The Other Mother: A wickedly honest parenting tale for every kind of family

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The characters in this story were so well developed, that I just couldn't help but become fully invested in their lives and what was happening with their past and present. I loved that this was told from various POVs so you really got an insight into what secrets each person was carrying and what they were going through at each step of this journey. The relationships between each and every character were extremely complicated and vastly different. I really loved seeing all of the dynamics explored and how they played out. One of my favorite aspects of this book was the way that each part of the story was told from the perspective of a different character involved in Jenry's birth and life - his two mothers, his birth father, his paternal grandfather, his paternal grandmother, etc. I enjoyed some of the characters more than others, but the story was intriguing and that is why I kept reading. Also, the narrators did a great job with voicing the different characters. Let’s not forget his obsessive thoughts about his mother’s replacement. He truly believes the woman stands at their kitchen, cooking breakfast for them is not their mother! Neil responded: “I’m waiting for a Coraline story that’s as good as or better than Coraline. There’s no point in making something less than the first book or movie.”

Coraline - Wikipedia Coraline - Wikipedia

As many thrillers as I read, it was bound to happen that I read two in a row that I could compare and contrast. That had some elements that were the same, but also many that were different of course. Still, an interesting mind game for me. Anyway, this was winning in the atmosphere, suspense game, both made my head spin. Then, however, came the ending, where this one lost a little ground. It was thrilling for sure, but it was rushed, and after that provocative beginning, this was jarring. Stood out like a sore thumb. I was clueless for one big revelation, one I particularly liked, but others had me shaking my head. Wondering how this exactly came together, just didn't quite make sense. There's also a serious side to this autobiography. What is your role as the other mother (not the one who gave birth) and how do you reconcile your own choices with the opinions of a pretty conservative world? In danger? thought Coraline to herself. It sounded exciting. It didn't sound like a bad thing. Not really." I love the way this story is told in a chapter from each person in Jenry’s life. The novel is full of reflective thought underscored by love about what makes a family and how hurtful actions are taken in the name of love. It is a beautifully written book.Because the doll, later, shares Coraline's appearance, except for the button eyes, the doll is the closest there is to an "other Coraline" in the movie. After we get that far, I don’t know who from whom, what’s going on, who’s the villain, who’s innocent, who’s insane, and who’s perfectly healthy. We have about five different twists, and frankly, I wasn’t happy with the eventual explanation. The primary twist was okay, but predictable if you had put any thought into the book. The other twists were obvious at the beginning and seemed to disappear completely and then resurface at the end, after you think they couldn’t possibly have led to anything. The book is full of red herrings, but only 25% are actually included in the twist. I won't give too much away but life throws Chloe and Jen a bit of an extra surprise and - as a child-free person - I was amused by her 'no shit' approach to, well, shit. And then [Coraline’s] hand touched something that felt for all the world like somebody’s cheek and lips, small and cold; and a voice whispered in her ear, “Hush! And shush! Say nothing, for the beldam might be listening!”

The Other Mother by Matthew Dicks | Goodreads

Mr. Bobo is the “crazy old man” who lives in the flat above Coraline’s flat. He trains a rat circus day in and day out. His rats prove to be a valuable asset to Coraline, as they provide useful information to her twice in the novel. However, much to the exasperation of Coraline, Mr. Bobo keeps calling her “Caroline” instead of “Coraline.” Coraline is constantly treated with neglect by her parents who do not understand the vivid imagination that she has. She is also misunderstood by everyone around her who keeps calling her “Caroline” instead of “Coraline.” Bored by the mundaneness of her world, Coraline wishes for a brighter and more adventurous world – which manifests in the universe created by the Other Mother. However, Coraline soon realizes that the grass is not always greener on the other side and learns to appreciate what she has. The Other Mother begins with Jenry, a gifted musician starting college. His desire to go to his chosen school is not just to study music, but also to learn about the legacy of his father, an acclaimed dancer. Jenry also finds his grandfather, Winston, a long-tenured history professor, at the same institution. Upon talking to Winston, Jenry learns that his father is not the person he should be looking for— rather, there is a second mother who helped raise him. This premise unfolds into a deep, heart-aching and surprising story that questions how we create and understand family. The novel takes on seven different perspectives, moving to different points of view as each key part of the story affects each main character differently. You can guess what books I prefer to read when I read the blurb and thought it had a supernatural/horror element to it.

The characters were my favorite part of this story. Trying to figure each of them was all the entertainment I needed. It was so fun. The (clearly) unreliable narrator kept me off balance, I never knew whose reality to believe. LOVED that. Sort of like Invasion of the Body Snatchers but that's not real, Michael concludes, so it has to be an abduction or kidnapping of some kind. After giving birth, Daphne Marist starts to experience postpartum depression. Her husband Peter suggest for Daphne to attend a support group for postpartum anxiety, that's where she meets Laurel. Two new moms find a bond and become very close friends. However, this does not last long. Daphne starts to notice strange things in her friend's behavior. She is trying to help Laurel, she even finds a great job that is a perfect for Laurel based on her job experience. However this effort is taken for granted, and even worse, Laurel breaks off their friendship. Things at home are not getting any better neither. Peter accuses Daphne of being an unfit mother and threatens to take her child away. Angry and afraid, Daphnes decided to take Laurel's identity, accepts the live-in job that she has found for her friend, and leaves her husband.

The Other Mother by Rachel M. Harper | Goodreads

Get ready: this book is a crazy, bewildering ride. It will also always have the distinction of being the novel I was reading on an airplane trip to San Diego when one of my five-year-old daughters threw up. Twice. So it will be memorable in several ways. :) And then one day, Michael wakes up and his mother is gone. In her place is an exact, duplicate mother. The 'other mother'. No one else seems to notice the real version is missing. His brother, his sister, and even Glen act as if everything's normal. But Michael knows in his heart that this mother is not his. And he begins to panic. Overall, even though I was sometimes frustrated as I tried to work through this one, I wound up enjoying it. I was impressed at how things came together and enjoyed the wild ride I was on. I've loved Goodman since The Lake of Dead Languages and find myself looking forward to each new novel she releases. This one was different, but I was quite caught up in its characters and dark themes. Definitely worth a read. Comedian Jen Brister writes about her personal experience of motherhood from the time she and her partner Chloe decide to have children, through the birth of their twin sons and those early sleepless nights, up to the boys reaching four years old. She shares the highs and lows of that time, the expectations of others and also her own misguided expectations, and how what she has learned in that time has shaped her current perspective. Miss. Forcible and Miss. Spink are elderly actresses and Coraline’s eccentric neighbors who live in Coraline’s world. The two of them are lovers and they spend most of their lives with their many terriers reminiscing their days from the stage. Miss. Forcible and Miss. Spink agrees that Coraline is “a remarkable young woman” but does not bother to learn her real name, as they keep calling her “Caroline.”I am a fan of the book you don’t understand until the final twist, the book you have to read three times in a row to understand. This is reminiscent of “Shutter Island”, “A Cure for Wellness”, and I dunno, some other crazy books. We follow Daphne, who has brought her child with her away from her husband, to begin working as an archivist for her favorite author. However, Daphne is using false credentials from a mother she befriended in their post-partum mommies group. With hope in her heart, she looks through the stone and tries to find something that might be a soul. Speaking of Neil Gaiman’s source material, did Coraline escape in the book and what about the movie? Secondly, the book was written from the POV of a teenager. The way they describe their daily schedule, how they must see the school counselor each day, and the realization of their own shortcomings when it comes to emotional cues and responses -- all of it was done so well.

Mother by Harper Rachel - AbeBooks Mother by Harper Rachel - AbeBooks

Before starting the game, she makes the other mother swear to play fair. The other mother swears on her mother's grave and then on her right hand. Naturally. The Other Mother is, to me, a perfect novel: a masterclass in character work and prose, skillfully structured and thematically rich. It's a multigenerational family saga, one that embodies just how capacious and powerful that genre can be. In saying that this novel is a "multigenerational family saga," I'm also saying that it's able to encompass so much: the thorny and complicated family dynamics, the tangled threads that by turns connect and bind these characters together, the change and growth from one generation to the next, and the expansive sense of time and place that is facilitated by a narrative that unfolds over the course of decades. What's more, it all comes together with such impressive command; it is a real testament to Harper's skill that she is able to write a story that is so large in its scope and yet so intimate in its focus; the narrative is at once sweeping and minute, giving you access to a plethora of interconnected characters and colouring in their histories for you, but also allowing you to get to know and understand them in an incontrovertibly real and grounded way. "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts"--what we get here is both a sense of the whole and of the parts, of the family entire and of the person in particular. In general I didn't see some of the twists/surprises coming, but I did have thoughts now and then of "Wouldn't it be neat if this happened?" or "Hmm.. if it turns out this way.." A couple times I did guess right so that was fun. Coraline sighed. “You really don’t understand, do you?” she said. “I don’t want whatever I want. Nobody does. Not really. What kind of fun would it be if I just got everything I ever wanted? Just like that, and it didn’t mean anything. What then?” Coraline meets three ghost children when she is pushed into a tiny room after an argument with the Other Mother. As it turns out, The Other Mother has captured the souls of the ghost children and has left them to wander around in the parallel universe, lost. The first ghost child is a subdued young girl while the second one is a relatively bold and outspoken ghost boy. The last ghost girl is a fairy girl who seems very much like Coraline. All three of them warn Coraline of the dangers ahead and help her defeat The Other Mother in various ways. Ultimately, the souls of the ghost children are set free through Coraline’s dedicated efforts and the three children wander off into the universe.Coraline essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Coraline by Neil Gaiman. I really enjoyed this book. From the first few lines, everything about it is drenched in the love that Brister so obviously has for her family, which is beautiful. The way she writes highlights her love for them even when, at times, things are (quite literally) shitty, and you just can't underestimate how heartwarming and reassuring that is. Coraline is one of the best horror stories for children, as well as a brilliant movie to watch during the Halloween holidays. Today, we bring you 56 of the best Coraline book quotes to enjoy and revisit. Michael is a character with a troubled past, he has a ‘behaviour plan’ as he has been known to punch students and teachers, ‘flip desks’ as he frequently tells us and ‘gets full’ of all the feelings he can’t control. However, a popular girl who lives next door to him is open to making friends with him and he is able to show that beneath the naughty boy image there is a depth of character and warmth to him. What I really appreciated here was the realistic ideas he has of his own limitations, although perhaps rather negative, he seems to be aware that he might not be the most attractive prospect to a teenage girl and rather than being upset about it is able to deal with it and rationalise it. His relationship with his siblings though impresses her as well as his ability to open up to her, and he confesses how he now sees his mother.