All her life McCauley Mitchell (aka Clae) is told by her single mother that her father left soon after she was born. Clae is one of the few black teenagers in the predominantly white coastal city of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Clae does not question her mother about her father as that is a sour topic and her mother usually dismisses her questions abruptly.
But deep down Clae wonders how her father looks and why he abandoned them to fend for themselves. Growing up with other white kids, Clae has a million unanswered questions about herself. Her identity. She knows that some benevolent person 'Fairy god somebody' regularly sends money to her mother.
She is focused on her studies and is determined to become an astute investigative journalist. Before dying her uncle Wendell gives Clae a ring that belonged to her father. It has an inscription of the school he studied in NYC.
During the summer, Clae gets selected to attend a journalism internship programme in New York City. She knows that her parents had met in NYC and even stayed in NYC. She meets other journalism students and becomes friends with Nze, and Joelle. From Broadway to Brooklyn and back, she traverses the city with her girl gang and a cute guy whom she befriends. He is more than happy to show them around.
With few leads, Clae even manages to track down the places visited by her parents. The Black American history, the ghettos, the commendable work done by some prominent black leaders et al.
The author blends friendships, identity crises, family secrets and romance seamlessly in this coming-of-age story. All the characters are carved out neatly.
Till the end, you are kept guessing if Clae will find her ‘Fairy God Something.’ Also, what will happen when she finds out the truth and why her mother was lying for all these years?
The prose is in first person and is riveting. It is a simple, yet powerful story of a young black girl’s journey toward self-discovery, valuing the power of friendships and accepting life’s challenges as they come without losing hope.
