Homebodies
A Novel
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3.7 • 15 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
"[A] sharp, charming and passionate debut." —New York Times Book Review
A Most Anticipated Book of 2023 by Elle, USA Today, Bustle, Ebony, Harper’s Bazaar, PopSugar, New York Post, The Skimm, and The Millions.
A Best Book of 2023 by Marie Claire, Esquire, Vogue, them, Autostraddle, Betches, Gay Times, and Cosmopolitan.
An insightful, propulsive, and deeply sexy debut novel about a young Black writer whose world is turned upside down when she loses her coveted job in media and pens a searing manifesto about racism in the industry.
Mickey Hayward dreams of writing stories that matter, but, for now, her days are filled with listicles about lip gloss and click-bait articles about celebrity haircare. Still, the job is flashy and her girlfriend is steady and supportive. The path may be long, but Mickey’s well on her way, and it’s far from the messy life she left behind in Maryland. Everything finally seems to be falling into place—until she finds out she’s being replaced.
Distraught and enraged, Mickey fires back with a detailed letter outlining the racism she’s endured as a Black woman in media, certain it will change the world for the better. But when her letter is met with overwhelming silence, even from her usually-encouraging girlfriend, Mickey is sent into a tailspin of self-doubt. Forced to reckon with just how fragile her life is, she flees to the last place she ever dreamed she would run: her hometown.
Back home, Mickey is seduced by the simplicity of her hometown—and the flirtation of a former flame—but she soon learns that you can’t outrun your past. In the newfound quiet, she is forced to reflect on the sacrifices she’d made for an industry that never loved her back and pick up the pieces of the life she thought she’d left behind for good. After all, when the walls of success you’ve carefully built around yourself come crumbling down, what—and who—are you left with?
A meditation on identity, self-worth and the toll of corporate racism, Homebodies is a portrait of modern Black womanhood with a protagonist you won’t soon forget.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In this vital coming-of-age novel, a young queer Black writer struggles with racism and finding her voice. Mickey Hayward had been so excited to land a job at a cool online magazine based in New York City, but instead of writing about issues she cares deeply about, she finds herself working on listicles and fluff pieces. After an unexpected career setback, Mickey flees to her Maryland hometown to reconnect with family, friends, and ex-lovers—and figure out her next move. Debut author Tembe Denton-Hurst has got the publishing industry’s number, making astute and witty observations about ingrained racism, unrealistic deadlines, and the endless clickbait churn. We really loved her multilayered, complicated characters, especially Lex, Mickey’s endlessly considerate partner. Poignant, emotionally charged, and at times incredibly sexy, this is a story that’s easy to relate to.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Denton-Hurst debuts with an exciting chronicle of a Black journalist finding her voice. Mickey Hayward, a writer for a magazine called Wave, is disappointed by her supervisor's casual racism and dismissiveness toward her ideas. Still, she believes she'll find success, until she discovers that Wave is interviewing candidates to replace her, and she's laid off shortly after someone is hired. Angry and reeling from being let go and a fight with her long-term girlfriend, Mickey posts a letter online describing her mistreatment at Wave, then returns to her Maryland hometown where she reconnects with ex-lover Tee and strives to be honest with her family about her struggles. Things are especially fraught with her father, with whom she's built a fragile relationship after he started a new family following his divorce from Mickey's mom. But her visit is cut short when an industry-wide reckoning with the exploitation of Black employees thrusts Mickey's letter turned manifesto into the spotlight, and with it, Mickey herself. Denton-Hurst dazzles with her stirring indictment of racism in media and its insidious effects on Mickey, who must choose between making herself smaller to appease others and championing her own voice and experiences. Emotionally and politically resonant, this is not to be missed.
