Happy Mother’s Day to all my fellow mothers out there (animal mommas included because they can’t live without you either)! This is my first true mother’s day with my baby girl and I cuddled her extra tight while I relaxed with this read. Okay, relax may be an understatement with this novel.
The Perfect Mother starts off introducing the May Mothers, a group of women who have met online due to the fact that they are having a baby in the same month. They all meet up in person at the park towards the end of their pregnancies and after. On July 4th night, they all decide to get babysitters and go out for drinks. While they are at the bar, one of the mother’s (Winnie) baby (Midas) goes missing. They are devastated and obsessed with trying to find out who kidnapped him. Was it the babysitter? Was it Winnie’s baby daddy whom they never hear about? A random stranger causing ruckus near her house? Someone closer to them then they think?
I wanted to read this book because I knew I could relate to most of it (not the stealing baby part). I, too, have a mom group that I am in for the month my daughter was born. We also met online. I love them dearly and talk with them often and totally wish I could hang out with them in person, but we are from all over the globe so we just chat and send each other photos. I also loved the references about newborns because it’s so relevant to me where I am in my life and it was very well done. I was not a huge fan of the multiple narrating perspectives. You never truly know who is talking until you keep reading and really have to think about it. Sometimes you do truly have no idea who is talking. It was all over the place and hard for me to follow. I stayed confused quite often which was fun because it kept me from figuring out the ending, but really annoying at times because I just wanted to know what was going on! There are a lot of characters in this book, but the author does a great job at touching on each of their lives. This read is very “The Couple Next Door” -esque which is great, but it’s all I kept thinking about. There are certainly many differences, but there is a resemblance I couldn’t seem to get out of my head. I definitely was biting my nails hoping for a safe return for baby Midas, which also kept me reading for more.
3.5/5 Stars
Live, Read, And Prosper 