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From Goodreads:
1950s Philadelphia: 15-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college, in spite of having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising a daughter. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed on to her like a birthright.
Eleanor Quarles arrives in Washington, DC, with ambition and secrets. When she meets the handsome William Pride at Howard University, they fall madly in love. But William hails from one of DC’s elite wealthy Black families, and his parents don’t let just anyone into their fold. Eleanor hopes that a baby will make her finally feel at home in William’s family and grant her the life she’s been searching for. But having a baby—and fitting in—is easier said than done.
With their stories colliding in the most unexpected of ways, Ruby and Eleanor will both make decisions that shape the trajectory of their lives.
Rapid Rating: High.
(Just over the line from moderate.) Profanity includes 6 uses of strong language, around 30 instances of moderate profanity, 20 uses of mild language, and 10 instances of the name of Deity in vain. There are a few instances of the n-word. References to sex, at least one somewhat detailed sex scene, several others with little detail, a sexual assault. Other trauma: A woman has several miscarriages; a young woman makes a visit to an abortionist.
