A review by aflogive
Just Like Mother by Anne Heltzel

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Anxieties around motherhood creep into horror from many different angles. Nightmares about birth, for example, appear in horror literature and films such as ROSEMARY'S BABY and THE BROOD. Newer novels like THE PUSH and BABY TEETH, and films like THE BAD SEED, highlight the fear of raising manipulative, sociopathic children. Even stories like PSYCHO, CARRIE, and MOMMY DEAREST feature monstrous mothers as the main focus. One concept not yet thoroughly explored appears in Anne Heltzel's upcoming book, JUST LIKE MOTHER, where the societal pressures to pursue motherhood serve as the primary horror and manifest in the form of a literal cult.

Mauve and her cousin, Andrea, grew up as close as sisters until the cult that raised them collapsed. After this separates the cousins, Mauve tries to build a new life in New York City as an editor, but, due to her traumatic past, continues to distance herself from friends, family, and romantic partners. Two decades later, a DNA search reunites Mauve and Andrea, pulling the two closer to each other and their shared past. 

Suddenly spending more time at her cousin's remote mansion in the Catskills, Mauve becomes immersed in Andrea's life, meeting her pregnant friends and learning more about the fertility tech company that made her rich. Motherhood falls in the center of everything, and Mauve— single and without intentions of changing that anytime soon—begins feeling isolated from the life she built back in the city. Soon, Andrea's life and devotion to motherhood starts to consume Mauve who must look to her past to break free from her current nightmare. 

JUST LIKE MOTHER gives us a unique type of horror with a page-turning plot. I heard Heltzel's social message loud and clear, finding myself engaged by her creative, critical, and creepy expression of motherhood as a cult. The book pretty directly calls attention to the harm caused by the exclusionary, essentialist ideology that often grounds the view that only motherhood gives women their power or that womanhood equals motherhood, which I had never seen in horror fiction before reading this book. This message combined with uncanny AI babies, feelings of confinement, and the presence of cults makes for a gripping take on the horrors of motherhood as a concept rather than only its tangible, messy realities.

I do wish we learned more about the cult that raised Mauve and Andrea, but understand that giving us deeper descriptions of it would probably impede the forward-movement of the plot. I also wanted more scenes with creepy babies, but again, I think I'm just greedy for a good scare.

In summary, readers who want a new twist on the horrors of motherhood with social commentary will get that all in a fast-paced package with JUST LIKE MOTHER. But, as a heads up, this book focuses heavily on pregnancy and infertility so if you are sensitive to these topics you may want to pass.

Big thank you to netgalley and tor nightfire for the electronic advanced reviewer copy! Keep an eye out for JUST LIKE MOTHER, scheduled to release on May 17, 2022.