different (and Worse) Story
The story establishes its themes and conflicts early on but does not gain momentum until much later in the book (which I didn’t mind). Sister Rosalie, the Black nun who raises Vanessa at the Catholic orphanage, stands out as a particularly compelling character — fiery, intelligent, and deeply passionate about American history. She frequently lectures others on “her own distorted version of” historical events. While this aspect is widely criticized for being boring and long-winded, I found it to be a brilliant way to weave in historical context while masking any inaccuracies, allowing the author to reshape history to suit her narrative. I assumed these extensive historical tidbits would later contribute to the story’s development — they didn’t.
A series of melodramatic events lead Vanessa to change her identity and leave Charleston for a fresh start. The protagonists’ actions have faced heavy criticism (more on that later), but I wasn’t too bothered — speaking as someone in her early 20s, this is just your typical stupid 20-year-olds doing stupid things. I can certainly see some peers doing some shit like this.
Understandably, racism largely fades from the narrative after Vanessa begins her new life passing as white. She and Trisha, still in Charleston, keep in touch as they struggle to navigate the male-dominated TV industry. The focus shifts to workplace sexism, addressing gender bias and wage gaps. By this point, the author is juggling a lot, but given how well she handled racial violence earlier, I trusted her ability to pull it off. With Vanessa as the best-rated primetime TV host in San Francisco and Trisha as the first female manager in her field, they have immense potential as voices for change. I assumed this is where the story is headed.
The story had finally gained momentum by now, and it was a downhill avalanche.
Unbelievable Plot Twists and Contradictions
Vanessa falls in love with Tod Von Westerkamp, a charming, charismatic bachelor and the sole heir of San Francisco’s most affluent old-money family, only to find herself trapped in an abusive marriage. At that point, I thought the novel was evolving beyond historical fiction into a coming-of-age story — one where Vanessa, through love, loss, betrayal, and heartbreak, perseveres and ultimately emerges as a powerful advocate for justice and equality, much like Dr. Maya Angelou.
However, as I read on, the pacing becomes rushed and erratic, with abrupt, illogical developments seemingly thrown in at the last minute for cheap dramatic effect.
1. Religious Hypocrisy & Convenient Morality
Vanessa, raised by a devout Catholic nun, is portrayed as deeply religious. Yet, she determinedly underwent an abortion in her early 20s without hesitation — but later refused to divorce her abusive husband because of her faith? The author vividly depicts Vanessa’s sexual encounters with Tod (and Barry), ALL of which feel coerced, and range from borderline rape to outright sexual abuse. Given this, her refusal to leave Tod due to religious beliefs feels painfully contradictory.
2. The Absurd Racial Reveal
Vanessa’s son’s sickle-cell anemia is what outs her as Black to the Von Westerkamps — but the medical explanation is both flawed and absurd. The doctor explains that “Two genes for sickle hemoglobin must be inherited from BOTH parents to develop the disease.” Yet, in the IMMEDIATE next sentence, he bizarrely claims, “It has proven to be a recessive gene, so Tod’s gene must be very, very recessive.”
Even more ridiculous is, in the novel's own words, "San Francisco Bay Area’s five million population" believes Vanessa was white. But SOMEHOW, the doctors and the Von Westerkamps, as if by reflex, INSTANTLY concluded that she must be Black — while Tod is simply a Caucasian with extremely recessive genes. By that logic, couldn’t Vanessa’s gene also be recessive?
A few pages later, Vanessa's toddler son was described as having "dark olive skin and tight black curls," despite both parents supposedly being smooth-haired Caucasians. Seriously? It took a sickle-cell aneamia diagnosis for ANYONE to question the child’s racial identity? Now, Tod is being extra generous here. If I were in his shoes, I’d at least question Vanessa’s fidelity.
3. The Cheap, Last Minute Rescue and Ending
When the Von Westerkamps plot to murder Vanessa and her son to erase their “tainted” bloodline, they are miraculously saved by a previously unmentioned ghetto community. Meanwhile, the police traces Vanessa’s history back to Charleston and uncover her Black orphanage origins—something Tod’s private investigators, hired by the sole heir of the most affluent family in San Francisco to vet his fiancée before marriage, somehow missed.
The police enlist the help of Barry (now a medical doctor), who sneaks into the hospital, obtains evidence of the child’s diagnosis, and gets injured in the process. Then, in the LITERAL LAST TWO PAGES, Vanessa and Barry reunite at his hospital bed, kiss, profess their love, and promise to spend the rest of their lives together — the end.
No epilogue. No resolution for the Von Westerkamps’ attempted murder. No mention of whether Vanessa will return to journalism now that her racial identity has been exposed on national television due to the murder case coverage. And Barry — the man who ditched her without a fight because his family disapproved, coerced her into sex (leading to pregnancy and a near-fatal illegal abortion), cheated on her during their long-distance relationship, married his affair partner, and had kids — still has the audacity to call Vanessa the love of his life (without apology, repent, or even mentioning the issue)? None of them addressed.
Final Words
This review is longer than the essay I wrote for my high school national exam. The unnatural dialogue, occasional grammar and spelling errors were minor compared to the train wreck that is this book.
Where is the character growth? Where is the justice? The book just ends on a bafflingly cheap, romance-driven conclusion. With this, one might question: what was the point of the KKK terrorism, workplace discrimination, historical background, and the painstaking buildup of Vanessa and Trisha's careers? In the end, it was all for nothing.
Reddit stories are better written than this mess. At least most redditors wouldn’t need 300 pages to say: "My high school sweetheart dumped me because his family thought I was too white, and he lacked the spine to fight for me. Pregnant and alone, I got an abortion, nearly died, changed my name, and started over passing as white. I married San Francisco’s most eligible bachelor — who turned out to be a sexually abusive scumbag. My IUD failed, he discovered I was Black, and tried to murder our son and me to 'purify' his bloodline. I survived. My high school ex helped the police, got injured for me, and we instantly reconciled despite not having spoken to each other for almost two decades, vowing to spend the rest of our lives together."
P.S. If you share the same opinion, you are more than welcome to contact me and bond over this
June 22, 2025
I would have rated this book 3.5 stars out of 5, but it does deserve a round up to 4 stars rather than 3. A good book. I am glad I stuck with it. It started a little bit slow but gets much better as the book goes on. At the beginning, I thought the book was a bit more erotic than romantic. The first couple of sex scenes are very graphic (trigger warning). Later, a couple might border on rape depending on your opinion of consent between husband and wife. In the early chapters, I was not sure where the story was going to go. I was not even sure who the main characters were going to be. I was not sure if I even liked any of the characters, but they did grow on me. Good character development there.
Barry, Vanessa, and Trisha all grew up in the South. In the same Catholic school. Barry is the handsome son of two prominent Black professionals and looks to be following in his father's footsteps. Trisha is the daughter of a former Marine Captain, though white her family have grown up with blacks around her. Vanessa looks every bit the white girl but has been raised in a black orphanage by an eccentric (lovable), American history obsessed nun. Race plays a very prominent part of this story. Where will life take these three? Will hurdles, hardships, and betrayals tear them apart forever or forge bonds that can't be broken over time.
It is definitely worth pushing through with this book, the story changes and really gets going after the first third of the book, then the last twenty percent turns into a real page turner that is difficult to put down. There are a lot of prominent Americans trivia mentioned in the book; however, I am not an American history buff myself I don't know how much if it is true (apart of the assassination dates).
Overall, it's a very good read. The later I got into the book, the better it gets. There is good character development for Vanessa in particular. The story takes place over a couple of decades, so it does take its time. There are a few twists and turns I did not see coming. However, there was a lot of the book (especially early on) that was predictable. I guess the eccentric nun’s factoid (or what she believed to be factoid) did serve as a distraction to this and kept me interested.
Barry, Vanessa, and Trisha all grew up in the South. In the same Catholic school. Barry is the handsome son of two prominent Black professionals and looks to be following in his father's footsteps. Trisha is the daughter of a former Marine Captain, though white her family have grown up with blacks around her. Vanessa looks every bit the white girl but has been raised in a black orphanage by an eccentric (lovable), American history obsessed nun. Race plays a very prominent part of this story. Where will life take these three? Will hurdles, hardships, and betrayals tear them apart forever or forge bonds that can't be broken over time.
It is definitely worth pushing through with this book, the story changes and really gets going after the first third of the book, then the last twenty percent turns into a real page turner that is difficult to put down. There are a lot of prominent Americans trivia mentioned in the book; however, I am not an American history buff myself I don't know how much if it is true (apart of the assassination dates).
Overall, it's a very good read. The later I got into the book, the better it gets. There is good character development for Vanessa in particular. The story takes place over a couple of decades, so it does take its time. There are a few twists and turns I did not see coming. However, there was a lot of the book (especially early on) that was predictable. I guess the eccentric nun’s factoid (or what she believed to be factoid) did serve as a distraction to this and kept me interested.
February 22, 2025
Awful. If I could get my 3$ for this back, I would.
I was already sceptical when I found out that the author of this story about a black woman passing for white, was white. But I still decided to give this a fair shot.
The book lost me within a handful of pages.
The writing POV is confusing, the characters don't talk like human beings and the writing is just not good. It reads repetitive and juvenile, but also like it's trying really hard to sound sophisticated by throwing in words that sound big (like perspiration beads, instead of sweat)
The first chapter alone has some really questionable character choices:
-we get the quintessential overweight Mammy stereotype
-VERY gratuitous usage of the N-word (which wouldn't bother me if it wasn't for the other stuff)
- multiple instances the "both sides are racst" BS
- some really repeatedly fatphobic language
-heat being described as "cotton growing"
- a character being described with "rich charcoal-colored skin"
and last but not least, some really icky feeling description about the lightskinned protagonist of the book. "Stunningly beautiful, she possessed a rare grace none of her fellow students could match" is a WILD thing to write about a light skinned/passing character in an all black orphanage. Please, by all means elaborate. what is that supposed to mean?
Then we get the sob story about how she is just too white and the Black people don't want to adopt her, even though she is SO BEAUTIFUL (again, it's kind of implied that she is considered so extraordinarily beautiful because she doesn't look black…)
Vanessa is in fact SO "gorgeously beautiful" (that's a direct quote, btw) that even grown men stare at her in awe when she js a child. She off course is the mammy nun's favorite among all the black children (gee I wonder whyyyyy)
There are 2 explicit scenes between minors that are fully written out, and one in particular is way more detailed than any of the explicit scenes that happen between adults (literally why?? do we need a detailed account of a teenager being fingered?)
We get constant Charleston history tidbits that feel so incredibly shoehorned into the dialogue. I am convinced this author has never had a conversation with a real human being before. Sometimes it feels like characters are just reading wikipedia entries to each other or are reading off a teleprompter. This is a problem throughout the whole book.
It's not really clear who the protagonist of the book is. The blurb would have you believe it's vanessa, but there are long stretches of time when you dont hear anything about her.
On the topic of vanessa, the author absolutely fails at actually trying to depict the reality of a black woman passing for white. By making Vanessa an orphan and her only maternal figure dying before she decides to pass, the author sidesteps the issue that many passing people had: having to leave behind your family and loved ones. It also completely erases the conversation of potential judgment/disappointment of black friends and family members at the decision of the passing person.
But the story (and Vanessa, for that matter) seems to completely forget that Vanessa is black (save for like 2 throwaway lines) and could be found out for that. She isn't worried about what her child might look like. Hell, her friend is apparently more concerned about that than she is. Even when the baby is there, Vanessa doesn't worry a single SECOND about how he could grow up and show black traits.
The romance element in this is also exceptionally weak. The two characters literally only like each other for looks. It's the only thing the book hits you over the head with over and over again but then tries to convince you that it's a profound kind of love that lasts a lifetime.
Lastly, the pacing.
Absolutely atrocious. what the blurb tells you is the plot doesn't happen until 80% into the (not very long) book.
Also, in the last chapter, the writing switches up from last to present tense for some reason ?
Overall, it was an awful book.
I was already sceptical when I found out that the author of this story about a black woman passing for white, was white. But I still decided to give this a fair shot.
The book lost me within a handful of pages.
The writing POV is confusing, the characters don't talk like human beings and the writing is just not good. It reads repetitive and juvenile, but also like it's trying really hard to sound sophisticated by throwing in words that sound big (like perspiration beads, instead of sweat)
The first chapter alone has some really questionable character choices:
-we get the quintessential overweight Mammy stereotype
-VERY gratuitous usage of the N-word (which wouldn't bother me if it wasn't for the other stuff)
- multiple instances the "both sides are racst" BS
- some really repeatedly fatphobic language
-heat being described as "cotton growing"
- a character being described with "rich charcoal-colored skin"
and last but not least, some really icky feeling description about the lightskinned protagonist of the book. "Stunningly beautiful, she possessed a rare grace none of her fellow students could match" is a WILD thing to write about a light skinned/passing character in an all black orphanage. Please, by all means elaborate. what is that supposed to mean?
Then we get the sob story about how she is just too white and the Black people don't want to adopt her, even though she is SO BEAUTIFUL (again, it's kind of implied that she is considered so extraordinarily beautiful because she doesn't look black…)
Vanessa is in fact SO "gorgeously beautiful" (that's a direct quote, btw) that even grown men stare at her in awe when she js a child. She off course is the mammy nun's favorite among all the black children (gee I wonder whyyyyy)
There are 2 explicit scenes between minors that are fully written out, and one in particular is way more detailed than any of the explicit scenes that happen between adults (literally why?? do we need a detailed account of a teenager being fingered?)
We get constant Charleston history tidbits that feel so incredibly shoehorned into the dialogue. I am convinced this author has never had a conversation with a real human being before. Sometimes it feels like characters are just reading wikipedia entries to each other or are reading off a teleprompter. This is a problem throughout the whole book.
It's not really clear who the protagonist of the book is. The blurb would have you believe it's vanessa, but there are long stretches of time when you dont hear anything about her.
On the topic of vanessa, the author absolutely fails at actually trying to depict the reality of a black woman passing for white. By making Vanessa an orphan and her only maternal figure dying before she decides to pass, the author sidesteps the issue that many passing people had: having to leave behind your family and loved ones. It also completely erases the conversation of potential judgment/disappointment of black friends and family members at the decision of the passing person.
But the story (and Vanessa, for that matter) seems to completely forget that Vanessa is black (save for like 2 throwaway lines) and could be found out for that. She isn't worried about what her child might look like. Hell, her friend is apparently more concerned about that than she is. Even when the baby is there, Vanessa doesn't worry a single SECOND about how he could grow up and show black traits.
The romance element in this is also exceptionally weak. The two characters literally only like each other for looks. It's the only thing the book hits you over the head with over and over again but then tries to convince you that it's a profound kind of love that lasts a lifetime.
Lastly, the pacing.
Absolutely atrocious. what the blurb tells you is the plot doesn't happen until 80% into the (not very long) book.
Also, in the last chapter, the writing switches up from last to present tense for some reason ?
Overall, it was an awful book.
February 6, 2025
Deceptive Calm is, without a doubt, one of the worst books I’ve ever forced myself to finish. The writing is lazy and juvenile, with inconsistent characters and a plot that jumps around erratically, making it nearly impossible to stay engaged. The story doesn’t even pick up until halfway through, and even then, it falls apart with chaotic shifts that leave you more confused than invested.
The biggest issue, though, is the author’s decision to tell a story about a Black woman passing for white in the Jim Crow South. Considering the author is a white woman, it felt incredibly out of place and distasteful, especially considering the book’s portrayal of racial struggles. It came across as unnecessary, and at times, the use of racial slurs felt gratuitous and offensive. The novel’s attempt at historical storytelling falls flat—especially without the depth and authenticity needed to tackle such sensitive subject matter.
The characters are poorly fleshed out, and the bizarre, irrelevant sex scenes just add to the mess. There’s no closure, no resolution—just a rushed, unsatisfying ending. Frankly, the best part of the book was finally turning the last page. Save yourself the time and avoid this disaster.
The biggest issue, though, is the author’s decision to tell a story about a Black woman passing for white in the Jim Crow South. Considering the author is a white woman, it felt incredibly out of place and distasteful, especially considering the book’s portrayal of racial struggles. It came across as unnecessary, and at times, the use of racial slurs felt gratuitous and offensive. The novel’s attempt at historical storytelling falls flat—especially without the depth and authenticity needed to tackle such sensitive subject matter.
The characters are poorly fleshed out, and the bizarre, irrelevant sex scenes just add to the mess. There’s no closure, no resolution—just a rushed, unsatisfying ending. Frankly, the best part of the book was finally turning the last page. Save yourself the time and avoid this disaster.
May 27, 2025
Compensated Review with Online Book Club 😒
Although I was actually compensated for this review unlike many others, I would not recommend working with this company. Their guidelines are insane and they are now withholding other funds they owe me for other reviews because I’m submitting reviews too quick.
Hated this book. 🤷🏻♀️
Although I was actually compensated for this review unlike many others, I would not recommend working with this company. Their guidelines are insane and they are now withholding other funds they owe me for other reviews because I’m submitting reviews too quick.
Hated this book. 🤷🏻♀️
January 1, 2025
"Deceptive Calm" by Patricia Skipper is one of the worst books I've ever read. I only finished it because I hate not finishing a book I have started. That is the only reason I subjected myself and my time to this rambling excuse of a novel.
The main characters, Trisha and Vanessa, are best friends in 1960s South Carolina. Throughout this book, the reader is often reminded that Vanessa is beautiful, but beyond being black, although she can pass for white, we don't know what she looks like. There are hardly any facial features described of her or anyone else in this story. Vanessa is quiet and reserved, was raised in an orphanage, and is therefore quite insecure. Trisha is the exact opposite, not only in personality but because she is white. The author doesn't describe her physical features either; we are not even told outright until later in the book that Trisha is white, only at the beginning that she has blonde hair, which is not definitive. Vanessa's first boyfriend, Barry, who is a narcissist in the making, is supposed to be devastatingly handsome, but again, beyond his being black, we have no idea what he looks like. It's almost as if race is the only thing the author wishes the reader to focus on.
Further on in the book, Vanessa ends up getting married to a textbook narcissist (white and also devastatingly handsome), from whom she gets Trisha's help in escaping. This book follows Trisha and Vanessa through their relationship as they navigate life. They stay friends through being different races, moving to different cities, having different jobs, and having different relationships. These women never grow apart through 20-plus years of life and are a testament to a true friendship.
However, this book is so hard to follow through their lives because of the way it is written. The reader is subjected, over and over again, to scenarios that do not make sense, and some things that happen have no point at all. For example, instead of describing a mood or a reaction, we're told the character "feels concerned," just like how we are told over and over again that these characters are devastatingly beautiful or handsome. Writers reveal, and they show; they don't tell. If it was just about the plot, everyone could be a writer. Some situations and conversations are not described or have no context, so the reader gets confused about what is happening or who is talking to whom. When Barry visits Vanessa at the orphanage, we are told that he didn't ring a bell, which wasn't the doorbell, but we are not told what bell it was or why he should've rung it. The reader is left just as confused as Barry. Vanessa and Trisha decide to lead a revolt one summer alongside Mexican farm workers, which leads to absolutely nothing. Vanessa gets an abortion with Trisha by her side for support, but Trisha tells the cops that they were blindfolded, so they couldn't describe the "fat guy that did it." Then, for some reason never fully explained beyond a "prank", Vanessa decides to commit a felony and use a dead baby's identity to get a fake birth certificate as a white person. This also goes nowhere because everyone still finds out that she is black. So what was the point? And the stand-out character in the book, Sister Rosalie, is so contrived that she is a parody of herself. I was born and raised in the South, and I have never met a black woman who talks or behaves like Sister Rosalie. This is a character that is obviously contrived by someone who thinks they are in touch with African Americans. Sister Rosalie is also a history buff, but she is so much so that she almost exclusively speaks in history lessons. I also love History, but I do not bring up random battles or obscure historical people with no reason or context, much less hit people with a History pop quiz when they have just awoken from brain surgery as she does in this book. This and other characters' regurgitated medical knowledge and biological terminology make these scenes read like they were pulled out of the author's notes rather than being part of fluid, organic conversations.
The writing did get a little better as the book went on, which made me think the writer should've written a couple more drafts of this book before submitting it for publication. There are graphic sexual scenes and profanity toward the story's middle to the end, so this book is suited for adults. But ultimately, I wondered if I had read the same book everyone else had. Why was this book so popular? I was so excited to read this story when I read its summary. A black woman raised in the South in the 1960s among civil riots, class divisions, abortion, racism, and all other culture-defining topics. It just seems like the author was trying specifically to hit all of these hot-button issues but just had no idea how to tie it all together. There's no flow to the story; things just happen. Also, this had to have been written with software that checks grammar and punctuation because I could find no mistakes like that in this book. It was the writing itself that killed this story. Because of these reasons, which I hope I have illuminated, I give this book a 1 out of 4 rating. This could've been a great book. It just needed a better writer.
The main characters, Trisha and Vanessa, are best friends in 1960s South Carolina. Throughout this book, the reader is often reminded that Vanessa is beautiful, but beyond being black, although she can pass for white, we don't know what she looks like. There are hardly any facial features described of her or anyone else in this story. Vanessa is quiet and reserved, was raised in an orphanage, and is therefore quite insecure. Trisha is the exact opposite, not only in personality but because she is white. The author doesn't describe her physical features either; we are not even told outright until later in the book that Trisha is white, only at the beginning that she has blonde hair, which is not definitive. Vanessa's first boyfriend, Barry, who is a narcissist in the making, is supposed to be devastatingly handsome, but again, beyond his being black, we have no idea what he looks like. It's almost as if race is the only thing the author wishes the reader to focus on.
Further on in the book, Vanessa ends up getting married to a textbook narcissist (white and also devastatingly handsome), from whom she gets Trisha's help in escaping. This book follows Trisha and Vanessa through their relationship as they navigate life. They stay friends through being different races, moving to different cities, having different jobs, and having different relationships. These women never grow apart through 20-plus years of life and are a testament to a true friendship.
However, this book is so hard to follow through their lives because of the way it is written. The reader is subjected, over and over again, to scenarios that do not make sense, and some things that happen have no point at all. For example, instead of describing a mood or a reaction, we're told the character "feels concerned," just like how we are told over and over again that these characters are devastatingly beautiful or handsome. Writers reveal, and they show; they don't tell. If it was just about the plot, everyone could be a writer. Some situations and conversations are not described or have no context, so the reader gets confused about what is happening or who is talking to whom. When Barry visits Vanessa at the orphanage, we are told that he didn't ring a bell, which wasn't the doorbell, but we are not told what bell it was or why he should've rung it. The reader is left just as confused as Barry. Vanessa and Trisha decide to lead a revolt one summer alongside Mexican farm workers, which leads to absolutely nothing. Vanessa gets an abortion with Trisha by her side for support, but Trisha tells the cops that they were blindfolded, so they couldn't describe the "fat guy that did it." Then, for some reason never fully explained beyond a "prank", Vanessa decides to commit a felony and use a dead baby's identity to get a fake birth certificate as a white person. This also goes nowhere because everyone still finds out that she is black. So what was the point? And the stand-out character in the book, Sister Rosalie, is so contrived that she is a parody of herself. I was born and raised in the South, and I have never met a black woman who talks or behaves like Sister Rosalie. This is a character that is obviously contrived by someone who thinks they are in touch with African Americans. Sister Rosalie is also a history buff, but she is so much so that she almost exclusively speaks in history lessons. I also love History, but I do not bring up random battles or obscure historical people with no reason or context, much less hit people with a History pop quiz when they have just awoken from brain surgery as she does in this book. This and other characters' regurgitated medical knowledge and biological terminology make these scenes read like they were pulled out of the author's notes rather than being part of fluid, organic conversations.
The writing did get a little better as the book went on, which made me think the writer should've written a couple more drafts of this book before submitting it for publication. There are graphic sexual scenes and profanity toward the story's middle to the end, so this book is suited for adults. But ultimately, I wondered if I had read the same book everyone else had. Why was this book so popular? I was so excited to read this story when I read its summary. A black woman raised in the South in the 1960s among civil riots, class divisions, abortion, racism, and all other culture-defining topics. It just seems like the author was trying specifically to hit all of these hot-button issues but just had no idea how to tie it all together. There's no flow to the story; things just happen. Also, this had to have been written with software that checks grammar and punctuation because I could find no mistakes like that in this book. It was the writing itself that killed this story. Because of these reasons, which I hope I have illuminated, I give this book a 1 out of 4 rating. This could've been a great book. It just needed a better writer.
September 19, 2024
My rating for this book is three out of five.While I finished it easily due to its fast pace and readability, I didn’t feel fully captivated by the plot. The beginning introduces a lot of irrelevant details, making it hard to stay focused on the main storyline. Certain characters and subplots are given attention unnecessarily, while the development of key characters and significant moments is rushed.
I struggled with the book because it did not follow the typical arc and structure one expects in a story. Most of the plot felt like it meandered without much direction or building anticipation. The middle portion, in particular, dragged, with unnecessary details and slower pacing that made it difficult to stay engaged. However, the ending was where the book particularly picked up. The conclusion brought more excitement and clarity, but it felt rushed. It was as if the author suddenly decided to wrap everything up quickly, which left some important moments feeling underdeveloped and lacking the emotional impact they could have had.
That said, the beginning of the book was quite promising. It had strong elements of historical fiction, which made me hopeful for the rest of the novel. The opening set a good tone and drew me in, but unfortunately, that momentum wasn’t maintained through the middle of the story.
The writing style often feels short and factual, which makes the narrative read more like a summary than an engaging story. Although I became attached to some characters, they were unfortunately not developed to their full potential. The complex characters and underlying plot had promise, but the execution didn’t allow these elements to shine. The book would have benefited from deeper emotional exploration and more thoughtful pacing.
One thing that caught me off guard was the use of profanity and sexual language. While I understand that the profanity might have been accurate for the time period, the level of explicit content felt unnecessary at times. This is something that sensitive or younger readers should be cautious of, as it might not be appropriate for all audiences. I was not expecting the sexual language, and it felt out of place in some instances, detracting from the overall tone of the book.
Another challenge was the sheer number of themes introduced. It was difficult to concentrate on any one theme long enough to feel a strong emotional impact, as a new theme was being introduced before the previous one could fully resonate. This constant shift made it hard to stay invested in any particular narrative thread.
Overall, the book has potential, with its complex characters and an underlying plot that could be engaging with better focus. However, the lack of direction, the dragging middle, and the rushed ending, along with underdeveloped emotional moments, led me to give it a three out of five.
I struggled with the book because it did not follow the typical arc and structure one expects in a story. Most of the plot felt like it meandered without much direction or building anticipation. The middle portion, in particular, dragged, with unnecessary details and slower pacing that made it difficult to stay engaged. However, the ending was where the book particularly picked up. The conclusion brought more excitement and clarity, but it felt rushed. It was as if the author suddenly decided to wrap everything up quickly, which left some important moments feeling underdeveloped and lacking the emotional impact they could have had.
That said, the beginning of the book was quite promising. It had strong elements of historical fiction, which made me hopeful for the rest of the novel. The opening set a good tone and drew me in, but unfortunately, that momentum wasn’t maintained through the middle of the story.
The writing style often feels short and factual, which makes the narrative read more like a summary than an engaging story. Although I became attached to some characters, they were unfortunately not developed to their full potential. The complex characters and underlying plot had promise, but the execution didn’t allow these elements to shine. The book would have benefited from deeper emotional exploration and more thoughtful pacing.
One thing that caught me off guard was the use of profanity and sexual language. While I understand that the profanity might have been accurate for the time period, the level of explicit content felt unnecessary at times. This is something that sensitive or younger readers should be cautious of, as it might not be appropriate for all audiences. I was not expecting the sexual language, and it felt out of place in some instances, detracting from the overall tone of the book.
Another challenge was the sheer number of themes introduced. It was difficult to concentrate on any one theme long enough to feel a strong emotional impact, as a new theme was being introduced before the previous one could fully resonate. This constant shift made it hard to stay invested in any particular narrative thread.
Overall, the book has potential, with its complex characters and an underlying plot that could be engaging with better focus. However, the lack of direction, the dragging middle, and the rushed ending, along with underdeveloped emotional moments, led me to give it a three out of five.
March 12, 2025
The book explores complex themes, and the author's writing style successfully builds an atmospheric tension that draws the reader in. However, despite its strengths, the novel falls short in several areas, preventing it from reaching its full potential.
The vivid pictures are skillfully painted by the descriptive writing, which makes it simple to picture what is happening. Furthermore, there is enough tension to keep viewers interested and the pacing is generally well-balanced. The characters are also developed with some depth, showcasing internal conflicts and motivations that make them feel realistic.
That being said, the novel has some significant drawbacks. One of the main issues is the predictability of certain plot developments. While the story starts with a promising setup, there are moments where it follows familiar tropes, making some twists feel expected rather than surprising. A little more unpredictability in the narrative would have enhanced the tension and intrigue.
Another notable weakness is the dialogue. At times, it feels unnatural or overly expository, which can pull readers out of the experience. Character interactions would have been deeper and their relationships would have felt more genuine with more sophisticated, realistic dialogue.
Deceptive Calm is a decent book with an intriguing idea overall, but it falls short of being exceptional due to its predictability and a few chaotic dialogue passages. It may still appeal to fans of suspenseful fiction, but it might not be as good for readers seeking a genuinely original or unexpected tale.
The vivid pictures are skillfully painted by the descriptive writing, which makes it simple to picture what is happening. Furthermore, there is enough tension to keep viewers interested and the pacing is generally well-balanced. The characters are also developed with some depth, showcasing internal conflicts and motivations that make them feel realistic.
That being said, the novel has some significant drawbacks. One of the main issues is the predictability of certain plot developments. While the story starts with a promising setup, there are moments where it follows familiar tropes, making some twists feel expected rather than surprising. A little more unpredictability in the narrative would have enhanced the tension and intrigue.
Another notable weakness is the dialogue. At times, it feels unnatural or overly expository, which can pull readers out of the experience. Character interactions would have been deeper and their relationships would have felt more genuine with more sophisticated, realistic dialogue.
Deceptive Calm is a decent book with an intriguing idea overall, but it falls short of being exceptional due to its predictability and a few chaotic dialogue passages. It may still appeal to fans of suspenseful fiction, but it might not be as good for readers seeking a genuinely original or unexpected tale.
March 1, 2025
There is an interesting premise here. But every aspect of it is botched.
Basic improvements that would render this at least readable:
-Chop out nearly all the adverbs and adjectives. They are relentless and useless. Calling a character “eccentric” during their funeral is ridiculous, since they are dead.
-Lose the over explanations. If someone chokes someone else with a light cord, you don’t also need to explain that they did it by wrapping it around the neck. If a car goes off a cliff, you don’t have to describe gravity and that it went down.
-Too many pronouns. With the shifting narration style, it at times is confusing exactly who is being discussed or if they are even in the room.
-The book is also racist, so lose that, too. Straight ethnographic tourism for kicks. Also, it’s full of that good old southern revisionist history where blacks and whites had it equally bad in the South after the Civil War, and the end of reconstruction had nothing to do with anything. For example, a black woman LIVING IN JIM CROW SOUTH CAROLINA states that General Sherman never should have burned Atlanta (the same general who was fighting for her ancestors emancipation, but whatever). Another example: Migrant workers need a white woman’s help with their pay and “She gladly counted it since math and multiplication eluded them entirely.”
-Lose all the historical asides. They are inaccurate and clumsily written.
-Editing: I noticed a few spelling and capitalization errors, maybe a half dozen.
In general: The prose is odd, clunky and childish. It reminds me of stories collected from my 7th grade class. If the characters aren’t full blown caricatures, they are poorly described nothings. It’s constantly unclear who we are following, because the author’s use of Shifting Third Person Omniscient Narrator is artless and poorly transitions from one character to another.
There are sex scenes with the eroticism of sneaking an older sibling’s porn mag. What should be moments of horror feel ridiculous. The dialogue is awful. My eyes hurt from rolling so much.
This is one of the worst books I’ve ever read. I only finished it because I am being paid to do so, and rate it honestly. And I honestly, absolutely hated this garbage. UPDATE: Never got paid because Onlinebookclub.org is a scam.
1 out of 5 stars
Basic improvements that would render this at least readable:
-Chop out nearly all the adverbs and adjectives. They are relentless and useless. Calling a character “eccentric” during their funeral is ridiculous, since they are dead.
-Lose the over explanations. If someone chokes someone else with a light cord, you don’t also need to explain that they did it by wrapping it around the neck. If a car goes off a cliff, you don’t have to describe gravity and that it went down.
-Too many pronouns. With the shifting narration style, it at times is confusing exactly who is being discussed or if they are even in the room.
-The book is also racist, so lose that, too. Straight ethnographic tourism for kicks. Also, it’s full of that good old southern revisionist history where blacks and whites had it equally bad in the South after the Civil War, and the end of reconstruction had nothing to do with anything. For example, a black woman LIVING IN JIM CROW SOUTH CAROLINA states that General Sherman never should have burned Atlanta (the same general who was fighting for her ancestors emancipation, but whatever). Another example: Migrant workers need a white woman’s help with their pay and “She gladly counted it since math and multiplication eluded them entirely.”
-Lose all the historical asides. They are inaccurate and clumsily written.
-Editing: I noticed a few spelling and capitalization errors, maybe a half dozen.
In general: The prose is odd, clunky and childish. It reminds me of stories collected from my 7th grade class. If the characters aren’t full blown caricatures, they are poorly described nothings. It’s constantly unclear who we are following, because the author’s use of Shifting Third Person Omniscient Narrator is artless and poorly transitions from one character to another.
There are sex scenes with the eroticism of sneaking an older sibling’s porn mag. What should be moments of horror feel ridiculous. The dialogue is awful. My eyes hurt from rolling so much.
This is one of the worst books I’ve ever read. I only finished it because I am being paid to do so, and rate it honestly. And I honestly, absolutely hated this garbage. UPDATE: Never got paid because Onlinebookclub.org is a scam.
1 out of 5 stars
March 8, 2025
Couldn’t even finish the book.
I’d give it negative 100 if I could. This book was insufferable! It’s hard to read. Too much detail was given for no reason, maybe to reach her word count? It sucked. This book just pissed me off it was so bad.
I’d give it negative 100 if I could. This book was insufferable! It’s hard to read. Too much detail was given for no reason, maybe to reach her word count? It sucked. This book just pissed me off it was so bad.
August 9, 2024
I picked up this book because I've lived in Charleston for over 30 years and was intrigued. Except for a few early typos, like styling Lowcountry as "Low County", referring to Cannon St as being in Charleston Heights (it is solidly downtown, trust me), and the anachronistic use of capitals for race in the 1980s when that didn't happen until MUCH later, it is a very good book. The story is compelling, the characters are relatable, and by the time you're done you have a much better understanding of what someone of mixed race who has to be able to "pass" as one or the other has gone through. There is nothing simple about Vanessa's journey. This one also happens to be an Online Book Club monthly pick for August 2024, so there will likely be more in depth reviews forthcoming.
March 15, 2025
yeah no, dnf at 34%
My time is better spent reading the backs of shampoo bottles. The writing is just terrible, the plot or lack-there-of moves way too quickly. I finally understand what people mean by 'offensive character'. This book is objectively bad and insulting, to black people, to women and mostly to readers in general.
Just so you have an idea why I'm so enraged: Vanessa finds out her ex's mom died, she travels home to see him, he opens the door and cries in her arms, they cuddle on the couch and suddenly he plunges his fingers inside her vagina and then he manipulates her into having sex. ALL IN ONE PAGE. Tell me you've never grieved your mom's death without telling me. Gtfo.
My time is better spent reading the backs of shampoo bottles. The writing is just terrible, the plot or lack-there-of moves way too quickly. I finally understand what people mean by 'offensive character'. This book is objectively bad and insulting, to black people, to women and mostly to readers in general.
Just so you have an idea why I'm so enraged: Vanessa finds out her ex's mom died, she travels home to see him, he opens the door and cries in her arms, they cuddle on the couch and suddenly he plunges his fingers inside her vagina and then he manipulates her into having sex. ALL IN ONE PAGE. Tell me you've never grieved your mom's death without telling me. Gtfo.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 5, 2025
I want my time back.
I really wanted to like this book. But… unfortunately it did not live up to the hopes I had for it.
We start in 1968 where we are introduced to Vanessa, Barry, Trisha, and Sister Rosalie. We are taken through a thorough Charleston history but strange storyline. It felt detailed but randomly placed at the same time. We continue following Vanessa, Trisha, and Barry as they finish high school, go on to college, and then life after. To be honest… a LOT of what is written throughout that period (and the entire book if I’m being honest), really felt like it was part author written and part AI filler. Just jumbled, not well written, and all over at times. The conversation pieces were NOT great. There were sex scenes that simply did not need to be there (and I love reading smut so imagine my surprise and disappointment). The ending felt rushed and choppy. Yay for the closure (ish) but gosh was it poorly written.
And my girl Vanessa was assaulted throughout the entire book. The sex was not written romantically. No care. Just bad… truly truly bad.
The best parts of this story were Trisha, Sister Rosalie, and… well that’s it probably. I love the concept and the idea of the story. It could have gone far but it just truly missed the mark. I finished it and liked the overall concept but it is only a 1.5 star read for me. I would simply not recommend this to anyone really…
If you are a reader sensitive to racial issues (obviously a heavy topic), abortion, or sexual assault … this is NOT the book for you.
Honest review left with the expectation of compensation through Online Book Club.
I really wanted to like this book. But… unfortunately it did not live up to the hopes I had for it.
We start in 1968 where we are introduced to Vanessa, Barry, Trisha, and Sister Rosalie. We are taken through a thorough Charleston history but strange storyline. It felt detailed but randomly placed at the same time. We continue following Vanessa, Trisha, and Barry as they finish high school, go on to college, and then life after. To be honest… a LOT of what is written throughout that period (and the entire book if I’m being honest), really felt like it was part author written and part AI filler. Just jumbled, not well written, and all over at times. The conversation pieces were NOT great. There were sex scenes that simply did not need to be there (and I love reading smut so imagine my surprise and disappointment). The ending felt rushed and choppy. Yay for the closure (ish) but gosh was it poorly written.
And my girl Vanessa was assaulted throughout the entire book. The sex was not written romantically. No care. Just bad… truly truly bad.
The best parts of this story were Trisha, Sister Rosalie, and… well that’s it probably. I love the concept and the idea of the story. It could have gone far but it just truly missed the mark. I finished it and liked the overall concept but it is only a 1.5 star read for me. I would simply not recommend this to anyone really…
If you are a reader sensitive to racial issues (obviously a heavy topic), abortion, or sexual assault … this is NOT the book for you.
Honest review left with the expectation of compensation through Online Book Club.
December 16, 2024
After diving into the synopsis of this book, I was buzzing with excitement for what seemed like a gripping historical fiction adventure. I've always been fascinated by stories of black women passing, finding the topic incredibly captivating. The 1960s South holds a particular allure for me, so my expectations for this book were sky-high.
However, I found myself wrestling a bit with the book’s development and direction. With a diverse cast of interrelated characters spanning various races and backgrounds, some hailing from wealth and others from harder, more humble beginnings, it took me until the final pages to truly feel I understood each character’s depth. Understanding them took a while, which was a journey in and of itself.
My main struggle involved the plot. Initially, it felt somewhat superficial, heavily laden with American history tidbits that sometimes felt out of place or overwhelming, rather than naturally integrated into the dialogue. Sifting through these elements in hopes of connecting with the characters and grasping the core of the storyline and its trajectory felt daunting. It wasn’t until I reached about 75% into the book that the narrative picked up momentum, reeling me in with anticipation for the climax. Yet, as I reached the conclusion, a sense of weariness crept back in due to an ending that felt hurried and left me yearning for a deeper sense of closure.
I truly commend the author for delving into such critical themes in American history, touching on racism, classism, and the impact of sickle cell disease within the African American community. The author's courage and willingness to explore these significant issues are indeed praiseworthy. Despite my critique, I believe there's a tremendous opportunity here for the author to refine their storytelling into a more cohesive, streamlined narrative that not only answers the readers' lingering questions but also showcases character growth and makes the historical backdrop resonate more effectively.
However, I found myself wrestling a bit with the book’s development and direction. With a diverse cast of interrelated characters spanning various races and backgrounds, some hailing from wealth and others from harder, more humble beginnings, it took me until the final pages to truly feel I understood each character’s depth. Understanding them took a while, which was a journey in and of itself.
My main struggle involved the plot. Initially, it felt somewhat superficial, heavily laden with American history tidbits that sometimes felt out of place or overwhelming, rather than naturally integrated into the dialogue. Sifting through these elements in hopes of connecting with the characters and grasping the core of the storyline and its trajectory felt daunting. It wasn’t until I reached about 75% into the book that the narrative picked up momentum, reeling me in with anticipation for the climax. Yet, as I reached the conclusion, a sense of weariness crept back in due to an ending that felt hurried and left me yearning for a deeper sense of closure.
I truly commend the author for delving into such critical themes in American history, touching on racism, classism, and the impact of sickle cell disease within the African American community. The author's courage and willingness to explore these significant issues are indeed praiseworthy. Despite my critique, I believe there's a tremendous opportunity here for the author to refine their storytelling into a more cohesive, streamlined narrative that not only answers the readers' lingering questions but also showcases character growth and makes the historical backdrop resonate more effectively.
October 9, 2024
Characters That Never Felt Real: A Disappointing Read
This novel, set against the backdrop of 1960s Charleston, had the potential to deliver a powerful story about racial tensions, civil rights, and the complexities of segregation. However, the execution falls short in several ways. The characters felt flat and unconvincing, as if they were built to serve the plot rather than existing as genuine, relatable individuals. This author did not bring the characters to life, not allowing readers to connect with them on a deep emotional level, that connection never materialized here.
The narrative often felt forced, and the attempts to portray the experiences of Black characters, while perhaps well-intentioned, lacked the depth and authenticity needed to resonate. The dialogue and internal monologues didn’t capture the lived realities of the era, leaving the story feeling hollow and unengaging. In trying to navigate such a fraught historical period, the book seemed to touch only the surface of the issues, failing to fully immerse the reader in the time and place it aimed to depict.
Overall, the book struggled to maintain momentum and didn’t hold my interest, making it difficult to stay invested in a story that should have felt urgent and real. It’s a missed opportunity for a more compelling exploration of a critical chapter in American history.
This novel, set against the backdrop of 1960s Charleston, had the potential to deliver a powerful story about racial tensions, civil rights, and the complexities of segregation. However, the execution falls short in several ways. The characters felt flat and unconvincing, as if they were built to serve the plot rather than existing as genuine, relatable individuals. This author did not bring the characters to life, not allowing readers to connect with them on a deep emotional level, that connection never materialized here.
The narrative often felt forced, and the attempts to portray the experiences of Black characters, while perhaps well-intentioned, lacked the depth and authenticity needed to resonate. The dialogue and internal monologues didn’t capture the lived realities of the era, leaving the story feeling hollow and unengaging. In trying to navigate such a fraught historical period, the book seemed to touch only the surface of the issues, failing to fully immerse the reader in the time and place it aimed to depict.
Overall, the book struggled to maintain momentum and didn’t hold my interest, making it difficult to stay invested in a story that should have felt urgent and real. It’s a missed opportunity for a more compelling exploration of a critical chapter in American history.
October 17, 2024
This was nearly on my did not finish" shelf,but I trudged through it for the sake of hoping that the storyline would make sense.
The book was for lack of better terms poorly written and felt very juvenile and used language for schock factor only.
The premise of the book would have been better executed had it not been for the fact that the storyline is second hand. The Author is not a person of color and is creating a story based off of others experiences
Being an ally and using a person of colors struggle are two entirely different concepts, and honestly it's not a great way to honor those who had delta with the prejudice first hand
This was not only a difficult read because of the writing but also for the content.
The characters where unlikable and fell flat and overall had little to no depth
This book took way longer for me to read then was necessary due to how many times I put it down. As an avid reader I should of been able to zip through this one in a few hours but it took me literal weeks to read it.
The book was for lack of better terms poorly written and felt very juvenile and used language for schock factor only.
The premise of the book would have been better executed had it not been for the fact that the storyline is second hand. The Author is not a person of color and is creating a story based off of others experiences
Being an ally and using a person of colors struggle are two entirely different concepts, and honestly it's not a great way to honor those who had delta with the prejudice first hand
This was not only a difficult read because of the writing but also for the content.
The characters where unlikable and fell flat and overall had little to no depth
This book took way longer for me to read then was necessary due to how many times I put it down. As an avid reader I should of been able to zip through this one in a few hours but it took me literal weeks to read it.
December 18, 2024
I DNfed this book and was going to review it for the Online Book Club but couldn’t bring myself to finish it. I seriously fought myself for two months going between not finishing and finishing. The last straw for me was the sexual content. I do not prefer it in the books I read and instead of giving a bad review, I simply move on. However this book gets 1 star from me because how bad the book was written. I can usually get past corny writing but this was the worst possible book for me to start reviewing for OBC🥲 The characters, the grammar, the spelling, the weird inconsistencies and the dialogue.
I feel bad that I can’t leave a good review and I rarely leave 1 stars…I am just glad to be free from this book😭
I feel bad that I can’t leave a good review and I rarely leave 1 stars…I am just glad to be free from this book😭
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 9, 2024
Don’t bother reading this book. Not worth your time.
July 9, 2025
Read this for a book review site and regret wasting my time.
SPOILERS || TW: Rape, Abuse, Abortion, Sex (Teen), Racial Slurs, Violence, Assault
This 1968 Charleston-set book follows Vanessa, a beautiful but naive white-passing Black woman who grows up in a Black Catholic orphanage and chooses to live as white after suffering the horrors of misogynoir. I think the concept had potential and the portrayal of back-alley abortion highlights the importance of life-saving medical care for Black women, but the execution is deeply flawed.
Historical context is delivered primarily through ham-fisted exposition that reads more like an APUSH textbook than natural dialogue. A lot of history lessons are given by Sister Rosalie, the only Black nun in the diocese who also runs the orphanage alone. As a Southern Black person, I found her misuse of "Bless your heart" and her tendency to say nonsensical phrases like "What in the name of sassafras?" irritating.
None of the Black characters are dimensional. Sister Roe is described as "obese," "puggy-faced," loud and a little rude. She's also "never put a child in an abusive household" according to Vanessa, which isn't something any of the characters could be sure about. Sister Roe supports Vanessa but isn't shown to need any support of her own despite intense emotional and physical labor. The author seems to love reminding the reader that Sister Roe is fat and Vanessa is a miserable orphan with "rose-colored glasses." Look, I was an orphan and I can't believe how unrealistically ignorant about the world Vanessa is. I also found myself annoyed at Barry for realizing he should be thankful for his parents and house after seeing the orphanage, and how he kept feeling sorry for Vanessa. Like man, just treat her like a normal person. Also, the author shows us Vanessa is Black through her authentically beautiful connection to Southern Black culture and, I'm kidding, it's because of her cordial treatment of a Jamaican man with locs who won't stop saying "mon" and her belief in a wise old Gullah man dispensing prophesies about bad juju. And her child having visibly Black features and sickle-cell disease, leading to attempted racially motivated murder by her white husband.
Vanessa can't catch a break. She's subjected to a litany of miseries including parental death, violence, emotional and sexual abuse, rape, pregnancy and abortion trauma, and racial epithets. The white woman author must have really wanted an excuse to type "n-ger," because it shows up 12 times when it really didn't have to. I'm not a prude by any means, but the hateful language and constant abuse the main character endured was wearing me down by the end of it.
Poor light-skinned Vanessa also complains about not being "the right color" for Black people, failing to comprehend the safety risks prospective Black adoptive parents would face in a time where the Klan was very active and little Black boys were lynched for breathing next to white women. Vanessa doesn't acknowledge the privilege she has as a conventionally attractive lightskinned person due to colorism - even though part of this privilege is her ability to, for all intents and purposes, stop being Black. She doesn't try to see where Black people are coming from when they're wary of accepting her into their communities and then completely (legally!) distances herself from her Blackness until she physically can't. There's a point where Vanessa thinks of herself as the San Fran station's "first Black woman news anchor," which annoyed me because of her deliberate choice not to identify as Black.
The beginning drags on, the middle lost my interest completely, and the ending felt like the author wanted this book to be over just as badly as I did. It should've been written in first person instead of third so there'd be a clearer focus on Vanessa's feelings. The characters were static. At the end Vanessa and Barry seemingly end up together, but there's no meaningful development that makes this a satisfying resolution. Some confusing things are that Vanessa says a prostitute is using "almost illiterate speech" even though her language would've probably been similar to Sister Roe's. Also Trisha, the white best friend, is visibly uncomfortable around poor Black people despite growing up around them. There's also word choices like "female impersonator" (just say drag) and "(...) your daughter with the shoe fetish" (who talks like this?) that were off-putting to me. I was most put-off by the author's choice to capitalize white, a practiced shared by and associated with white supremacists. VERY weird on the writer's part.
Deceptive Calm subjects readers to horror after horror and has the nerve to not provide an even slightly rewarding ending. Save the $3, it ain't worth it.
SPOILERS || TW: Rape, Abuse, Abortion, Sex (Teen), Racial Slurs, Violence, Assault
This 1968 Charleston-set book follows Vanessa, a beautiful but naive white-passing Black woman who grows up in a Black Catholic orphanage and chooses to live as white after suffering the horrors of misogynoir. I think the concept had potential and the portrayal of back-alley abortion highlights the importance of life-saving medical care for Black women, but the execution is deeply flawed.
Historical context is delivered primarily through ham-fisted exposition that reads more like an APUSH textbook than natural dialogue. A lot of history lessons are given by Sister Rosalie, the only Black nun in the diocese who also runs the orphanage alone. As a Southern Black person, I found her misuse of "Bless your heart" and her tendency to say nonsensical phrases like "What in the name of sassafras?" irritating.
None of the Black characters are dimensional. Sister Roe is described as "obese," "puggy-faced," loud and a little rude. She's also "never put a child in an abusive household" according to Vanessa, which isn't something any of the characters could be sure about. Sister Roe supports Vanessa but isn't shown to need any support of her own despite intense emotional and physical labor. The author seems to love reminding the reader that Sister Roe is fat and Vanessa is a miserable orphan with "rose-colored glasses." Look, I was an orphan and I can't believe how unrealistically ignorant about the world Vanessa is. I also found myself annoyed at Barry for realizing he should be thankful for his parents and house after seeing the orphanage, and how he kept feeling sorry for Vanessa. Like man, just treat her like a normal person. Also, the author shows us Vanessa is Black through her authentically beautiful connection to Southern Black culture and, I'm kidding, it's because of her cordial treatment of a Jamaican man with locs who won't stop saying "mon" and her belief in a wise old Gullah man dispensing prophesies about bad juju. And her child having visibly Black features and sickle-cell disease, leading to attempted racially motivated murder by her white husband.
Vanessa can't catch a break. She's subjected to a litany of miseries including parental death, violence, emotional and sexual abuse, rape, pregnancy and abortion trauma, and racial epithets. The white woman author must have really wanted an excuse to type "n-ger," because it shows up 12 times when it really didn't have to. I'm not a prude by any means, but the hateful language and constant abuse the main character endured was wearing me down by the end of it.
Poor light-skinned Vanessa also complains about not being "the right color" for Black people, failing to comprehend the safety risks prospective Black adoptive parents would face in a time where the Klan was very active and little Black boys were lynched for breathing next to white women. Vanessa doesn't acknowledge the privilege she has as a conventionally attractive lightskinned person due to colorism - even though part of this privilege is her ability to, for all intents and purposes, stop being Black. She doesn't try to see where Black people are coming from when they're wary of accepting her into their communities and then completely (legally!) distances herself from her Blackness until she physically can't. There's a point where Vanessa thinks of herself as the San Fran station's "first Black woman news anchor," which annoyed me because of her deliberate choice not to identify as Black.
The beginning drags on, the middle lost my interest completely, and the ending felt like the author wanted this book to be over just as badly as I did. It should've been written in first person instead of third so there'd be a clearer focus on Vanessa's feelings. The characters were static. At the end Vanessa and Barry seemingly end up together, but there's no meaningful development that makes this a satisfying resolution. Some confusing things are that Vanessa says a prostitute is using "almost illiterate speech" even though her language would've probably been similar to Sister Roe's. Also Trisha, the white best friend, is visibly uncomfortable around poor Black people despite growing up around them. There's also word choices like "female impersonator" (just say drag) and "(...) your daughter with the shoe fetish" (who talks like this?) that were off-putting to me. I was most put-off by the author's choice to capitalize white, a practiced shared by and associated with white supremacists. VERY weird on the writer's part.
Deceptive Calm subjects readers to horror after horror and has the nerve to not provide an even slightly rewarding ending. Save the $3, it ain't worth it.
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