Like Mother,Like Mother.

 

★★★★

Thank you to publisher,Random House Publishing/Dial Press for providing me with copy via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

An enthralling novel about three generations of strong-willed women, unknowingly shaped by the secrets buried in their family’s past. 

 
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. 

But Grace, their youngest daughter, feels abandoned. She wishes her mother would attend PTA meetings, not White House correspondents’ dinners. As she grows up, she cannot shake her resentment. She wants out from under Lila’s shadow, yet the more she resists, the more Lila seems to shape her life. Grace becomes a successful reporter, even publishing a bestselling book about her mother. In the process of writing it, she realizes how little she knows about her own family. Did Lila’s mother, Grace’s grandmother, die in that asylum? Is refusal to look back the only way to create a future? How can you ever be yourself, Grace wonders, if you don’t know where you came from? 

Spanning generations, and populated by complex, unforgettable characters, Like Mother, Like Mother is an exhilarating, portrait of family, marriage, ambition, power, the stories we inherit, and the lies we tell to become the people we believe we’re meant to be.

 

 🌼

 
Remarkable, Powerful. 

Where do I start, Like Mother, Like Mother ? This book has so many wonderful aspects, which is one of the reasons I found it so difficult to put it down. I was drawn to the story by the title, the cover, and the synopsis. I adore women's fiction, and this story well exceeded my expectations. I still can’t get the story out of my mind. Within the first few pages of the book, I was engrossed in the story, and right when I was about to put it down, something else occurred that kept me reading for several more hours. My favorite kind of books are these. Like Mother, Like Mother follows three generations of women, Zelda, Lila, and Grace, each with a distinct story to tell. 

I adored both Lila's and Grace's stories. Even though Lila was Grace's mother, I felt like I was reading two different stories since they were so different, which was one of the things I liked about this novel. One thing I saw about Grace and Lila was that they were both powerful women who would not back down once they set their minds to something. They both seemed interested in discovering what happened to Zelda, but Lila didn't understand it until it was too late. Like Lila and Grace, I wondered the truth behind Zelda's absence, and I was curious to see what Grace would uncover. 

Like Mother, Like Mother was a beautifully written story. You'll be drawn into the plot and fall in love with the characters. I turned the pages because I needed to know how it would end and if they would discover the truth about Zelda. A few parts of the book, notably the last chapter, were lengthier than they should have been. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and know it's a story I'll never forget.