Up until a few years ago, I truly believed that the world was inherently a good place. I thought that no matter what, the good in people always wins over. But over the past few years, I’ve been thoroughly disabused of the notion. It doesn’t mean that I believe that the world is all bad, but that the bad parts are more powerful than the good. I’ve turned into a full blown cynic and I don’t see myself moving out of this position anytime soon. Yet, I’m utterly shocked and enraged every time someone does something bad, especially when they believe they are right. I don’t know what that says about me and that it happened again in The Better Mother by Jennifer van der Kleut.
When I first heard of The Better Mother, I was super intrigued. Because what do you mean you’re comparing mothers and how they do motherhood? Then I read the blurb and felt the first inklings of foreboding and dread creep in. The only question was: Was the book going to live up to my initial instinct and boggle my mind? Or was it going to fizzle out like so many thrillers I’ve read before? And I got my answer fairly quickly.
The Plot
In The Better Mother, we have Savannah, who, after having been broken up with by the man who she thought she would spend the rest of her life with, starts a short, casual fling with Max. They both agree they don’t want anything more. But when Savannah finds out she is pregnant, she tells Max, only because she thinks he should know as the father of the child. Max is surprisingly happy and a few days later, tells Savannah that he is back with his (temporary) ex, Madison, and introduces them, saying that it is necessary, given that they are going to be in each other’s lives forever.
Madison seems lovely at first, bringing Savannah groceries and things for the baby and what not. But slowly, her obsessions seem to grow and soon, it devolves into something completely unhinged. How far is Madison going to go? Is Max going to do something about it? And how will Savannah handle this absolute chaos during a time when she needs peace, calm, and rest, is what The Better Mother is all about.
The Better Mother is a well-written thriller about motherhood, entitlement, and stalker behavior, irrespective of the reasoning behind them. It did what a good thriller is supposed to do—thrills you out of fear and dread. It has plenty of plot twists that keep you waltzing around the dance floor that is this plot in shock and pure rage. And if this story and some of its characters don’t fill you with said rage, then I will eat my own hair.
The concept of surrogacy and the misuse of it—something that happens a lot in real life—but also how unhinged some people can get about their own traditions? That made me want to puke my bowels out. I know it is a gross, grotesque picture, but read The Better Mother and you’ll see what I mean. Plus, I don’t like most people but I can say with certainty that there are three characters in this book who I positively despise. I used a lot of curse words for them when I wrote about this book in my reading journal which I’m not going to reproduce here. However, if a character (and not the writing) induces you to feel so strongly towards them, it is a testament to the effectiveness of the writing, no matter how bad it is for your blood pressure.
On the other hand, there are a couple of things that I found to be off. First off, the end felt way too idealistic and sugary. I don’t mean to say that it had to do something absolutely mad, but I felt like whatever happened didn’t blend well with the rest of the story. It also disregards the concept of Chekhov’s gun—so many plot points explored but not used. There were a few loose ends that I would’ve loved to see tied up. But then again, in hindsight, it feels like an okay trade-off for an effective thriller.
Overall, I like how it filled me with rage against the world, the system, and people who believe they’re entitled to everything the world has to offer. I dunno if I can say that I “enjoyed” it though, given how absolutely nutty it is. But I also am leaning towards saying that I absolutely enjoyed the adrenaline rush that came with it.
Would definitely recommend The Better Mother!
Have you read The Better Mother? Would you be inclined to give it a go after reading my review? Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!
I’ll see you in the next blog post.
Until next time, keep reading and add melodrama to your life! 🙂
The Melodramatic Bookworm 