[4] Lula Ann "Bride" Bridewell, a woman with dark "blue-black" skin, was neglected and abused by her light-skinned parents, who are ashamed of her.

Brooklyn prides herself on being able to understand people beyond what they say, a skill she developed growing in an unstable home near an uncle by whom she was molested.

This led to him leaving his family and only keeping contact with Queen, who encouraged Booker to hold on to his brother's memory.

Booker gives Queen a private funeral service, though he is frustrated with his uninspired trumpet playing and throws his instrument away.

[5] The novel was listed by publications including The Globe and Mail, Publishers Weekly and The New York Times as one of their most anticipated book releases of 2015.

[9] On the July/August 2015 issue of Bookmarks, the book received a (3.00 out of 5) with the critical summary saying, "At times didactic and schematic, God Help the Child may represent a rare misstep for the acclaimed author".

[10][11] Artist Kara Walker writing for The New York Times negatively compared the novel to previous works by Morrison, saying that “the abundance of first-person confessionals does little to invite actual intimacy.”[12] Ron Charles writing for The Washington Post compared the novel unfavorably to Morrison's debut novel The Bluest Eye (1970), criticizing the characters in her latest work as people with "no interior life".

[13] Similarly the review by Razia Iqbal for The Independent complained that the characters were "too didactic on the page: prototypes for an idea rather than real people.

"[14] In a review for The Guardian, writer Roxane Gay concluded: "God Help the Child is the kind of novel where you can feel the magnificence just beyond your reach.

The writing and storytelling are utterly compelling, but so much is frustratingly flawed....Yet still, there is that magnificence, burning beneath the surface of every word.

Morrison remains an incredibly powerful writer who commands attention no matter the story she is telling.