Sing, Unburied, SingSing, Unburied, Sing
Score Modern
What it's about
Jojo is thirteen and lives with his grandparents on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where his grandmother is dying of cancer. His mother, Leonie, is an addict who sees the ghost of her murdered brother when she's high. When Jojo's white father is released from Parchman prison, Leonie packs up Jojo and his little sister for the drive to pick him up, and another ghost, a boy who died at Parchman decades before, comes along.
Why it's worth reading
It won the National Book Award, Ward's second, and the New York Times named it one of the best books of the 21st century. It's a road novel, a ghost story and a family story about the weight of Southern history.
You'll love it if you liked
Beloved
The Nickel Boys
The Underground RailroadGood to know
There is drug use, child neglect and racial violence. Its ghosts are real within the story, which shifts between Jojo, Leonie and the dead.
By the numbers
- Readers41 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics92 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller52 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz7 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #26 of the 219 young adult books we rank
- #55 of the 309 literary novels we rank
- #240 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #480 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Epic, Adventurous, Moving
More by Jesmyn Ward
Men We Reaped: A Memoir
Salvage the BonesIf you like this, read next
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
The Five People You Meet in Heaven
The City of Brass
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
The Book of Form and Emptiness
The Princess DiariesExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is Sing, Unburied, Sing worth reading?
Yes. It won the National Book Award, Ward's second, and the New York Times named it one of the best books of the 21st century. It ranks #480 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 78.7 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Sing, Unburied, Sing about?
Jojo is thirteen and lives with his grandparents on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where his grandmother is dying of cancer. His mother, Leonie, is an addict who sees the ghost of her murdered brother when she's high. When Jojo's white father is released from Parchman prison, Leonie packs up Jojo and his little sister for the drive to pick him up, and another ghost, a boy who died at Parchman decades before, comes along.
How long does it take to read Sing, Unburied, Sing?
About 7 hours (285 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has Sing, Unburied, Sing won?
National Book Award (Fiction) winner (2017).
What should I read after Sing, Unburied, Sing?
If you liked it, try Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead or The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.