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A review by owls_rainbow
Unbecoming by Jenny Downham
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was a beautiful and sad interwoven tale of family trauma.
Katie who has kissed a girl and is worried about what it means and what her perfectionist mum, Caroline, will say. Caroline who is constantly stressed about her recent separation, getting Katie through her exams and managing Chris who has an unnamed medical condition that effects his growth and development. And then there's Mary, Caroline's estranged birth mother who has dementia and her partner who cared for her has died.
Teen mother Mary allowed her older sister Pat to look after her daughter hoping she'd have a better, more stable life, especially as it was the 1950's. It soon transpires that this may not be the case, it seems Pat had her own issues and now in the present day it has made Caroline very resentful of Mary and now that Mary needs to stay with them things are very tense.
Katie who has kissed a girl and is worried about what it means and what her perfectionist mum, Caroline, will say. Caroline who is constantly stressed about her recent separation, getting Katie through her exams and managing Chris who has an unnamed medical condition that effects his growth and development. And then there's Mary, Caroline's estranged birth mother who has dementia and her partner who cared for her has died.
Teen mother Mary allowed her older sister Pat to look after her daughter hoping she'd have a better, more stable life, especially as it was the 1950's. It soon transpires that this may not be the case, it seems Pat had her own issues and now in the present day it has made Caroline very resentful of Mary and now that Mary needs to stay with them things are very tense.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Abandonment