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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
I received my copy of 'Mother Knows Best' as an ebook ARC copy via NetGalley and the publisher.
Well, I'll start off by saying I didn't really think I was going to like this very much when I first started reading it yesterday, but here we are. I finished it, it's done, and I'll be honest, it wasn't what I was expecting.
This was a great modern twist on a psychological thriller. I think this could have been written with a little more suspense, but I realize that that really wasn't the point of the story. This story challenges you to think outside the box a little bit and to really explore your moral beliefs when it comes to science and all the amazing things it can do.
I don't want to give too much away, so I'll stop right here.
Thanks again to NetGalley and the Publisher, this was a refreshing (and crazy) read!
Well, I'll start off by saying I didn't really think I was going to like this very much when I first started reading it yesterday, but here we are. I finished it, it's done, and I'll be honest, it wasn't what I was expecting.
This was a great modern twist on a psychological thriller. I think this could have been written with a little more suspense, but I realize that that really wasn't the point of the story. This story challenges you to think outside the box a little bit and to really explore your moral beliefs when it comes to science and all the amazing things it can do.
I don't want to give too much away, so I'll stop right here.
Thanks again to NetGalley and the Publisher, this was a refreshing (and crazy) read!
Claire lost her son to a genetic disorder. Now her husband wants to try for another child but Claire cannot imagine bringing another child into the world only to have them suffer the same genetic disorder. She finds a potential solution but it means challenging science in a way that is against many people’s thinking, including her husband’s.
This is a very intriguing story. It is about the potential human impacts to the characters because of the experiment but is more of a psychological thriller and throws in a crazy character who is driven to serve her own interests. I enjoyed the book but felt it left a few items unfinished. The book is an excellent thriller and you will stay up late reading it!
This is a very intriguing story. It is about the potential human impacts to the characters because of the experiment but is more of a psychological thriller and throws in a crazy character who is driven to serve her own interests. I enjoyed the book but felt it left a few items unfinished. The book is an excellent thriller and you will stay up late reading it!
Ohhhhhhhh THIS BOOK! LOVED IT. wow. What a story. A fantastic thriller that captures you from the get go and keeps you caught in its grasp until the very end whilst tackling a controversial and contemporary issue. Congratulations to Keira Peikoff on a GEM.
Mother Knows Best highlights just what happens when obsession drives ulterior motives. It was a story that I enjoyed but certain aspects irritated me. It’s fiction, yes, and sometimes you have to suspend disbelief when reading it, even so, a lot made me say “really?” The characters were well-developed, and their backstories played a significant role in the unfolding storyline. However, Jillian’s decisions were misguided and seemed to fall out with her scope of intelligence. I’m not saying we can’t make rash decisions occasionally, but she was always one step ahead in the game.
So, we have the difficult theme of child loss. Clare, the main protagonist is dealing with the fallout from the death of her beloved son, who died at eight years old from mitochondrial disease which was passed down from Clare. She and her husband were left devastated by the death in which they tried to conceive another child. Each month passes and all they have to show for their efforts is a stark white test. Clare can’t bring herself to lose another child to the catastrophic disease she carries and wills some kind of solution to present itself when suddenly it does…
Robert Nash is a genius fertility doctor and between him and his assistant, Jillian has discovered a way of stitching an embryo together to eliminate Mitochondrial disease in the developing embryo. They’ve taken the mother’s healthy egg and nucleus stitched it with the mitochondrial donor and fertilised it with healthy sperm. It’s quite frankly ground-breaking. But, it is also highly illegal, with the supreme court deeming that no one should alter embryonic cells. One man who has interfered with Dr. Nash’s career and views is Clare’s husband, Ethan, who heads up the ethics department at Columbia University.
Jillian really is the wild card. She is an absolute nutter. She works under Doctor Nash and has the confidence and brash personality to really push this experiment forward. She is also obsessed with Robert. There’s a big age gap between them but this doesn’t seem to bother her. She seduces him with her good looks and her devil-may-care attitude. She knows this experiment could mean their careers skyrocketing. So, what does she do? She signs up for an online forum called mitomoms and poses as a mom that’s child has mitochondrial disease and lays the foundations that lead Clare to seek out the procedure from Robert Nash. It has dire consequences for all involved.
The result is that Clare falls pregnant with a little girl. Both she and Ethan are over the moon, they’ve finally done it. But after suspecting that his wife has been having an affair with Robert, Clare has to come clean about the entire procedure. Ethan is fuming, absolutely livid. He throws Clare out at 32 weeks pregnant and reports Robert Nash to the FDA. It then becomes a circus.
I did like Mother Knows Best, but I felt that Jillian was the one that made me really question her motives. It also blew my mind that a child could feasibly have three parents instead of the traditional mum and dad. It was a story with heart, grief and redemption.
So, we have the difficult theme of child loss. Clare, the main protagonist is dealing with the fallout from the death of her beloved son, who died at eight years old from mitochondrial disease which was passed down from Clare. She and her husband were left devastated by the death in which they tried to conceive another child. Each month passes and all they have to show for their efforts is a stark white test. Clare can’t bring herself to lose another child to the catastrophic disease she carries and wills some kind of solution to present itself when suddenly it does…
Robert Nash is a genius fertility doctor and between him and his assistant, Jillian has discovered a way of stitching an embryo together to eliminate Mitochondrial disease in the developing embryo. They’ve taken the mother’s healthy egg and nucleus stitched it with the mitochondrial donor and fertilised it with healthy sperm. It’s quite frankly ground-breaking. But, it is also highly illegal, with the supreme court deeming that no one should alter embryonic cells. One man who has interfered with Dr. Nash’s career and views is Clare’s husband, Ethan, who heads up the ethics department at Columbia University.
Jillian really is the wild card. She is an absolute nutter. She works under Doctor Nash and has the confidence and brash personality to really push this experiment forward. She is also obsessed with Robert. There’s a big age gap between them but this doesn’t seem to bother her. She seduces him with her good looks and her devil-may-care attitude. She knows this experiment could mean their careers skyrocketing. So, what does she do? She signs up for an online forum called mitomoms and poses as a mom that’s child has mitochondrial disease and lays the foundations that lead Clare to seek out the procedure from Robert Nash. It has dire consequences for all involved.
The result is that Clare falls pregnant with a little girl. Both she and Ethan are over the moon, they’ve finally done it. But after suspecting that his wife has been having an affair with Robert, Clare has to come clean about the entire procedure. Ethan is fuming, absolutely livid. He throws Clare out at 32 weeks pregnant and reports Robert Nash to the FDA. It then becomes a circus.
I did like Mother Knows Best, but I felt that Jillian was the one that made me really question her motives. It also blew my mind that a child could feasibly have three parents instead of the traditional mum and dad. It was a story with heart, grief and redemption.
Ooh. The premise of this was fun. I was hooked from the very beginning. Was it a plausible read? No. But was it a quick and engaging read? Absolutely.
This is a perfect book for a book-club meeting. I can see how it would definitely spark some controversy from a moral perspective. As a mother, I understands Claire's yearn to make sure her child was healthy. I have to admit that her character some times frustrated me!! There are quite a few twists and turns that you don't see coming.
Overall, a great read.
Overall, a great read.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wildly engaging psychological thriller focused on a genetic engineering/fertility treatment experiment. Written with three perspectives: mother, post-doc genetic scientist, child. Several shocking twists, which made me question all relationships and everyone's motives. Didn't make it to my five star list due to language.
Interesting and had me saying "this b*tch is crazy!" verbally with my mouth open. It not exactly a thriller that I would revisit, but it was very much worth the read. Nararation was fantastic.