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The Mothers
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
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Publisher's Summary
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“Bittersweet, sexy, morally fraught.”–The New York Times Book Review
"Fantastic… a book that feels alive on the page."–The Washington Post
From the New York-Times bestselling author of The Vanishing Half, the beloved novel about young love and a big secret in a small community.
Set within a contemporary black community in Southern California, Brit Bennett's mesmerizing first novel is an emotionally perceptive story about community, love, and ambition. It begins with a secret.
"All good secrets have a taste before you tell them, and if we'd taken a moment to swish this one around our mouths, we might have noticed the sourness of an unripe secret, plucked too soon, stolen and passed around before its season."
It is the last season of high school life for Nadia Turner, a rebellious, grief-stricken, seventeen-year-old beauty. Mourning her own mother's recent suicide, she takes up with the local pastor's son. Luke Sheppard is twenty-one, a former football star whose injury has reduced him to waiting tables at a diner. They are young; it's not serious. But the pregnancy that results from this teen romance—and the subsequent cover-up—will have an impact that goes far beyond their youth. As Nadia hides her secret from everyone, including Aubrey, her God-fearing best friend, the years move quickly. Soon, Nadia, Luke, and Aubrey are full-fledged adults and still living in debt to the choices they made that one seaside summer, caught in a love triangle they must carefully maneuver, and dogged by the constant, nagging question: What if they had chosen differently? The possibilities of the road not taken are a relentless haunt.
In entrancing, lyrical prose, The Mothers asks whether a "what if" can be more powerful than an experience itself. If, as time passes, we must always live in servitude to the decisions of our younger selves, to the communities that have parented us, and to the decisions we make that shape our lives forever.
What the critics say
"Brit Bennett is the real thing. The Mothers is a stellar novel—moving, thoughtful. Stunning. I couldn’t put it down. I’m so excited to have this brilliant new voice in the world."–Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award-winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming and Another Brooklyn
"Brit Bennett's masterful debut is brimming with unforgettable scenes and the sort of keenly-observed, precise language that makes you look at your own relationships anew. Told with the wisdom of a seasoned, compassionate storyteller, The Mothers is a novel about community, friendship, grief and growth. The two women at the center of this novel are characters you will find yourself thinking about long after you've turned the last page—they pull you in close and never let you go. Bennett is a brilliant and much-needed new voice in literature."–Angela Flournoy, author of National Book Award-finalist The Turner House
"Brit Bennett’s The Mothers is a brilliant exploration of friendship, desire, inheritance, the love we seek, and the love we settle for. It is the kind of book that from its first page seduces you into knowing that the heartbreak coming will be worth it."–Danielle Evans, author of Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self
Featured Article: Outstanding Female Authors Everyone Ought to Listen to
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What listeners say about The Mothers
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 2023-02-14
Well done
Great,touching story. Wow. The depth and the narrative are deep, real and relatable. The characters are well established, described and are easy to like.
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- Amazon Customer
- 2022-01-19
Moving
An absolutely moving story about love, loss, sacrifice, and growing up and moving on, with the bittersweet reminder that some things can never be let go of.
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- Tania Haas
- 2021-08-04
beautiful narrator for beautiful story
loved every minute! story arc, characters, voices, everything! highly recommend and no I don't think this a pro-choice or pro-life book. it's a story about choices and the honest impact of life's hard choices.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jlang
- 2020-09-22
Really enjoyed.
Just finished this & I really enjoyed the story & also the narrator was wonderful and has a beautiful voice.
I wanted to make a little note about the other reviewers saying this book was "pro life propaganda" and I actually have to disagree. I just think it was pointing out the reality that some people get an abortion & regret it...Or have a hard time moving on from that decision. There are negative abortion comments, from the church women, but most Christians (especially elderly ones) are against abortion.
I just wanted to note that as I was listening to this I didnt feel like it was preachy or pro life.
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