*An Entertainment Weekly, Millions, and LitHub Most-Anticipated Book of 2020 pick*
*A Rumpus and Electric Literature Most-Anticipated Debut of 2020 pick*
*A Ms. Magazine Top Feminist Book Coming Out in 2020*
*A BookRiot Best Book Club Pick of 2020*
*A Celadon Books Most-Anticipated Novel of 2020*
*A Lily Top Book to Read by Women in 2020 Selection*
*A Buzz Magazine Top New Book of the New Decade*
*A She Reads Most-Anticipated Historical Fiction Pick of 2020*
"Maisy Card is a great writer. Her compelling debut evokes the richness of culture and the inevitable impact of generational secrets, full of magnificent characters that continue to haunt me."
—Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of Patsy and Here Comes the Sun
"Every family's got secrets but Abel Paisley's secret is monstrous and mesmerizing. These Ghosts are Family begins with energy and intrigue and, really, never lets up. This book is painful and shocking but it can be funny as hell, too. What a talented writer. Maisy Card has written one of the best debut novels I've read in many years."
—Victor LaValle, author of The Changeling
"Through Maisy Card’s immersive storytelling, These Ghosts Are Family explores the intersections of generational trauma, love, and long-held family secrets, showing what it means to build a life in the face of history. I was hooked from page one." —Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers
“I suspect many readers will talk about the consequences of unspoken generational trauma in These Ghosts Are Family, but I'm most amazed by the deft use of characterization, place and embodiment here. This book is a master class in writing home as a collection of odd spirits and a mobile metaphor.”
--Kiese Laymon, author of Long Division
“In this fascinating debut, Maisy Card reveals her spectacular range and scope. Part immigrant narrative, part ghost story, part historical fiction, part family drama, These Ghosts Are Family explores and illuminates the complexities of race and lineage in Jamaica and the United States. This is a bold, gripping, compassionate book."
--Helen Phillips, author of The Need
“Maisy Card's relentlessly inventive debut is a thrilling exploration of family, memory and which pasts we choose to haunt us.”
--Kaitlyn Greenidge, author of We Love You, Charlie Freeman
"This spirited narrative is grounded in a devastating history; and yet, somehow, These Ghosts Are Family generates a sense of possibility about the future—for these characters, and for the reader as well."
—Tope Folarin, author of A Particular Kind of Black Man
“How do actions reverberate across multiple generations? In Maisy Card's stunning novel, people live and die and lose and love and make their way through this chaotic but profound experience we call life. Her luminous prose lights a way even in the darkest moments. These Ghosts Are Family will haunt you long after you finish it.”
--Michele Filgate, author of What My Mother and I Don't Talk About
“Written with the brand of Jamaican humor I know and love, These Ghosts Are Family is a book I didn't know I needed to read, which might be the best kind of book. Maisy Card is a wonderful arrival for Caribbean literature.”
--Alexia Arthurs, author of How to Love a Jamaican
“These Ghosts are Family by Maisy Card will enchant readers completely with a fascinating cast of characters, each more bewitching than the last. This book is destined to become 2020’s most beloved debut novel.”
--Julia Fierro, author of The Gypsy Moth Summer
"Through a fluid blend of patois and erudite descriptions of Jamaica, Card offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of a troubled but resilient family whose struggles are inscribed by the island they once called home. This masterful chronicle haunts like the work of Marlon James and hits just as hard."--Publishers Weekly
"A rich and layered story...A wonderfully ambitious novel: It sprawls in time from the uncertain present to the horror of slavery on a Jamaican plantation, examining racism, colorism, and infidelity and how they obscure and fracture a lineage...An intriguing debut with an inventive spin on the generational family saga." --Kirkus Reviews
"Inventive and captivating. . . Card’s depiction of genealogy and historical research is spot-on…”--BuzzFeed
“Beguiling...Vividly drawn and compelling. There is magic in these pages.”--BookPage
“[A] stunning, kaleidoscopic debut…Card invites readers to imagine themselves as a series of characters, one by one, in the moments before [a] revelation upends their identities, and such inventive narrative techniques continue throughout the novel…A fantastic debut.”--Booklist
*A Rumpus and Electric Literature Most-Anticipated Debut of 2020 pick*
*A Ms. Magazine Top Feminist Book Coming Out in 2020*
*A BookRiot Best Book Club Pick of 2020*
*A Celadon Books Most-Anticipated Novel of 2020*
*A Lily Top Book to Read by Women in 2020 Selection*
*A Buzz Magazine Top New Book of the New Decade*
*A She Reads Most-Anticipated Historical Fiction Pick of 2020*
"Maisy Card is a great writer. Her compelling debut evokes the richness of culture and the inevitable impact of generational secrets, full of magnificent characters that continue to haunt me."
—Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of Patsy and Here Comes the Sun
"Every family's got secrets but Abel Paisley's secret is monstrous and mesmerizing. These Ghosts are Family begins with energy and intrigue and, really, never lets up. This book is painful and shocking but it can be funny as hell, too. What a talented writer. Maisy Card has written one of the best debut novels I've read in many years."
—Victor LaValle, author of The Changeling
"Through Maisy Card’s immersive storytelling, These Ghosts Are Family explores the intersections of generational trauma, love, and long-held family secrets, showing what it means to build a life in the face of history. I was hooked from page one." —Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers
“I suspect many readers will talk about the consequences of unspoken generational trauma in These Ghosts Are Family, but I'm most amazed by the deft use of characterization, place and embodiment here. This book is a master class in writing home as a collection of odd spirits and a mobile metaphor.”
--Kiese Laymon, author of Long Division
“In this fascinating debut, Maisy Card reveals her spectacular range and scope. Part immigrant narrative, part ghost story, part historical fiction, part family drama, These Ghosts Are Family explores and illuminates the complexities of race and lineage in Jamaica and the United States. This is a bold, gripping, compassionate book."
--Helen Phillips, author of The Need
“Maisy Card's relentlessly inventive debut is a thrilling exploration of family, memory and which pasts we choose to haunt us.”
--Kaitlyn Greenidge, author of We Love You, Charlie Freeman
"This spirited narrative is grounded in a devastating history; and yet, somehow, These Ghosts Are Family generates a sense of possibility about the future—for these characters, and for the reader as well."
—Tope Folarin, author of A Particular Kind of Black Man
“How do actions reverberate across multiple generations? In Maisy Card's stunning novel, people live and die and lose and love and make their way through this chaotic but profound experience we call life. Her luminous prose lights a way even in the darkest moments. These Ghosts Are Family will haunt you long after you finish it.”
--Michele Filgate, author of What My Mother and I Don't Talk About
“Written with the brand of Jamaican humor I know and love, These Ghosts Are Family is a book I didn't know I needed to read, which might be the best kind of book. Maisy Card is a wonderful arrival for Caribbean literature.”
--Alexia Arthurs, author of How to Love a Jamaican
“These Ghosts are Family by Maisy Card will enchant readers completely with a fascinating cast of characters, each more bewitching than the last. This book is destined to become 2020’s most beloved debut novel.”
--Julia Fierro, author of The Gypsy Moth Summer
"Through a fluid blend of patois and erudite descriptions of Jamaica, Card offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of a troubled but resilient family whose struggles are inscribed by the island they once called home. This masterful chronicle haunts like the work of Marlon James and hits just as hard."--Publishers Weekly
"A rich and layered story...A wonderfully ambitious novel: It sprawls in time from the uncertain present to the horror of slavery on a Jamaican plantation, examining racism, colorism, and infidelity and how they obscure and fracture a lineage...An intriguing debut with an inventive spin on the generational family saga." --Kirkus Reviews
"Inventive and captivating. . . Card’s depiction of genealogy and historical research is spot-on…”--BuzzFeed
“Beguiling...Vividly drawn and compelling. There is magic in these pages.”--BookPage
“[A] stunning, kaleidoscopic debut…Card invites readers to imagine themselves as a series of characters, one by one, in the moments before [a] revelation upends their identities, and such inventive narrative techniques continue throughout the novel…A fantastic debut.”--Booklist