A review by bethreadsandnaps
Such a Good Mom: A Novel by Julia Spiro

3.5

 

3.5 ⭐️

SUCH A GOOD MOM by Julia Spiro

Brynn is a new mom and is very overwhelmed by her baby Lucas. She’s deeply struggling with postpartum depression, and I felt Spiro gave a very accurate portrayal of a new mom who can’t focus, can’t sleep, is worrying about everything, and feels like she is doing so much worse than every other mother that she knows. To top it all off, her husband Ross is being accused of murder. 

➕ I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an accurate portrayal of postpartum depression. The author did a really good job, but I can see it being *too much* for a lot of readers. 

➕ I appreciated following Brynn’s evolution throughout the novel.

➖ The mystery element didn’t carry the book. There was a murder, but solving it felt extraneous to Brynn’s internal machinations.

➖ Ross, Brynn’s husband, was a bit too milquetoast to care much about.

While I thought the mystery element was rather weak in this novel, I did enjoy the writing and thought Spiro did an excellent job capturing the lived experience of postpartum depression. 

I thought the audiobook narrator Abigail Reno did a great job conveying the turmoil that Brynn was going through. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and MacMillan Audio for an Advance Reader Copy and Advance Listener Copy in exchange for an unbiased review. 

It publishes April 29, 2025.