Conception

Abandoned by her father and having unfulfilling sex with the married man whose children she babysits, Shivana Montgomery, 15, “already knew what it felt like to feel nothing.” Living in subsidized housing on Chicago's South Side, Shivana is soon enough pregnant. She fears confessing to her mother, considers abortion and finds herself unexpectedly falling in love with a neighborhood boy who just might be her “heart love”—and also with her own unborn baby. The spirit of this unborn child is a character in its own right, telling a story that spans centuries and offers tragic glimpses into the truncated lives of black children. The fetus's wise, sometimes heavy-handed narration grounds Shivana's story within a sad legacy, through slavery, lynching and ongoing racism to a modern world where reproductive choice is a myth, virtually all children are unwanted, and The Cosby Show is the ultimate fairy tale. At its best, the novel balances a bitter stocktaking with a sorrowful lyricism. (Feb.)