Other Mommy is definitely creepy but there wasn't enough of her to warrant a higher rating. The adults in this story are pretty terrible (save for Ruth and Lois, but they were written oddly). Mommy and Daddo are absolutely awful human beings (especially Mommy) who shouldn't be raising a child. What parents wax poetic about their dirty laundry to their supposedly sleeping child like they do?? I don't have kids, but the relationship between parent and child felt SO wrong in this book. Same with the relationship between Mommy and Daddo. Bella is...well, she's supposed to be 8 but sometimes she is written as wise beyond her years and sometimes she is written like a 4 year old. It doesn't seem like this kid stands a chance with the parents that she has. And the ending? Yeah, you see it coming, but you don't know how the writing will accomplish it. Turns out, it was totally anticlimactic. I'm not really sure what Malerman was trying to accomplish with this book, in general.

My husband said he is kind of meh on Malerman's writing...I can see why! This was a fast read...parts of it were definitely creepy...and it was kind of a nice break from a prose-heavy, serious piece of literature that I've been trying to read & digest (slowly)...but I'm a little said that I bought a hardcover of this.

PS-I was piqued by the repetitive nature of Malerman's writing...and his seemingly constant use of the word piqued.