Gosh, I cannot be the only one thinking May!!! The month of cooler nights, lap blankets and mothers. I hope it is also a month full of good books and great stories. Happy New Month to you and I hope you enjoy the 14th whether you celebrate Mother’s Day or not.
I thought in honour of the season I’d showcase great stories that feature motherhood this month, not being a mother myself I feel a little like an imposter; but I certainly know great mothers and I hope you love these books as much as I do!
I LOVE Belinda Alexandra, I love her sagas, the strength of her characters, the sweeping storylines and her relationships; they certainly aren’t all sunshine and rainbows, and I am completely here for that! White Gardenia is her first novel, and the first Belinda Alexandra novel I read, she’s been an auto-read ever since! This novel is about Anya; her determination and courage. It’s set around WW2, but in China and Australia. Like most Belinda Alexandra novels it really does get you thinking, this one I was thinking all about the relationship of mother and daughter…loved it.
Genevieve Gannon’s The Mothers is a contemporary novel about what makes a mother, and the complexities of IVF. It speaks to how hard motherhood is for some people to achieve and certainly paints a different picture to the flowers and breakfasts in bed scenario. It’s definitely worth a read, I am so glad I did. It’s an older title now which means you don’t have to wait as long for your library hold to come in!!!
Hahaha, I’m also recommending I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy this month ironically; motherhood is not all love and sacrifice. Some people have the type of mother you could make a comedy career out of. I spent a lot more time crying than laughing through this memoir, but its definitely billed as hilarious. I know it also so doesn’t need the recommendation; the wait to get this one from Sutherland Library will be long, but it is so worth it! Especially if your mother’s day is a fraught one!
I know I’ve only recently recommended Dinuka McKenzie but Taken is out and she will actually be doing an author talk at Sutherland Library on May the 4th! Taken is also very concerned with motherhood, it’s a police procedural like The Torrent and we see Detective Kate Miles go back to work having just had her second baby. It also does concern a missing baby, so there is lots to think about in this thriller about motherhood. Book in for the author event! It’s going to be a great one!!
Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery is my absolute all time favourite novel. I’ve loved it since I first read it at 13. Not a month goes by that I don’t want to recommend it, and for May I’m doing it! It’s so much more than a plucky story about a red haired orphan named Anne with an e…. but don’t even get me started; I’ll just say it’s got a great deal to say about found family, and that while Anne and Marilla are not blood related their relationship is a wonderful mother- daughter one. Perfect Mother’s Day read.
