WHEN I THINK OF YOU

A short-lived college romance is rekindled years later when exes reunite to make a movie.

Kaliya Wilson has always wanted to be a filmmaker, but after years of facing racist and sexist gatekeeping as a Black woman, she has almost given up on that dream. So when her first boyfriend, Danny Prescott, walks into the studio where she’s a receptionist and offers her a job on his new movie, she can’t resist taking him up on it. The talented young director comes from a storied Hollywood lineage and is making a movie based on his parents’ interracial relationship, which began in the Jim Crow South, and their happy marriage. Kaliya is moved by the project, and not only that—she’s attracted to Danny again, and he seems to reciprocate her feelings. But his previous abandonment, his current personal life, and professional complications including their boss-employee relationship make her doubt they can have a happily-ever-after. The novel shines in its depiction of Danny’s parents’ story and in the scenes where the author weaves in Black joy and art, such as a call-and-response double Dutch jump-rope episode and the work of quilter and portraitist Bisa Butler. The flashbacks to the romance between Kaliya and Danny during their college years in New York effectively evoke the thrill of first love. The couple’s present-day relationship is weaker, however, because misunderstandings, separation, and obstacles both internal and external (including a clichéd female rival) abound, evoking old-school romance sagas. The third-act breakup and the fast-forward to a year later are meant to cement Kaliya’s newfound independence, but it feels like happiness deferred one time too many.

An enjoyable but uneven Hollywood-set love story that calls out racism in the film industry.