DISCLOSURE: This book was won via the Goodreads First Reads giveaway program. The following is my honest review and opinion of the book.
This compilation of short stories shared a theme about the relationships between mothers and their daughters. The first story was written as if you are reading the thoughts of a mother going through the discovery of her daughter’s anorexia and the ongoing battle to save her from herself. Several of the stories revolved around the lives of Ruby Hargrove and her daughter Nora. Ruby is an unwed mother with an eccentric personality and a self centered style. Her daughter Nora is raised in Ruby’s world of several affairs, drinking to excess and moving from place to place. Nora grows up only to make many of the same poor choices that her mother had made and the viscous cycle continues . Another story is about 47 year old Cassie who has weekly meetings with her therapist Seth. She is a woman with too much time on her hands, as her kids are growing up and don’t need or want the attention they once did. She seems to create problems in her own mind. Her strongly voiced opinions tend to put her at odds with everyone, especially her 14 year old daughter, Edith. It was difficult to find a connection with the characters and I felt that they were not developed as well as I hoped they would be. The language was quite obscene in some parts of the book and I believe, unnecessarily so. It seemed like more of a shock factor to make up for the lacking story line. This book had such a great title and the cover was lovely. Sadly, these were the best parts of the book.
Hardcover, 240 pages
Published June 26th 2012 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN 0547634528
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