A hauntingly beautiful memoir that brings you into the author's world in an instant. This title will stay with the reader long after finishing her heart-wrenching story.

After reading this book I find it hard to believe it is a true story--honestly don't think that an author could make it up, therefore it has to be real. Because so much of it takes place in the Boston area and Cape Cod, for those of us from the area we can visualize exactly what she is talking about. It is amazing to me that "Rennie", although having some problems along the way (no surprise there), is able to look at her life in such dispassionate detail and in the end triumph over her childhood.

This book deserves every syllable of hype it’s getting. A jaw-dropping memoir told with raw honesty and warm empathy, written by a woman who will always win the “You think YOUR family’s dysfunctional? Listen to this...” game.

At 14 years old Rennies mother: Malabar, brings her into her secret world. Using her daughter as a shield Malabar embarks on an affair with her husbands best friend.

Adrienne Brodeurs memoir is more than the story about her mothers affair, it's about the relationship between a mother and a daughter.
A mother who burdened her young daughter with a secret, too big to carry and how that secret went on to affect her daughters life and relationships with others.
Brodeur writes about her mothers manipulation as though it is the most common experience, she writes about being shocked when other people saw her mother as the villain instead of the victim, which really hammers home how deep this masterful control went.

Beautifully written, this book was captivating.

I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir, that read like a novel. The author, whose mother is totally self absorbed, has inappropriately drawn her 14 year old daughter into her adulterous love affair with her husband’s best friend. The affair and their secret goes on for years and years as the author’s life unfolds with the weight of the secret she is carrying for her mother and her lover affects her life and mental state as well as those around her. The descriptions of Cape Cod, where most of the book takes place were beautiful, as were the descriptions of the lovely meals that her mother prepared for the two families as they always dined together as the affair was going on. Really twisted stuff, but I couldn’t look away, sort of like a car wreck. Highly recommend!

Beautifully written memoir and an excellent book. Adrienne Brodeur (Rennie) can write, it is just too bad the story I was reading happened to be true. Parents are not meant to act solely as their children's friend. As Rennie's life unfolds it shows just how badly a child can be damaged by a narcissistic parent. Rennie's mother (Malabar) is a self absorbed woman who had a selfish mother and father herself and whshe uses her own daughter as an accomplice to start an adulterous affair with her husband's best friend. Ughhhh. The be-jeweled Indian necklace that Malabar dangles in front of Rennie constantly taunting her with it is a metaphor for Malabar's love for her daughter (in my opinion) It is always just out of reach-a mirage. It is never revealed to the reader whether that necklace was priceless or worthless..
I would highly recommend this book and will look forward to finding more of Adrienne Brodeur's writing.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book.

First I would like to mention, there is no anymosity between Malabar, the mother, and Rennie, the daughter in this memoir. The writing is one of healing on Rennie's part, of understanding her mother.
Entering into this memoir I feel it matters to understand the family's dynamics.
A family descendant of the Mayflower, people of privileged and wealth.
Malabar, a mother without boundaries will incapacitated Rennie through her teen years and beyond, she will never understand her indecent misstep.
The healing will consume Rennie for many years, the search for herself.
Distancing herself from Malabar will be her first step. Finding hope and guidance through books suggested by her stepmother Margo will lead her toards fundamental understandings.
I was taken aback by Rennie's lack of literary education, yet not surprised considering the hedonistic lifestyle she grew up around.
Literature will become Rennie's vocation, which can be noticed by the beautiful writing in this memoir.

Thank you NetGalley & Houghton Miffin and Harcourt

Coming from a broken home I was able to relate to this book. My heart hurt for Adrienne as all she wanted was to be loved by her mother. But at what cost?

This book is about a mother/Malabar who needs a friend more then a daughter. She tells her daughter her upmost secrets at the tender age of 14. Adrienne is as any 14 year old girl, wanting the attention and close relationship this has given her. However Adrienne has a hard time breaking away from her mother, even into her 30's. This cost of this relationship is more then Adrienne could ever have imagined.

I don't read many biographical memoirs and this book was excellent. I highly recommend this book!

An achingly honest memoir by a daughter whose mother has no boundaries. Thank goodness Rennie healed from this. A fascinating and sad book that is utterly unputdownable.

Wild Game is an excellent read. I love Adrienne Brodeur's writing style. The clarity she provides enhances the character development. Broader is asked to keep an affair between her mother, Malabar and her stepfather's best friend,Ben, a secret starting at the age of 14. Her mother wakes her up in the middle of the night to share the news of a kiss that occurred at Broduer's family home on Cape Cod. The author is torn between supporting her mother and letting go of the secret. The affair lasts ten years and Brodeur's mother continues to have no boundaries with her daughter-even calling her in college one evening when the housekeeper threatens to tell Ben's wife. The mother used the affair to keep her daughter enmeshed to her.

What follows is a beautiful account of how Brodeur is able to find her own identity while respecting her mother despite her lack of boundaries. She highlights positive qualities of Malabar-her ability to cook an excellent meal from wild game, the love she has for Brodeuer and how she lights up a room with her wit. Brodeur discusses in detail Malabar's struggles in life which allows the reader to see her as a broken, hurting human being and not merely an antagonist.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an advanced copy of Wild Game.

Wow! I love reading memoirs, looking at the twisted relationships that produced the author. “Wild Game” is endlessly fascinating, beautifully written and begs the reader to sit down with other women to discuss the unusual relationship between Rennie, the author, and Malabar, her mother.

Should children become the confidantes of parents? Should a parent force a child to keep secrets? Should a child participate in a parent’s immoral behavior?

All of this resonated with me because I was married to someone who was forced into the same position as Adrienne Brodeur. Few people can stand back and examine their life as Brodeur does in this memoir. The writing is lush and beautifully descriptive. I was able to feel the settings and taste the food.

I have a lingering question, and perhaps someone can answer this for me, “how valuable is the necklace?” Since this piece of jewelry became a highly important pawn in the relationship between the women, the nosy gossip in me needs the closure of knowing if it is really valuable or just a tool in their relationship which was hardly worth it’s exalted position.

I truly enjoyed this memoir and obviously urge women to share their own experiences with their mothers. Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book.