I loved this story! The atmosphere is one of my all-time favs - a lighthouse island setting.
My only complaint is that a full set of short stories wasn't included, as this left me wanting more!!
This was a 5 star read for me due to wonderful setting, characters Im invested in that left me too soon, and a wonderful plot/story.
And, as always, gorgeous writing.
Im so thankful to be sent this for review! Im a Hoffman fan for life.

Alice Hoffman's writing is always very simple stories that are full of intrigue, bad acts, and good outcomes. No matter whether she is writing a long novel or a short story, like this one, it is so full and complete. Hoffman is able to pack so much into the 25 page long Everything My Mother Taught Me. This is the story of a young girl in the early 1900s Boston area who losses her father to illness and has to go live on a lighthouse island with her mother. It was a beautiful story of a girl's chance to rebel and yet do good at the same time.

I do not know that there is an Alice Hoffman book I have disliked but I very much enjoyed this story and would recommend it to even those who dislike short stories.

Would recommend this book for a book discussion. Very short but a good read. Not the usual Alice Hoffman.

I'm not normally a fan of short stories, but Alice Hoffman was able to create a wonderfully detailed short story in 28 pages! I don't know if I've ever read a short story with so much packed within its pages. With a gorgeous cover and a title like this you'd assume this would give you a case of the warm fuzzies by the end. Well that's not necessarily the case although there is always hope. The only downfall is that it wasn't a bit longer. I really want to know what happened to Adeline after surviving a mother like hers .

Alice Hoffman is a master of her craft. I have been a fan of Hoffman's since listening to Marriage of Opposites which is still one of my favorites several years later.

Hoffman is able to use words to paint a picture in her stories that are so vivid that they come to life. She is able to evoke emotions and feelings with her stories.

This is a short story that you will not want to miss. The only downside I found was that the story left me wanting to know more about this girl.

I love Alice Hoffman’s writing literary fiction at its best ,This is a u inquest short story who has gone mute at a young age a tale that will involve and keep you turning the pages.#netgalley#amazonorigionalstories

Everything My Mother Taught Me was another short story from the Amazon series that I chose in order to 'test drive' the author’s writing style.

The story is told from the point of view of Adeline a child who has elected to become mute after the death of the loving, caring father she adored.
She is left with her mother, a woman would cares only for herself and flirting with men at the local taverns.

In order to support them the mother takes a job as a housekeeper at a lighthouse. The lighthouse is manned by three-keepers who all live on the island with their families.
Despite the fact that Adeline continues to be mute by choice she thrives on the island enjoying both the wild, natural environment and the company of the many children.

Although I didn’t feel a strong emotional connection with Adeline I did enjoy the storytelling and especially the conclusion.

Everything My Mother Taught Me tells a haunting tale of a pre-teen's experience living with her "absent" mother, and how she resolves a predicament where she feels abandon. Fortunately, she has a friend who she can confide and a person who fills the void of a lack of love. The short story delves right into the plot once you begin reading. It mainly introduces the main characters explaining where they are in their lives. The story can classify as a thriller as the narrator has so much to say, but barely says a word. When she does speak, it is profound and directive. It was fairly riveting because you know she will make a change in her life, but her pain and suffering leaves you wondering how far she is willing to go to find a remedy. I found the book to be a good bedtime story. It would be interesting to see it adapted into a script for a TV movie.

This is a short story set in 1908. When a family tragedy strikes leaving a young girl mute, a mother and daughter seek employment on an island helping at a lighthouse. Not all women are meant to be mothers. Loneliness on an island can make people do things. Lies and deceit weave a captivating story of a mother and daughter relationship. This was a great short story, I wish it was longer.

I got spoiled by the beauty of the last book this author wrote. This short story was a big dissapointment for me.
I do not like short stories. They are just too short for me. Although I do like the author, I am very dissapointed with this book for its plot and idea.
Can we go to the book she recently published called The World We Knew instead??? That book was phenomenal!!

Everything My Mother Taught Me has a beautiful language and beautifully described settings, which made me really like this short story. The plot and storyline was fascinating as well and I think it could work as a novel too.

This short story by Alice Hoffman puts her immense talent on full display. Her her use of language is perfect, every word is important. EVERYTHING MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME is about a young girl, unloved by her promiscuous mother who gets what she needs in the end. But this is no sweet story of a finding one's place in the world - it is ultimately a story of revenge, told as only Hoffman can.

This is a short story how a mother told her daughter never say a word so Adeline grew up never speaking. Her mother takes a job as a lighthouse keeper and a woman disappears. The only one who holds the secrets doesn't talk. Cute story.

I am a huge fan of Alice Hoffman. And no doubt I loved the story.

Adeline, 12 year old protagonist is deeply affected by her father's death. And she is stuck with her adulterous, selfish mother. Adeline does not talk after her father's death and she goes with her mother to an island to take care of lighthouse duties which is looked after with other families too.

The story though short speaks a lot about relationships, kindness and revenge. Lovely story.

Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for ARC in exchange of honest review.

Happy Reading!!!

This tale takes place in the early 1900’s with a nearly teenage girl Adeline and her detrimentally self-involved, often-absent mother.

Everything upends them when the girl’s father dies, and they must move to a secluded lighthouse island where her mother takes a job. Adeline deals with the shock and ramifications by going mute. Loss, silence, and helplessness are themes that arise as the girl works through painful circumstances out of her control. The narrative is uncomfortable and heartbreaking, however there is a person along the way who starts to reopen avenues for warmth and kindness.

Though it was a short story, I felt that detail, nuance and punch were missing. Perhaps if it were developed into a full novel, it would have had more impact for me.

Adeline is 12 years old, with a dying father she loves and an adulterous mother, Nora, she barely tolerates. And her mother has threatened her not to tell her father what she has seen her mother doing with other men. When her father dies, Adeline decides she will no longer speak.

The year is 1908, and Nora has few skills or marketable talents when widowed. She decides on a job north of Boston, on an island off Cape Ann where there are two lighthouses. It is a bleak, often treacherous setting, but one that Adeline comes to find beautiful. Here her mother finds new ways to destroy others lives for her gain while Adeline watches.

With wonderful writing, beautifully described settings and a precisely devised plot, Hoffman has given us a short story on the nature of what does or doesn’t constitute family, what type of revenge can one live with as a good person. Nora will regret the lessons she taught and the lessons Adeline learned elsewhere.

I received a copy of this book from Amazon Original Stories through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

4 Stars

Adeline is twelve years old and all alone in this world. She lost a father whom she loved with all of her might and is little lost herself. Her mother, ignores her day in day out and Adeline has no hope of ever having a relationship with her. Cold and uncaring, her mother’s only concerns are her own. Obtaining a housekeeping job at an old Lighthouse, her mother makes Adeline leave the life she one knew for the unknown.

Never uttering a word again, Adeline, sees and hears more than anyone else ever could and helps those who help her.

Tragic in some ways and beautiful in others, “Everything My Mother Taught Me” by Alice Hoffman is a lovely short story. The only thing I wish is that it had evoked a little more feeling in me or that perhaps it was longer and therefore I felt more for the characters. Sometimes I think it’s hard for short stories to give me everything I’m hoping for simply because they are in fact so short and I think that was the case here. That said, I loved how the story transpired between Adeline and another character and look forward to more novels by the incredible Ms. Hoffman.

Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories and Alice Hoffman for the arc.

Published on Goodreads and NetGalley on 1.4.20.

Everything My Mother Taught Me is a short story not published as part of a collection. Short stories are hit or miss for me. Alice Hoffman is also hit or miss for me. This one was mixed. I appreciated the story but felt that it would have been much better in a longer format. In a few short pages, Hoffman tells the story of a 12 year old girl whose father dies and who is left in the care of a mother who really couldn’t care less. Mother and daughter move to an island where the mother works as a maid to the lighthouse keepers. Then lots of bad things happen in a very short time span. I wanted to like this one more, but I felt too much happened in too few pages. But don’t listen to me. Many readers have loved this one. And it’s very short, so very low risk. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

I adored this short story from the wonderful Alice Hoffman.Considering this is a short story,Hoffman does wonderful work building the characters so quickly. Exquisitely written and highly recommended.I was very lucky to receive an ARC for this.Very much look forward to reading the rest of the series.

I've never read anything by Alice Hoffman before so I didn't know what to expect. I don't think I realized this was a short story when I started reading it.

I'm a sucker for a lighthouse and the place where the lighthouse was became a character. The writing was really good and descriptive. I loved the relationship between Adeline & Julia but I didn't like that the others just sat around watching all the bad happen. When you do nothing it seems as if you condone it.

It was great for a short story and I wish it had been longer and had gone into more depth, but for what it was it was good.