Book Chatter

Mother May I
By Joshilyn Jackson
William Morrow, 9780062855343, April 2021, 336pp.

The Short of It:

Motherhood can be tough. You try to do all the right things for your children, and you certainly go out of your way to keep them from harm, but sometimes their well-being is out of your control.

The Rest of It:

Bree Cabbat lives a pretty decent life. She has a nice home, her husband Trey is successful and that success allows her to spend time with her three children. Although she grew up poor and had dreams of being in the theater some day, her life is pretty good the way it is and she can’t complain.

One day, while attending her daughter’s rehearsal, she sets her son down in his baby seat and when she turns around, he’s gone. The school’s auditorium was empty. Who could have taken him? But then she is reminded of a strange woman she saw. She wasn’t entirely sure at the time if she was really there, lurking outside her bedroom window or if she had been dreaming it but when she sees the note where her baby used to be, she immediately knows that woman’s appearance was no coincidence.

As the details emerge, it’s clear that this is more than just a kidnapping for ransom set-up. This is personal and Bree, although desperate to find her son, realizes that she is going to have to play the game in order to get him back. Can she do that? Can she go along with this crazy woman’s demands? Can she do what she is being asked to do for the sake of her child? Would you?

This is a race-against-time story so once you pick it up, you will continue to flip those pages until you know how the story ends. I have now read at least three of Jackson’s books and two things are certain, she knows how to pull a reader in and knows how to tell a story. Mother May I has the added benefit of relaying a message and making a statement. This was rather important to me so I am glad she chose to go there even though perhaps the book could have been edited down a bit.

At this writing, Mother May I is scheduled to hit the shelves in April but the review copy has been glaring at me for weeks so I couldn’t wait anymore and had to read it. If you’ve read Jackson before then you know her books are a sure thing but if you haven’t read her yet, give her try.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Sunday Matters

I know many of you are still dealing with weather but here in California it’s been very mild with temps between 65-79 degrees. As I was walking around the neighborhood the other day it really did feel like spring was just around the corner. Everything is blooming and the grass is green again. We had a few weeks of mucky brown grass. This is one of my favorite times of the year. I feel so hopeful when the sun is out and the plants start popping.

Right Now:

We’ve been debating in-person church services. It would be nice to go back but I am not quite ready. Every time I drive by there is a large crowd. I miss it but we have online viewing options available to us so I’d rather be cautious. My youth group is about to meet in-person again so after that we’ll probably pull the trigger on regular service as well.

I really wanted to go to the zoo today but it’s a timed entry and you have to book in advance. Many of the exhibits are closed. I will wait. Instead, I will get a long walk in.

This Week:

Speaking of walks. I found this podcast recently and I’ve added it to my walking routine. Bookish talk. Lots of it. Each episode is roughly an hour long so it’s perfect for walking. Shelf Care is available for free on Spotify but you can also listen via Apple, Stitcher or SoundCloud. I’ve already added a few books to my want list.

Reading:

I am finishing up The Sanatorium. It’s a Reese Book Club pick. It’s gotten very mixed reviews. I’ll write up the review as soon as I am finished but I usually do pretty well with Reese’s picks.

My next book will be Murakami’s new one, First Person Singular. It comes out in April but I can’t wait anymore. It’s a collection of stories. If you’ve read his stories before then you know how many of his stories could easily be the premise for a novel and some do become that. I am looking forward to it!

Watching:

Almost to Season 5 of Schitt’s Creek. Still super enjoyable.

The Walking Dead starts again tonight. Only six episodes this season. I will see how this season goes and then decide if I want to continue. I keep giving these showrunners a chance to rally this show back to what is used to be but it’s not been great and my loyalty has run out.

Grateful for:

University faculty who take the time to talk to a potential student. These people are invaluable.
Art and music and the different ways we can access it now. I’ve been listening to some great concerts lately. I’ve signed up for a few museum tours too.
Green juice. It’s a weird thing to be grateful for. I used to make green smoothies but I’ve found that V8 Healthy Greens has all the good stuff. No sugar or artificial flavors added. It’s quite affordable and shelf stable so I stock up. This is not sponsored but it helps me feel good so I wanted to share.

What does your March look like? It marks my one year anniversary of working from home. Feels so strange to say. I remember those early days and how weird it all felt. The streets were empty. You had to gather up all your courage to run to the market only to find that bread and milk were sold out, along with every cut of meat. My city eats well apparently. Forget shelf staples. They went for the meat case. Remember those days? I guess we have come a long way from that if you really sit down to think about it.

Chatting with friends about books and life…