I wanted to love this book so badly. It's a unique storyline and it tackles major issues that people face in America today - race, the justice system, the prison system, etc. I really, really wanted to fall in love with An American Marriage.

Instead, I found myself disliking the characters so much that I couldn't focus on the plot. I don't agree with many of the actions and decisions that occurred through the novel, and I don't understand Celestial's reaction(s) to her husband's unfortunate circumstances. The relationship between Celestial and Roy is meant to be a bit troubled from the beginning (at least, I think), but as a result I couldn't connect to it, which means I didn't even want to root for them throughout the book. But I didn't want to root against them, either; I just didn't care.

Me not caring about characters and how they end up says a lot about a book. I think I easily could've gone for 2 stars here, but I kind of understand why this book is getting all of the hype it's getting. Kind of. But I didn't really like the characters and I didn't enjoy the plot. And there are very few people who I would recommend this book to.