Book Review: The Mothers

The Mothers
Brit Bennett
Riverhead Books
278 pages

Synopsis:

The Mothers is the story of Nadia Turner. Nadia is a teenager dealing with the death of her mother as well as her blossoming relationship with boyfriend Luke, the pastor’s son. Nadia and Luke are facing obstacles that greatly impact their romance, and they struggle to stay connected. Nadia turns to her peer Audrey and the two develop a deep bond that follows them into adulthood. The Mothers follows Nadia, Luke, and Aubrey in their formative years as they navigate adulthood.

My thoughts:

The Mothers is one of the breakout novels of 2016. I was instantly captivated by the cover and as the reviews came rolling in, I knew I absolutely had to read it. Then it was chosen for Book of the Month, so it went into my box with absolutely no hesitation.

I found it very difficult to believe that Brit Bennett is so young (I believe she is still in her 20s). Her talent is astounding. The gravity she gave her characters was so impressive, and she tackled such meaty issues. Mother-daughter relationships, abortion, infidelity–the list goes on and on. I found myself reading and thinking to myself “Yes, I have felt this way before” or “I know just what she’s feeling.”

In a way, I felt like I couldn’t quite reach the characters, as if I was outside looking in on them. That was really my only negative reaction to The Mothers, but it is the reason why I didn’t include it in my “best of 2016” category. Despite that, it is definitely a book to read. I am eagerly anticipating what Bennett does next!