I'm always intrigued by familial relationships. Families are truly some of strangest things. This one is no different.
At 14, the author's mother awoke her one night to life changing news. Malabar wanted her teenage daughter's help in covering up her burgeoning affair with her disabled husband's best friend. Eager to gain her mother's friendship and confidence, Adrienne agreed, not realizing the life long repercussions this would have for her and for her relationship with her mother.
Malabar loved her daughter as much as she could love anyone who wasn't herself. But that didn't stop her from being manipulative, sometimes cruel, and almost always unfair.
What would make a mother put herself above her children? How does a daughter break away from an abusive parent when she loves them dearly?
What shapes us into who we are? Do we have the power to create ourselves or are we made my circumstance?
Although the experience itself is not terribly tragic or shocking, it's the every day wear and tear of toxic relationships with others and with ourselves that wear on our souls. Many readers will be able to relate to both Adrienne and Malabar and will find it worth asking themselves the tough questions this novel poses.
At 14, the author's mother awoke her one night to life changing news. Malabar wanted her teenage daughter's help in covering up her burgeoning affair with her disabled husband's best friend. Eager to gain her mother's friendship and confidence, Adrienne agreed, not realizing the life long repercussions this would have for her and for her relationship with her mother.
Malabar loved her daughter as much as she could love anyone who wasn't herself. But that didn't stop her from being manipulative, sometimes cruel, and almost always unfair.
What would make a mother put herself above her children? How does a daughter break away from an abusive parent when she loves them dearly?
What shapes us into who we are? Do we have the power to create ourselves or are we made my circumstance?
Although the experience itself is not terribly tragic or shocking, it's the every day wear and tear of toxic relationships with others and with ourselves that wear on our souls. Many readers will be able to relate to both Adrienne and Malabar and will find it worth asking themselves the tough questions this novel poses.