Like Mother, Like Daughter

Like Mother, Like Daughter by Kimberly McCreight, 306 pages

Cleo's mom, Katrina, has been bugging her FOREVER to come home for dinner in the hopes of starting to repair their strained relationship. But when Cleo gets home and finds smears of blood instead of her mom, she starts learning more about her parents than she ever expected. Like the fact that they're getting divorced. And that her mom's boring "patent attorney" job is WAY more dangerous and complicated than Cleo ever expected. Oh, and there's something BAD in Katrina's past that has recently resurfaced.

This started out as a compelling thriller, but as it went on, it got a bit too crazy, with SO MANY different plots coming together and an ending that kinda came out of nowhere. Not horrible, but definitely not the best thriller I've read recently by any means.

The Curious Secrets of Yesterday

The Curious Secrets of Yesterday by Namrata Patel, 283 pages

Tulsi Gupta has been raised from birth to be the successor of her mother and grandmother in their spice healing business. At 30 years old, however, Tulsi still hasn't taken the final steps to take over her mother's role and allow her grandmother to retire. Why? Well, she's not so sure she wants the legacy, and while she doesn't know what her vocation should be otherwise, she knows she wants to travel and get experiences, and she's slowly been saving up so she can do those things as soon as she gets up the nerve to tell her mother and grandmother. Then two things happen to upset that particular apple cart: the shop suddenly has social media accounts that are blowing up BIG TIME (despite Tulsi and her family having no idea who's running the accounts) and a handsome ex-Marine has taken over the café next door (and much to the delight of her family, Tulsi seems to be hitting it off with him).

The writing was a bit clunky to begin with, and the story was a bit predictable, but if you can make it through the first 50 pages, this is a quick and satisfying read about secrets, family, duty, and love. Not my favorite book, but definitely not the worst I've read.

*This book will be published June 1, 2024.

The Poet X

 

The Poet X: A Novel by Elizabeth Acevedo  361 pp.

This is one of those books I planned to read back when it first came out. But I didn't get around to it, until it became one of the selections for the Great Stories Club Grant. Now I'm sorry I waited so long. The novel is written as a series of poems written by the main character, Xiamara called Mara, a teen from the Dominican Republic living in New York. Her mother, who once planned to be a nun, is extremely strict with Mara bordering on abuse. Mara is a teen with typical teen wants and needs who is being stifled at home. She faces her first "forbidden" love, wants to be a part of a school poetry club, and participate in an upcoming poetry slam but all of that goes against her mother's permissions. The emotions expressed in the poetry ring true as Mara learns to express herself, not just on the page, but to her family and the world. Heart-wrenching at times and gloriously composed, this is the winner of the National Book Award, the Pura Belpré Award, and the Michael Printz Award.

The swimmers

 

The Swimmers / Julie Otsuka, read by Traci Kato-Kiriyama, 192 pgs.

The swimmers are a dedicated crowd who love their basement pool to the point of alienating their loved ones.  They have built an important social system as they fly through their laps. When a series of mysterious cracks appear, concerns for safety lead to the pool closing.  The dedicated natators are kicked out and left treading no water.  The story flips to focus on Alice who is showing signs of disintegrating memory. She finds herself pulled into her past including a childhood in a Japanese internment camp. Less free, she moves to a memory care center and flutters in and out of the present while her daughter is pulled into the story.  The key relationship between mother and daughter reveals the decline of Alice through the eyes of her daughter who is, herself, dealing with the shortcomings of their relationship.

Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy

 

Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: a graphic novel by Rey Terciero  256 pp.

This modern day take on Little Women is terrific. Sisters/step-sisters in a struggling, mixed race, blended family are as close as any siblings can be. There mother works extra shifts to support them while their father is off fighting in the Middle East. Of course there are spats and jealousies among them but when it comes down to things that are important they become a force to be reckoned with. Jo is intent on her writing. Beth is becoming a singer/songwriter/performer. Amy is a budding artist, and Meg just wants to marry a rich man and not have to work, until she realizes that isn't a viable plan. There are familiar characters from the Alcott novel, including Laurie, who becomes a love interest. When Beth becomes ill, and their father is seriously injured in battle, the sisters bind together even more. One spoiler: Beth lives in this version. 

Well-Behaved Indian Women

Well-Behaved Indian Women by Saumya Dave, 385 pages

Simran seems to have everything lined up for a fantastic life: she's living in New York, she's finishing up her Master's in psychology, and her fiance is a medical resident with a promising future. But as planning for a large Indian wedding moves along, the cracks in her life begin to appear. Simultaneously, her mother, Nandini, is similarly experiencing some strain from her in-laws, as well as Simran's future mother-in-law. It doesn't help that mother and daughter can't seem to talk, or get a hold of Nandini's mom back in India. Can the women hold it together to see this wedding through?

Dave's debut novel, this book shows the pressures of not only being a woman, but being an Indian-American woman, tasked with serving traditional in-laws in a society that keeps pressuring women to "lean in." It's illuminating and fascinating (I'm *so glad* my wedding preparations were not like this!), and I look forward to what Dave writes in the future.

The Secret Women

The Secret Women by Sheila Williams, 290 pages

Carmen, Dee Dee, and Elise don't seem to have much in common when they meet at yoga class, but after a bit of chatting they realize that the one thing they do share is a struggle to go through the belongings of their late mothers. The three form a pact to help each other clear out the old boxes (and, in one case, a whole condo) of their mothers, helping each other with both the physical and emotional labor involved. As they begin their tasks, each woman must deal with revelations, sometimes shocking, and come to grips with who her mother really was.

I appreciate what Williams is doing by showing these women shouldering the burden of dealing with what a loved one has left behind — after all, don't we all end up taking on that job at some point? — and the stories told here are all valid and intriguing. That said, they fit together a bit clumsily, particularly considering that the whole book takes place over the course of a few weeks. I'm just not sure I buy the friendships coalescing quite so quickly and solidly to enable sharing long-buried secrets so freely. But it was a quick read, and definitely offers an easy path toward something we'll all have to deal with, so...

The vanishing half

The vanishing half / Brit Bennett, read by Shayna Small, 343 pgs.

Bennett's last book was really good so I have been looking forward to this one.  I must say, this one blew me out of the water.  What a fantastic story full of family secrets, interesting relationships and mysteries that are sort of explained. Twins Stella and Desiree want nothing more than to leave there sleepy hometown but things don't always work out as you hope.  Both go on to have daughters and make their own way.  This is the blandest description of a story that pulls you in from the very beginning and never lets go.  Who among us doesn't have a secret?  The audio read by Shayna Small is excellent. 

Behind Every Lie

Behind Every Lie by Christina McDonald, 308 pages

Eva Hansen is in the hospital after being struck by lightning when she learns that her mother was murdered. If that's not enough, she soon learns that she's under suspicion for the crime and because of the lightning strike, she has no memory of the event. Eva strikes out on a twisty quest for the truth, discovering secrets and lies that go back 25 years and throw into question her very identity. Is it enough to make her kill her mom though? She's determined to find out, even if she is a murderer.

I wasn't a huge fan of this book, which seemed to throw in plot twists for no real reason and relied on the wholly unlikely lightning strike-causing-amnesia as the frame to hold everything together. But it was a quick read, so there's that. Also, this is the third thriller I've read this year with a character named Sebastian, if you're looking for trends in the genre.

Freefall

Freefall / Jessica Barry, read by  Hillary Huber, Karissa Vacker, & MacLeod Andrews, 350 pgs.

Allison Carpenter is aboard her fiance's private plane when it crashes.  The pilot is dead but Allison survives.  She is injured but knows she needs to get a move on because she knows someone is out to get her. On the other end of the country, Maggie Carpenter learns of her daughter's probably death and is saddened that they have not healed the rift that has left them not communicating for two years.  It doesn't take long for Maggie to question the details of Allison's death and whether she is even dead.  They haven't found her body, after all, but did return the locket she has worn for years that was given to her by her father. As Maggie researches her questions, Allison is struggling to survive.  She is in the wilderness, then finally gets to civilization but is afraid to contact anyone.  She decides she must make her way to her mother in Maine.  This book is told in alternating viewpoints.  It has a few interesting spots but is mostly so unrealistic with ridiculous lines that you might want to skip this one.

The Misfortune of Marion Palm

The Misfortune of Marion Palm by Emily Culliton, 282 pages.
This was, for me, that rare enjoyable book with no likable characters. Marion has left her husband Nathan behind as she tries to stay ahead of the audit that is certain to expose her embezzlement. As we hear from both of them as they narrate their stories, it's hard to feel sympathy for either. Nathan is a self-absorbed and entitled writer and Marion seems incapable of true feelings for others. Throughout the book, Culliton does an excellent job of keeping the book engaging and readable, and shows her characters (or allows her characters to show) their somewhat buried humanity.
The people from whom Marion has liberated the funds are almost less likable than Marion and Nathan. It's only Ginny and Jane, the daughters of the Palms, who worry the reader. How will these two survive with an uncaring and now absent mother and a father who struggles to notice them? Culliton gives us an interesting read without easy answers.

A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories

A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories by Lucia Berlin, edited by Stephen Emerson, 403 pages. Audio is read by multiple narrators.

Christa and another coworker, Kathleen, maybe, had spoken well of this book back when it came out, in 2015. It took me a while to read it, or rather to listen to it and read it, but I am so glad I did.

The writing is beautiful and the arc of the book is amazing. The characters are so present, so clear; they're sad, or at least in pitiable circumstances, but they are not asking for pity. All of the characters are ware of what a mess their lives are, aware of they got there, and they are often at least thinking about changing their behavior. Her protagonists are working women, nurses, house-cleaners. There's no romanticizing the work, and no romanticizing the attendant problems with spouses, parents, siblings, and alcohol.
Really an amazing book.
It took me far too long to realize that these were the same characters (parallel characters? Is Charlotte, Carlotta also Lucille?)  appearing again and again.

I almost never read forewords or introductions to works of fiction (unless we're going to discuss the book), but since I listened to the first half of this book, I kind of had to. It was only because of Lydia Davis's foreword that I was aware of the parallels between the stories and the author's life; Davis quoting the author, "I exaggerate a lot and I get fiction and reality mixed up, but I don't actually ever lie."
Very glad I read this.

From Cradle to Stage

From Cradle to Stage: Stories from the Mothers who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars by Virginia Hanlon Grohl  240 pp.

Virginia Grohl, mother and biggest fan of Foo Fighters founder and frontman, Dave Grohl interviewed the mothers of many popular musicians to find out what their lives were like bringing up their musical stars. The mothers she chose have children in the Pop, Country & Western, Rock, Rap & Hip Hop, and Heavy Metal genres. During these interviews virtually every parent discussed how their children were different from other children they went to school with and that almost every one of them had displayed musical talent and a desire to perform from a very young age. It is surprising how the stories told by the mothers were often so similar in spite of their financial circumstances, education level, and marital situation. Each one of them supported (with varying degrees of enthusiasm) their children's decisions to do what they loved and to tackle the difficulties of trying to make it big in the music industry. Some, like Kurt Cobain's and Amy Winehouse's mothers ultimately dealt with tragedy. Others, like Grohl herself, have enjoyed the success of their children's careers. Between the interviews with the mothers, Grohl has included "vignettes", stories of life with her son Dave before and after his fame. Bedsides those already mentioned the book includes the mothers and/or stepmothers of Michael Stipe, Tom Merello, Geddy Lee, Miranda Lambert, Dr. Dre, Pharrell Williams, Adam Levine, Mike D, Josh Groban, Dave Matthews, Zac Brown, Gary Clark, Jr., Haim sisters, Warren Haynes, & Adam Levin. The audiobook is read by the author and includes a conversation between Virginia and Dave Grohl at the end.

Laura & Emma

Laura & Emma / Kate Greathead, read by Madeleine Maby, 334 pgs.

Laura is a seventh generation New York blue blood and lives in the lap of luxury but holds some progressive views about the environment and society.  She is happily single when a one night stand results in a pregnancy.  She decides this is her chance to be a mother and Emma is born.  The book is written with each chapter covering a year from 1980-1995 with some full of details about the lives of our main characters and some very short.  I enjoyed the audio version of this book read by Madeleine Maby, a narrator that is new to me. 

Of course Kara did a better job of reviewing so take a look at her entry here.

What we lose: a novel

What we lose: a novel by Zinzi Clemmons, 213 pgs.

Thandi was raised in Pennsylvania but her mother grew up in Johannesburg. The family history in South Africa makes her an outsider.  She is between black and white, South African and American.  When I read what others write about this book, Thandi's identity is key.  However, for me, the story is about grief.  Thandi's mother succumbs to cancer when she is in college.  She is not really a child but not really an adult.  She stays home for a semester to care for her mother who ends up wasting away in front of her.  The idea of her mother being gone is almost impossible for her to deal with since her mother has been such a presence in her life.  Thandi is struggling, she falls in love, she has a baby...is this what she is looking for?  I savored every word of this book.  Clemmons is a wonderful writer and this intimate tale is beautiful, heartbreaking and hopeful.

The book of Polly

The book of Polly / Kathy Hepinstall, read by Jenna Lamia, 322 pgs.

Willow Havens is obsessed with the health of her mother.  Willow was a late in life baby and her father died before she was born.  Now she realizes her eccentric mother Polly is the only link she has to a decent life.  She decides to try to keep her alive and learn her secrets even though Polly is not one who liked to divulge much.  Polly is the type of mom we can only all hope for...still enjoys a good margarita and backs up her daughter's lies, even if it means admitting she has a tail "it is a very small and dainty one."  I could not get enough of this mother daughter duo.  Pretty much every line of this book is fabulous and perfectly read by Jenna Lamia who will, hopefully, win many awards for her telling of this story.

Beloved

Beloved by Toni Morrison, 324 pages.
Morrison's 1987 classic won the Pulitzer Prize, and while Morrison didn't win the Nobel prize until 1993, you know that this was the books that closed the deal for her.
The book begins in 1873 in the house outside Cincinnati where Sethe and her daughter Denver live.. The book then travels back to the time that Sethe, Baby Suggs and Paul D were all still enslaved on a plantation called Sweet Home, and then forward again to recount what happened to Sethe and her children in the time since she ran from Sweet Home. The house at 124 Bluestone Road is haunted by the ghost of Sethe's two-year old, the one who did not survive the escape from slavery. Sethe slowly tells the story of her tragic fate. Truly a classic and one worth rereading regularly. I was surprised to see that this was a National Book award finalist, but didnt win the award. So now I'm looking forward to reading Paco's Story by Larry Heinemann (and after that The Hair of Harold Roux, the book that beat out Sula for the National Book Award in 1975).

My Name Is Lucy Barton: a Novel

My Name Is Lucy Barton: a Novel / Elizabeth Strout, 193 pp.

A rich, brief novel written in deceptively simple prose.  Like Moonglow, this is another story that takes place at the bedside of a sick person.  In this case the patient is Lucy, a young mother recovering from a long illness, who is visited by her long-estranged mother.  Over the course of a several days visit, the reader learns why they are estranged, and how far Lucy has traveled to make a new life for herself.  To be read in one intense, satisfying sitting.

My name is Lucy Barton

My name is Lucy Barton / Elizabeth Strout, 193 pgs.

Lucy Barton is in the hospital recovering from an appendectomy...which should have been a couple of days at most.  But she gets an odd infection and her recovery stalls.  She is, in fact, very sick.  She awakes one morning to see her mother at the end of the bed.  She actually hasn't SEEN her mother in many years.  Through the conversations they have and additional explanations from Lucy, we get to see a family with problems.  Lucy grew up almost impossibly poor but has gotten an education and moved on to the big city.  Is her mother resentful? proud? befuddled?  Maybe a little bit of all.  This is another great book by Strout whose "Olive Kitteridge" still stands as one of my favorites.  

Raymie Nightingale

Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo, 272 pages.

I've read a bunch of Kate DiCamillo's books to my children. This was the first that I have read (or rather listened to) by myself. DiCamillo's books are always interesting even as they are all very different from one another.
Raymie Clarke's father has left home to be with a dental hygienist, and Raymie believes that if he were to see in the newspaper that she has won the upcoming Little Miss Central Florida Tire contest, that he would surely realize what a mistake he has made and he'll return and everything will be alright again. Since she has no idea how to go about winning the contest, she enrolls in classes offered by a local legend in the pageant-winning world in order to learn baton twirling and whatnot. In those classes she meets the two girls who become her friends, Beverly and Louisiana. Each girl is as quirky as Raymie, and though they each have their own agenda, Louisiana to win the contest for the money, and Beverly to sabotage the contest, they join forces to help one another.
A very good book.
This was a Christmas gift for several family members.