A review by kierscrivener
The Mothers by Brit Bennett

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 Brit Bennett did it again, weaving together a complicated, nuanced story that crosses years and looks at how flawed characters love and hurt each other. Particularly looking at motherhood, and how a friendship and a world of these people are changed by one decision made. A scared girl who lost her mother choosing not to have her child. She tackles the complexity around teen pregnancy and abortion, the grief that happens even when wanted and how it affects a father as well. How sexual trauma stays with one long after it ends, and how even when you fall in love you the scars do not disappear.

content warnings: suicide, teen pregnancy, abortion, infidelity, slut shaming, infertility, racism