Transcendent Kingdom (by Yaa Gyasi)

Gyasi's follow-up to the incredible Homegoing, and equally beautifully written.  Our main character, Gifty, is a Ghanian-American (like Gyasi herself) and a neuroscientist who is studying patterns of addiction in mice after her family has been impacted by addiction.  There is also a focus on the complex relationship between Gifty and her mother, who has depression, as well as an exploration of the tension between her childhood evangelical faith and her scientific principles.

As the novel approached its ending (my Kindle was like "92% complete!") it felt like none of the plot strands would be resolved and I was getting nervous about Gyasi sticking the landing. It ends on this lovely moment of ambiguity (maybe too much ambiguity) but then suddenly there's a jump ahead in time and an epilogue that feels out-of-place as well as too neat. So I have to say the ending subtracted a star from me, as it didn't find the perfect middle ground between too resolved and not resolved at all. But I love Gyasi's writing and am excited to read whatever she publishes next.