by Celeste Ng
narrated by Jennifer Lim
Find out more about this book and author:
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Published: 2017
Publisher: Penguin Press
Genre: Contemporary, Literary, Family
Hardback: 352
Rating: 5
First sentence(s):
Everyone in Shaker heights was talking about it that summer: how Isabelle, the last of the Richardson children, had finally gone around the bend and burned the house down.
In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned—from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.
Enter Mia Warren—an enigmatic artist and single mother—who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.
When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town—and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia’s past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs.
My two-bits:
Loved the theme of being true to self.
Got perspective from a photographer's life.
* weekly theme: Mothers - different aspects of motherhood
* Listened to audiobook version.
* part of Reese's Book Club 2017 (here)
