Mothers and Daughters: From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a captivating family drama

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Roomby Emma Donoghue: A kidnapped girl raises her son in the captivity of a single room while planning for their escape. The Kissing Handby Audrey Penn, illustrated by Ruth E. Harper and Nancy M. Leak: Chester the Raccoon is nervous for his first day of school so his mother tells him about the Kissing Hand, a way to reassure him of her love when he gets frightened. Carameloby Sandra Cisneros: In this multigenerational family story, Lala examines her grandmother’s life as she grows up traveling between Chicago and Mexico City. Mama’s Sarisby Pooja Makhijani, illustrated by Elena Gomez: In this beautifully-illustrated picture book, a young girl dreams about dressing up in her mother’s gorgeous saris. Outside Beautyby Cynthia Kadohata: Helen Kimura is a serial dater with four daughters all with different fathers. The girls, ages six to sixteen, have grown up being taught they can only rely on their looks, their unpredictable mother, and each other. These bonds are tested when this family is separated for the first time.

At the Bottom of the Riverby Jamaica Kincaid: A collection of short stories set in the Caribbean about the complicated connections between mothers and their daughters. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for giving me an e-book copy of this novel for a review. A captivating story about a mother’s relationship with her two daughters, to protect them she has kept secrets and her daughters now understanding their mother is a free and independent woman, she has every right to live where she chooses, start a new relationship and fall in love. I loved this!! One of those stories when you're sad to leave the characters as you immediately feel at ease with them and want to carry on watching over them as they come to terms with the loss in their lives, but begin to move on.Saving Francescaby Melina Marchetta: The young adult story shows a teenage girl coping with life in a new school while her formerly spirited mother falls into a deep depression. Naomi has also never revealed the full details of her life when married to their father, fearing that this would destroy their happy memories.

Breath, Eyes, Memoryby Edwidge Danticat: Twelve-year-old Sophie leaves Haiti to live with the mother she barely remembers in New York City. The Ladies of Managuaby Eleni N. Gage: Maria Vazquez goes home to Nicaragua for her grandfather’s funeral and must face her grieving grandmother and the mother who abandoned her to be a revolutionary. The Ten-Year Napby Meg Wolitzer: A group of female friends living in New York examine their decisions after giving up their careers to stay at home with their children.Mom & Me & Mom is the personal story of Maya Angelou’s relationship with her mom. When Maya was three years old, her mother sent her and her brother to live with their grandmother. Maya shares the story of how, a decade later, she and “Lady,” as she calls her mother, are reunited and how they learn to find the balance of love and respect the two need to create a lasting relationship. Worth the Fallby Claudia Connor: A Navy SEAL and a single mother of four meet each other and find romance during a week-long beach vacation. Landlineby Rainbow Rowell: A television writer and workaholic is worried she’s ruined her marriage. With a magical realism twist, she discovers a way to talk on the phone with her husband in the past, before he proposed. Now she wonders if she should use this strange opportunity to save her marriage or stop it from ever happening. Elizabeth struggles to be taken seriously in her field and as a single mother, in this amazing book. So when an offer to host a cooking show for women is put in her path, she reluctantly takes it. Heart of the Matterby Emily Giffin: A stay at home mom and a single working mother’s lives intersect after one of their children experiences a tragic accident.

May is Mother’s Day month. It’s the perfect time to dive into a books about mothers that feature one of the difficult, dynamic, nuanced mothers from this list. So the story revolves around the different positions they find themselves in - Martha, happily married and in control of her life, but unable to fall pregnant, and Willow who is really easy going and drifts through life, much to the horror of her big sister! Martha is a very strong character who likes to take control of every aspect, and she thinks it would be best for her mum to sell up and move nearer them. Not so easy for Naomi who has happy memories in her home, along with the fact that she's now making a life for herself, and it's fascinating to see how that relationship with her daughters plays out. Although the relationship between the three women is at the heart of the story, other relationships are bought under the spotlight including marital problems, the issues facing blended families, control and abuse and deciding how much of your real self that you let others see. This was a captivating story that I really enjoyed. It’s my first read from James and I hope it won’t be my last, because this book was such a good novel. I liked James’ story-telling, exploring the connections between three women that goes beyond just being mother and daughter.My Name Is Lucy Bartonby Elizabeth Strout: When Lucy is recovering from an operation her mother, who she hasn’t seen in years, comes and spends five days with her in the hospital room.