Somewhere Soft to Land

In the incisive debut from Ghanaian American writer Alonté, a woman’s friendship is strained by a child custody battle. Raised in Oakland, Calif., low-key Dzifa meets her vivacious bestie, Tatiana, when both are college students in Massachusetts. Seven years later, Dzifa is living in Brooklyn with Tatiana, until Tatiana gets pregnant with her daughter, Maddie. A year and a half later, Tatiana, Maddie, and her partner, B, are living in Boston and have just had a new baby, Luca, who was born with a serious heart condition. Dzifa is back home in Oakland when she gets the call that Luca has died. She rushes to Boston, where she is thrust in the middle of a power play between Tatiana and B’s parents, who support B’s decision to sue for full custody of Maddie. Dzifa also has her own family drama, including her unstable and vindictive mother and her holier-than-thou sister. Alonté does an excellent job illustrating the characters’ grief in the wake of tragedy, along with Dzifa’s heartfelt desire to support her friend. This will move readers. Agent: Alex Kane, WME. (Apr.)