Dial Press | Book Chatter

Like Mother, Like Mother
By Susan Rieger
Dial Press, 9780525512493, October 2024, 336 pp.

The Short of It:

Mothers and daughters and the hard places in between.

The Rest of It:

“Detroit, 1960. Lila Pereira is two years old when her angry, abusive father has her mother committed to an asylum. Lila never sees her mother again. Three decades later, having mustered everything she has–brains, charm, talent, blond hair–Lila rises to the pinnacle of American media as the powerful, brilliant executive editor of The Washington Globe. Lila unapologetically prioritizes her career, leaving the rearing of her daughters to her generous husband, Joe. He doesn’t mind–until he does.” ~ from the publisher.

Like Mother, Like Mother is an amazing read. The first half of the book is mostly about Lila and her rise to editorial glory. She is a powerhouse. She knows how to ask a question, knows how to get the story and her energy seems endless. But being successful comes with a trade-off. She told her husband Joe early on that if they had kids, they would mostly be his. His to raise, his.

This is absolutely the case. Grace and her two sisters did okay without Lila in their lives, because Joe was an amazing father. As the girls grew into women, it became clear, especially to Grace that Lila was a different kind of person. Not exactly dismissive of her children, but that she didn’t really know HOW to be a mother to them. Look at her own childhood. Lila’s own mother, was committed to an asylum but then disappeared. Could she have intentionally left her children to that horrible abusive man? Yes.

The story unfolds slowly as Grace begins to dabble in DNA testing. As you can imagine, this uncovers a few surprises. I liked how the author set this book amidst political upheaval but used a different President to illustrate society on the cusp of falling apart. So there is constant tension as Lila must endure a brutal political season before retirement.

This book is absolutely about mothers and daughters but really it’s about relationships. Lila’s upbringing affects her marriage, it affects Grace’s opinion of marriage and motherhood. The people they interact with and befriend are also affected by these relationships. What’s interesting is that although Lila really does her children wrong, I still had empathy for her because she didn’t have it in her to be the mom they needed and she knew it right from the start.

To Grace though, attending White House dinners over dinner with your own kids just doesn’t sit right. She wanted the mom that baked cookies and attended parent teacher conferences. Not the glittering, multi-faceted Lila. But what can you do? You can’t choose your own mother.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s a little high brow, but deep and with plenty of flawed characters. I was pulled right into the story from the first few pages. You can’t say that about too many books. It would be a wonderful book to discuss in book club.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
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Dear Edward
By Ann Napolitano
Dial Press Trade Paperback, 9781984854803, Feb 2021, 384pp.

The Short of It:

Young Edward is the sole survivor of a plane crash. His story is heartbreaking but hopeful too.

The Rest of It:

I knew a little about Dear Edward before starting it, but I wasn’t sure how Edward’s story would be told without it being too sad or depressing. I learned immediately that Edward was the sole survivor of a crash that killed 191 people including his mother, father, and brother, Jordan. The story is told in alternating chapters that take you from Edward’s current situation, to flashbacks of him on the plane. As the story progresses, those chapters taking place on the plane eventually lead up to the cause of the crash and the reactions of the passengers as it was happening.

This was an interesting way to tell this story. It allowed me to feel the sense of panic that everyone on that plane felt, but it was broken up into palatable pieces that you could digest without too much trouble. The sadness that Edward experiences is gently shared through his inability to sleep in his Aunt and Uncle’s house, his quiet reflection when asked to help one of the school administrator’s with a plant project, his close friendship with the young neighbor next door. His sadness can be felt in all the day-to-day interactions, especially the memories of his brother, Jordan.

So where does the hope come from? Without giving too much away, Edward is put into a position to help others and the way he goes about it, is touching. This was a nice way to move forward and to plan for the future which would be so uncertain to a young boy of 12.

I have seen some mixed reviews for this book. Many saying that they liked it but didn’t love it. I will say this, it holds you at arm’s length. Never going too deep into one part of the story and being very careful not to take you down too dark a path. I wouldn’t say the author chose to play it safe, it’s just how she chose to tell the story. Perhaps some of it was a little too convenient if hard to believe but this is a book where the “in-between” held my attention.

Source: Borrowed
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