Reviews

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

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lurker_stalker's review against another edition

4.0

There was a lot that I liked about this book. I enjoyed the developing and changing relationships between Nadia, Aubrey, and Luke. The other characters in the book added a lot but didn't take over in any way. I thought the writing was very good and I loved that, unlike most mainstream books I've read, being Black was the norm and the only time the race of an individual was mentioned it was to introduce a white character. It was refreshing.

I wish the book had ended differently and I wish the narrator of the audio book had sounded more natural for the parts of Nadia and Aubrey. The dialogue in those sections was great but the narrative was stiff and the words were over-enunciated.

I certainly enjoyed the story and would even think about reading it again at some point, but with my eyes.

giginious's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.75

alicebme's review against another edition

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3.0

Hmmm. This book had all of the things: suicide, losing your mother, teen sex, teen pregnancy, abortion, giant secret keeping, hypocrite church leaders, cheating with your best friend’s husband, being your parent’s caregiver, leaving your hometown to desperately try to start a new life, child rape, PTSD, infertility... Sweet baby Jesus.

All of that said, I’m looking forward to another book from this author. Maybe the next one will have mostly nice things?

madtown_jen's review against another edition

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medium-paced

4.0

janagaton's review against another edition

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4.0

TW: suicide, loss of parents

My favorite part about this author's writing is her ability to shine light on human tendencies and certain behaviors for very specific situations, making you curious about each scene and question whether or not the author has gone through it herself. I grew attached to each of the characters throughout the entire novel, despite the cheating and unexpected pregnancies, which are tropes I'm not a fan of. I love character-driven books, and this was no exception. The chapters are longer than books I typically choose to read, but the pages flew by because I was so invested in the story. I will say, however, that some of the POV changes were confusing because they were so abrupt, but that didn't deter from my overall enjoyment of the book. I also enjoyed that it was set in California because I personally love the state, and I've been to a lot of the places described in the book, such as Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Oceanside, etc. and I think Britt Bennett did a good job making those places accurately come to life.