This was a spellbinding story. I loved and hated the characters at different intervals, each one pulled at me. Written with so many complex emotions, this is not an easy read, and it's not one of those fluffy "feel good" reads either. What it is, is intense, beautiful and triumphant in many ways. I felt for Julie, the woman who wants it all- the career, the man and the child... but especially the child. The thought of adoption is scary on it's own- and still a bit taboo today. Bring another country's politics and customs into the make? It feels impossible. Then there's raising a child up that wasn't with their adoptive family from birth, trying to understand the scars of a past that you couldn't help. Family has always been important to me, and I feel like I would have many of Julie's feelings. Do you search for the birth mother? Is it better for the child? And if you find them, are you still "Mom"? How does one decide what the right thing to do here is?
On the plus side, the book had a good flow. It was beautifully written and intensely interesting. On the other hand, it's not a subject I would ever feel completely comfortable with.... and I may have wanted to slap all the adult characters at least once throughout the story. Honestly, I finished this book weeks ago and have been trying to come to terms with how I feel about it. For me, this is a four star book- It's gorgeous and I highly recommend it.... but it can hardly be considered a light or fast read.
On the adult content scale, there's violence (high levels of physical as well as sexual), language, and abuse. It's definitely not geared toward children. I would give it a seven.
I was lucky enough to receive an eARC of this book from Netgalley and Apprentice House Press in exchange for an honest review. My thanks!

A heartbreaking but touching story about adoption. It tells the story of two mothers whose love for their son is so great they are forced to go to many lengths to protect him.

The experience that Julie and Mark go through to adopt their son was so moving, I desperately wanted things to go their way. It also showed the reality of adopting a child who is struggling to adapt to his new surroundings and recognise his own emotions.

My heart was heavy hearing the story of Rosalba and the story of her life growing up and I was saddened by the events that lead to her giving up Juan. It's an unimaginable and very scary situation for a young woman to be in.

Although this book is fiction I believe that many parts of it are realistic for families who have been on both sides of the adoption process and for this reason the story stayed with me.

My only disappointment in this story is that we didn't get to follow the families for longer.

A heart wrenching novel about the two side of an adoption. The story goes back and forth between the Guatemalan mother of a young boy, and the North American family that adopts him.
This story is well written and keeps one reading. Having grown up in Guatemala, and still having ties there made me appreciate the research she did on Guatemala, and of the armed conflict which ripped through the country for many years.
This story takes us on a long journey for the adoptive family as they try to get their child out after five years of paperwork which was already in the works, and on top of that a looming shutdown of adoptions in the country. This story keeps you wanting to find out what happens, to both sides of the adoption process.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Apprentice House Press for a copy of this book.

What a lovely read. The trials and tribulations of a mixed race adoption from war torn Guatamala. Julie's family prioritising over her work, eventually, through tough times and a marriage breakdown wins in the end❤️ Jessica is a brilliant author and put me through a gambit of emotions, I was in bits at the end.

Mother Mother is the story of Julie, who, with her husband Mark, adopts a child from Guatemala.

This isn’t a topic I’ve read much about so I found the story very interesting, especially after reading that the author herself has two sons from Guatemala. The process and experience that Julie and Mark went through seemed very realistic.

I liked a lot about this book. I liked Julie and found her incredibly well-realised and sympathetic. I also enjoyed that the story wasn’t just about her being a mother, but her life too. I found a lot of the other characters quite one-dimensional, especially Mark, Clare and Julie’s boss.

I personally didn’t find the parts in Guatemala as engaging, and towards the end found the book a bit over sentimental, but I am pretty resistant to anything overly sentimental so I think a lot of other people would enjoy this.

This is an interesting read on a topic I hadn’t explored before and I think a lot of people would enjoy it. It’s both an easy read and well-written and would appeal to a lot of people as it makes the topic very realistic and accessible.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Julie, an American, adopts a child from Guatemala. Her resilience during the delays and love for a child she barely knows is inspiring and heartbreaking. The ending is both wonderful and terrible. I admire Julie's selflessness, but I hate that Juan will learn truths that may be emotionally damaging.

Holy smokes. I’ve never felt so moved by a book. This story was captivating from the start, even though I admittedly had no idea where it was taking me. There were quite a few random plot twists that led nowhere, but they had a bigger purpose. You have to put your read-between-the-lines hat to cut through the subtlety, because she wastes no time explaining the small stuff. What we think of as literary forks become part of the entire adoption struggle. You don’t know where things are headed before they happen, but right when it felt like a DNF I knew to push through. I’m so glad I did. I wish we saw more character development for some of the characters, but it’s about the mother’s journey foremost. This one will stay with me for a while.

I don't know if I ever wanted something to happen in a book more than I wanted Juan to finally be able to live with Julie and Mark! Your heart aches for everyone involved in the difficult transnational adoption process, which I learned so much about, as the author herself is an adoptive mom. I loved how Juan (later Jack)'s birth mother's story was woven into the narrative of Julie and Mark's much more privileged California life, and how the story does not shy away from discussing the difficult truths about white privilege, adoption, poverty, etc.

This novel dealt with themes of adoption, miscarriage and relationships in a fantastic and realistic manner. You feel the levels of pain and frustration from the key characters throughout, and this ensures that you are fully taken into the story, and feel real emotion for the times they are going through. It was an unexpected gem and I will be passing this on to all of my friends on release!

I adored this book. This author opened my eyes to conflict and history within Guatemala that I never knew existed. The author did an amazing job at capturing the raw emotion if the characters and took me on a journey that was entirely bittersweet. I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes a touch of real life from the books they read, and that will pull back the curtain on a topic one may not be as familiar with. One of my favorite reads so far this year!

One of my top books of the year! Mother Mother is a touching & painful look at overseas adoption & the struggles tied to becoming a mother.

The story unfolds in two points of view. Julie, a successful gallery curator who, after years of infertility, embarks on the adoption process with her husband, Mark. Their road to become parents is littered with heartbreak & deceit. After years of trying, they finally bring Juan, a beautiful young Guatemalan boy home to California. What follows is a challenging beginning as a family that will leave you in tears.

There is also Rosalba, Juan’s biological mother, a Ixil Mayan woman who recounts her life story to us in detail. From her violent beginnings to giving her child up to where she stands today.

A beautifully written story!

An intriguing novel about international adoption. A fictional story, but some parts could easily be true. A husband and wife go through the adoption process in Guatemala, but because of a ruthless government and rules that make no sense, it takes five years before they are able to bring home their son. The family of three goes through ups and downs and during it all the idea of their son's birth mother weighs heavily.

The ending of this adoption story is beautiful and truly gave me chills. The writing is engaging until the very end.

Mother Mother is a wonderful read that outlines the process of adopting a Guatemalan child by an American couple. Told from both the viewpoint of the adoptive mother and the birth mother, it is truly heartwarming and emotional. The lengths the adoptive family must go through along with the struggles of the birth mother. Many other aspects are covered too. Career aspirations and challenges, family and marital relationships, experiences of other adoptive families. There is something in this novel for everyone. Highly recommended! I struggled to put it down as I had to know what came next.

Wondering what your next book should be for book club well look no further Mother Mother is it. It covers all the bases for a well-versed group discussion: adoption, family, marriage, motherhood and privilege. Jessica O'Dwyer first novel Mamalita: An Adoption Memoir is based on her adoption of her daughter from Guatemala in the face of overwhelming adversity. I assume she used her knowledge from her experiences as the background here. O’Dwyer shows us the realities of adoption. I found that to be very educational and heartbreaking. At the same time, she does a great job for tourism for Guatemala. The story is told with alternating points of view a woman with white privilege and a woman living in impoverished Guatemalan. This is an excellent read. I highly recommend it!


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance reading copy

Well written story. Kept me engaged the entire time. A page turner for sure! Looking forward to reading more books by this author!

A book that looks at adoption through two mother's eyes...the eyes of a birth mother and and adoptive mother, this book is a captivating read for anyone interested in the fabric of adoption. The story weaves back and forth between the adoptive mom and the birth mom so the reader sees how each feels, how each lives, after an adoption. I definitely recommend it for anyone who has adopted or is contemplating adoption.

This is a wonderfully written book detailing the journey of adoption of a child from Guatemala by American parents.
It is harrowing in places and quite graphic - especially when you encounter the 'other' mother's story.
The story is well written, the characters are detailed and rich and the ending of the story ties both of the characters' stories together.

I look forward to reading more from Jessica O'Dwyer.