Book 67- Substitute Me

I enjoyed the novel Substitute Me by Lori L. Tharps. I like stories about nannies. And this is the story of a Black woman who is young and single who had no life direction so she's a nanny. I like the narrative's struggle with the idea of a Black woman being a domestic for a White couple when she was raise in an affluent, upper middle class life.

Zora isn't sure what she wants to do in life but she does like kids and she does love to cook and she does want to live in NYC. So what to do? Well, making good money can be done by being a nanny so that's the position she takes while she tries to figure it all out. But her family would hate that she's become a "mammy" so she keeps it a secret. She has a boyfriend who pressures her to be more. And her friend Angel says she should do what she wants to be happy.

Good story as we follow the story of Zora. Now, the chapters alternate narrators between Zora and Kate, the woman for whom Zora works. I think the Zora story is better and I felt Kate was just whiny and I didn't find her all that likable. But she's necessary to the story. I didn't like the trite ending, but overall I thought it was a well written novel and an engaging story.