Such A Good Mother

Some women would do anything for their children. This provocative novel “goes straight for the jugular of modern motherhood” (Lindsay Cameron, author of Just One Look)—from the author of the “addictive” (People) thriller Precious You. “Mothers and hustlers can be a lethal combination—and the perfect recipe to keep you up all night.”—Amanda Eyre Ward, New York Times bestselling author of The Jetsetters Rose O’Connell is barely surviving. Her marriage is rocky; her son isn’t fitting in at his new school, the prestigious Woolf Academy; and their tiny apartment in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood can barely contain her family. As she struggles to make ends meet on her junior bank teller wages, Rose finds that life as the only mom in a name tag and uniform at the Woolf’s shiny school gates isn’t easy. Not so for those in the elite and secretive Circle—a tight-knit group of wealthy mothers, led by the charismatic and glamorous Amala Kaur—who rule the school. When the mysterious death of one of the Circle’s members creates a vacancy, Rose dares to hope she could fill it and transform her life. Amala’s shocking decision to invite Rose into her clique provokes resentment among the Circle, especially when her fortunes, self-esteem, and status start to soar. But Rose soon realizes the true price of being on the inside. Far from being a dream come true, the Circle proves her worst nightmare. Unlike the woman she replaced, can Rose escape with her life? Taut, complex, and compulsively readable, Such a Good Mother is a razor-sharp take on the myth of having it all.

In an era of mommy blogs, Pinterest, and Facebook, The Good Mother Myth dismantles the social media–fed notion of what it means to be a “good mother.” This collection of essays takes a realistic look at motherhood and provides a platform for real voices and raw stories, each adding to the narrative of motherhood we don’t tend to see in the headlines or on the news. From tales of mind-bending, panic-inducing overwhelm to a reflection on using weed instead of wine to deal with the terrible twos, the honesty of the essays creates a community of mothers who refuse to feel like they’re in competition with others, or with the notion of the ideal mom—they’re just trying to find a way to make it work. With a foreword by Christy Turlington Burns and a contributor list that includes Jessica Valenti, Sharon Lerner, Soraya Chemaly, Amber Dusick, and many more, this remarkable collection seeks to debunk the myth and offer honest perspectives on what it means to be a mother.

AN ABUSIVE MOTHER Raised in the suburb of Riverside, California, twenty-year-old college student Jason Bautista endured for years his emotionally disturbed mother's verbal and psychological abuse. She even locked him out of the house, tied him up with electrical cord, and on one occasion, gave him a beating that sent him to the emergency room. His fifteen-year-old half brother Matthew Montejo also was a victim to Jane Bautista's dark mood swings and erratic behavior, but for some reason, Jason received the brunt of the abuse—until he decided he'd had enough... A SON'S REVENGE On the night of January 14, 2003, Jason strangled his mother. To keep authorities from identifying her body, he chopped off her head and hands, an idea he claimed he got from watching an episode of the hit TV series "The Sopranos." Matthew would later testify in court that he sat in another room in the house with the TV volume turned up while Jason murdered their mother. He also testified that he drove around with Jason to find a place to dump Jane's torso. A CRIME THAT WOULD BOND TWO BROTHERS The morning following the murder, Matthew went to school, and Jason returned to his classes at Cal State San Bernardino. When authorities zeroed in on them, Jason lied and said that Jane had run off with a boyfriend she'd met on the Internet. But when police confronted the boys with overwhelming evidence, Jason confessed all. Now the nightmare was only just beginning for him...

“The courtroom scenes are sharp and suspenseful, the twists in the plot are unexpected, and the tension ratchets up until we are truly eager to find out what happens.” -New York Times Book Review A Library Journal Best Debut Novel of Spring and Summer 2021 A gripping debut thriller about two young mothers, one shocking murder and a court case that puts them both on trial. When a soldier is found stabbed through the heart at a US Army base, there is no doubt that his wife, Luz, is to blame. But was it an act of self-defense? An attempt to save her infant daughter? Or the cold-blooded murder of an innocent man? Ambitious public defender Abby is determined to win at all costs. As a new mother herself, she wants to keep Luz out of prison and with her daughter. But when the surprises stack up and shocking new evidence emerges, Abby realizes the task proves far more difficult than she suspected and will require a terrible sacrifice. As the trial hurtles toward an outcome no one expects, Abby, Luz and a captivated jury are forced to answer the question that will decide everything—what does it mean to be a good mother? “Lara Bazelon combines a riveting courtroom thriller with a nuanced and thought-provoking examination of gender, race, and justice. Helmed by an intelligent, complex, and flawed protagonist, A Good Mother is a beautifully written debut that kept me turning the pages late into the night.” —Angie Kim, author of Miracle Creek "Sexy, shrewd, and wholly contemporary, A Good Mother takes pitch-perfect characters, a page-whipping plot, and themes about marriage, lust, betrayal, and the juggling of new motherhood plus a hard-driving career and mixes it all into a deeply perceptive legal thriller that made me drop everything else and just READ." —Cathi Hanauer, New York Times bestselling author of Gone, The Bitch in the House and The Bitch Is Back

Heather Chauvin-now a TEDx speaker, host of the Mom Is In Control podcast and personal development coach-takes you through her journey with honesty, humor, and strength.

Some women would do anything for their children. This provocative novel “goes straight for the jugular of modern motherhood” (Lindsay Cameron, author of Just One Look)—from the author of the “addictive” (People) thriller Precious You. “Mothers and hustlers can be a lethal combination—and the perfect recipe to keep you up all night.”—Amanda Eyre Ward, New York Times bestselling author of The Jetsetters Rose O’Connell is barely surviving. Her marriage is rocky; her son isn’t fitting in at his new school, the prestigious Woolf Academy; and their tiny apartment in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood can barely contain her family. As she struggles to make ends meet on her junior bank teller wages, Rose finds that life as the only mom in a name tag and uniform at the Woolf’s shiny school gates isn’t easy. Not so for those in the elite and secretive Circle—a tight-knit group of wealthy mothers, led by the charismatic and glamorous Amala Kaur—who rule the school. When the mysterious death of one of the Circle’s members creates a vacancy, Rose dares to hope she could fill it and transform her life. Amala’s shocking decision to invite Rose into her clique provokes resentment among the Circle, especially when her fortunes, self-esteem, and status start to soar. But Rose soon realizes the true price of being on the inside. Far from being a dream come true, the Circle proves her worst nightmare. Unlike the woman she replaced, can Rose escape with her life? Taut, complex, and compulsively readable, Such a Good Mother is a razor-sharp take on the myth of having it all.

An obsessive power struggle between an editor and her millennial intern turns dangerous in this debut psychological thriller—for readers of Luckiest Girl Alive and You. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY KIRKUS REVIEWS • “Hypnotic . . . an addictive thriller.”—People Trusting you was my first mistake. To Katherine, twenty-four-year-old Lily Lunt is a typical “snowflake.” It seems like the privileged, politically correct millennial will do whatever she can to make it big as a writer, including leveraging her family’s connections. To Lily, Katherine Ross, a career woman in her early forties, is a holdover from another era: clueless, old-fashioned, and perfectly happy to build her success on the backs of her unpaid interns. When Lily is hired as the new intern at the magazine where Katherine is editor in chief, her arrival threatens the very foundation of the self-serving little world that Katherine has built. She finds herself obsessively drawn to Lily, who seems to be a cruel reminder of the beauty and potential she once had—things Lily uses against Katherine as she slowly begins to undermine her, sabotaging her work and turning the magazine’s new publisher against her. Is Katherine being paranoid? Or is Lily seeking to systematically destroy her life? As Katherine tries to fight back, a toxic generational divide turns explosive and long-buried secrets are exposed—with deadly consequences for both. . . . Gripping and provocative, Precious You delivers an unsettling, provocative take on the contemporary workplace, turning the professional roles women play on their heads in a razor-sharp, revenge-driven thriller for our age. Praise for Precious You “Breathtaking. A brilliant, butt-kicking romp through the Gen X/Millennial clash and the horrors of cutthroat corporate life. I couldn't put it down.”—Alex Marwood, Edgar Award–winning author of The Wicked Girls “What a wild ride. I’m obsessed with it! I felt so seen, so many times. This book, while so twisted and dark, will resonate with many, many women.”—Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, author of Last Girl Lied To “An intergenerational clash between two women, played out to a shocking finale. Nail-biting.”—Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange

A hilarious and reassuring gift for every mom: because we’re all doing the best we can, and the natural world is filled with moms worse than you! A mom giraffe is pretty nice until the fetus drops. She’ll birth a newborn baby calf, then kick him ’til he walks. Whenever you feel guilty that you haven’t cleaned the house: Sexton beetles raise their kids in a decomposing mouse. A koala mom will feed her kids her own poop. Yes, poop. Panda moms will abandon one twin because raising two is, well, just too much. And every now and then a cuddly little hamster mom will —yup— eat her newborn pups. These and other true facts from the animal kingdom offer a hilarious reality check on what constitutes “good parenting.” So, human mother, time to stop worrying about the job you're doing —because you’re a great mom.