Scan barcode
A review by minimicropup
Mothered by Zoje Stage
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Surreal. Offbeat. Calamitous.
Our MC is a hair stylist looking for work after their boss recently retired and a pandemic hits. They agree to let their recently widowed elderly parent move into their home, but are starting to regret that decision as unresolved circumstances around their twin's death surfaces.
πΊπΈ Set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
πΊπΈ Set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
πΊπ Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags:
I was really drawn into this story and how it was weird but relatable. It exercises your empathy as you find yourself reassessing how you feel about certain people and events in the story as it evolves. There are dream sequences, which I normally dislike, but this worked because we know the MC is dreaming and the dreams contain symbolic or subconscious memories around the mystery of whether or not she is becoming unhinged.
The mother-daughter relationship is kind of undefined, so I think readers will find themselves primarily cheering Team Mother or Team Daughter. Their relationship was so relatable (a parent bringing up some embarrassing or stupid thing you did as a child as if you're still capable of doing it, and you're like "omg, it was an accident and I was five, MOM"), but then starts to get darker and weirder and we aren't sure who is misremembering or losing touch with reality.
Captures the energy around the restrictions of the COVID pandemic. It's certainly familiar, but wasn't triggering or upsetting to me. I was okay with it because the plot is happening around a pandemic, rather than because of one. COVID isn't mentioned directly, so it's not going to age poorly, but it does include all the fears, restrictions, and some people in the story get very sick.
There are graphic depictions of the experiences and challenges of being a child with cerebral palsy. The rep seems good in that this character is complex and morally grey and not defined by their limitations.
The mother-daughter relationship is kind of undefined, so I think readers will find themselves primarily cheering Team Mother or Team Daughter. Their relationship was so relatable (a parent bringing up some embarrassing or stupid thing you did as a child as if you're still capable of doing it, and you're like "omg, it was an accident and I was five, MOM"), but then starts to get darker and weirder and we aren't sure who is misremembering or losing touch with reality.
Captures the energy around the restrictions of the COVID pandemic. It's certainly familiar, but wasn't triggering or upsetting to me. I was okay with it because the plot is happening around a pandemic, rather than because of one. COVID isn't mentioned directly, so it's not going to age poorly, but it does include all the fears, restrictions, and some people in the story get very sick.
There are graphic depictions of the experiences and challenges of being a child with cerebral palsy. The rep seems good in that this character is complex and morally grey and not defined by their limitations.
Mood Reading Match Up:
- Contemporary fiction, slice-of-life, slowly going off the rails mystery
- Touch of weird fiction giving "no plot, just vibes" (except there is a plot)
- Themes and symbolism around ageing, mother-daughter relationships, friendships, and childhood
- Potentially unreliable narrator...or is she being mentally manipulated and brainwashed?
Content Heads-Up: Respiratory virus pandemic (COVID not mentioned specificially). Lockdowns and quarantine. Unemployment. Financial difficulty. Death of a sibling. Gaslighting, Dissociation. Potentially good disability and asexuality rep.
Format: Kindle Unlimited