Love! Love! Love! One of the best books I’ve read all year. The characters. The family dynamic! The family history that led to the family dynamic! There are not words to describe how much I enjoyed this one.

This novel explores the lives of three women from different generations: Zelda (the grandmother), Lila (the mother) and Grace (the daughter), but focuses on Lila — who comes from a home with an abusive father and a mother who died when she was very young but who goes on to become the celebrated executive news editor of the Washington Globe. The story was an intriguing one that interested me through to the end (especially to try to discover what had really happened to Zelda), but the dialogue of the characters — which makes up the bulk of the novel — seemed strange much of the time and was somewhat off-putting. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this multi-generational novel and found it to be a good read.

Like Mother, Like Mother tells Lila’s life story from the presumed death of her mother at a young age, until her own passing. The book explores Lila’s journey to succeed in her career while managing her family. The book also relates the story of Lila’s youngest daughter, Grace, who struggles to understand her mother while also trying to make her own way in the world. Grace believes her grandmother is still alive and wants Lila to confront her past, but Lila has no interest in the past and just wants to move forward.

The writing and story flow well, and Rieger does an excellent job exploring how children both mimic and clash with their parents. She also stresses acceptance of non-conforming parental roles in a completely non-judgmental and non-preachy way.

Like Mother, Like Mother did not get five stars from me because of the “Cast of Characters” listing at the start of the book. Without meeting the characters organically, it is difficult to remember who they are when they enter the story.

One of the best, most nuanced books I've read this year. I could not put it down, and found myself thinking about how even though it may not seem like someone is giving the best, it's the best they can do and it's better than the generation before them. Loved it.

💭 ⓂⓎ ⓉⒽⓄⓊⒼⒽⓉⓈ
I really enjoyed this family saga. It was emotional, raw, heartfelt, and really made me feel so many feelings. I especially loved all the strong FMCs and the realistic aspects on motherhood. The characters were so well developed and their stories were so entertaining to read. My only minor complaint…I wanted more of Lila!There was a bit of a political perspective that I really liked, but I know some people like to stay away from political books. I did not feel that it was overbearing in anyway and it was just a minor detail in the overall plot of the book. If you are in the mood for an emotional yet funny family drama, definitely pick this one up! Bonus points to Susan Rieger for having a page dedicated to the description of the cast of characters.

📚 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
📖Multigenerational story
💪🏻Strong women
❎Flawed complex characters
🎭Family drama
🤰🏻Motherhood
🤐Secrets and lies
📈Character driven
💙Jewish representation
3️⃣Told in 3 Parts

⚠️ 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: domestic abuse, child abuse.

🤰🏻𝕄𝕐 ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾🤰🏻
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

💕Q U O T E: "𝐻𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶 𝒷𝒶𝒷𝓎 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊. 𝒴𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝓈𝓅𝑒𝒸𝓉𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓈. 𝐿𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝑒𝒸𝓇𝑒𝓉𝒶𝓇𝓎 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝑜𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝑜𝓈𝓈."

🙏 Thank you NetGalley, The Dial Press, and Susan Rieger for this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts. 💕

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley.
The first chapter was a bit slow, but then it got a lot juicier and more interesting. Lila is not the typical mother and she didn't really want kids, but she agreed to have them. We learn about Lila's background and why she didn't want kids. We also see the POV of her youngest daughter, Grace is always wanted more from Lila. The generational trauma is really visible in this book and it made for quite a compelling read.

This story describes 3 generations of women with their struggles, their accomplishments, and how their past shapes them.

Zelda was Lila’s mother who had mental health problems, according to her father, Aldo. Aldo had her committed because he thought she was insane and useless. He told Lila and her siblings she had died. There was no funeral or burial. Lila couldn’t find her grave, so she was skeptical. This definitely impacted Lila’s life and that carried over to her own marriage and children.

Lila, executive editor of the Washington Globe, put her career first over her family. She let her husband and nannies take the lead on parenting. Lila had an abusive father and a non-existent mother growing up. Shortly after retiring, she died of cancer.

Grace is Lila’s youngest daughter. She had felt neglected by her mother and wished she could be more present. Grace takes the initiative to get to know her mother by eating breakfast with her and asking her questions about her life. Grace became a reporter and best-selling author. Grace writes a book about her mother. Lila had mixed emotions about the book. After Lila’s death, can Grace unlock the truth about Zelda?

A heartfelt and well written book that draws you in from the start! I love how this author takes serious issues and weaves them into an engaging story! Even though it is not an easy book to read due to the abuse and difficult relationships, it’s a thought-provoking book! A great book for book clubs as it will lead to interesting discussions.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Random House (The Dial Press), I was provided an ARC of Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

When the first thing I see when I open a book is a cast of characters, I’ve been served notice that there will be too many people to keep track of.

I liked but did not love Like Mother, Like Mother. I generally love a multi-generational saga with strong women. I found Grace’s obsessive desire for her mother Lila to be a very different person to be tedious.

I appreciated the themes of found family and how the intervention of one caring person - a teacher, a friend - can radically change your life for the better.

Like Mother, Like Mother was very compelling to me with extremely well-developed, complex characters and stirring storylines. The drama, the torture, the perseverance! Generations repeated poor family situations but strong partners and champions helped those who suffered thrive in newly created worlds. A tearing, poignant story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This book is a little different from what I normally read. This is the story of three generations of very strong women. The story is complicated but I do believe that the author does a good job unraveling each of the main characters. I found myself thinking about the characters for a while after I finished the book. This book would be a great book club book.

A multi-generational story that was good but hard to read at some points. Not for the storyline but it didn’t flow. Kind of disjointed in places. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

Like Mother, Like Mother is a thought-provoking story about 3 generations of women. It starts with Lila Periera in 1960 Detroit. She was 2 years old when her horrible, abusive father commits her mother, to an asylum and is never seen again. Three decades later, Lila has worked her way up the media ladder to land the prestigious job as executive editor of The Washington Globe. In her life, she prioritizes her career and leaves the raising of her daughters to her husband, Joe. Her youngest daughter, Grace, feels abandoned by Lila and therefore resentful. They have a somewhat difficult relationship. After graduating college, Grace writes a best selling fictional book based on her mother’s life. This causes Grace to reflect on her family history. Did Lila’s mother die? Or did she just leave her children with their abusive father?

Like Mother, Like Mother is a PERFECT book club read! It is filled with complicated characters and relationships. This story takes a look at family dynamics, marriage, ambition and the bonds of family and friendship. How do our pasts affect our present? What effect do parents and their decisions have on their children and who they become? How much of our family history is fact and how much is just stories that have been told or changed and believed over time? Such an interesting story! Gives you so many things to think about. I really enjoyed this one! Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read an ARC of Like Mother, Like Mother in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this multigenerational family saga about motherhood. I especially enjoyed part 1 about Lila and part 3 about Zelda. I struggled through Part 2 about Grace. It was long and too political for me. An interesting read on being a hands off mother who loved her children and does right by them but isn’t warm, fuzzy and nurturing in a traditional sense. Grace actually inherits a lot of her work ethic and characteristics.

Susan Rieger's LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER has a rarely-seen spin on motherhood. Lila's mother Zelda was institutionalized when she was young, and her father Aldo was abusive. Despite these heartbreaking challenges, Lila rises to the top of her journalism profession and takes down a Trump-like president. However, she was a very hands-off mother, and her daughter Grace is extremely bitter about that, even penning a fictionalized teardown of her mother.

I love books that don't have a Pollyanna view of motherhood, such as THE PUSH by Ashley Audrain. This novel isn't nearly as dark, but it explores the dynamics of biological motherhood vs. taking on a motherly role in another person's life. It also prompts thoughts and discussions of what you might do if you don't feel adequately psychologically prepared to be a mother.

While I enjoyed this novel a lot, I do have a few quibbles:
1. Grace's older sisters are twins called the Starbirds for the entirety of the book. No one seems to view these twins as having separate identities from one another. As an only child, if I had twins as siblings, I know that I would be able to tell them apart. So I find it a tad unbelievable that their family treats them in that way.
2. For a journalist, Grace has very little research skills when she's trying to find what happened to her grandmother.
3. Grace's friend Ruth features prominently in this novel. I felt my attention lag in her sections, and sometimes I found it difficult to differentiate Grace from Ruth. Maybe this was supposed to occur? Maybe they were the younger Starbirds even though they weren't related to each other? Perhaps another nod to creating your own family vs. the family you are born into?

I really liked the themes that emerged in this novel - but like many novels that I enjoy, this does have a slower pace. LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER publishes October 29, 2024. I was given an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

A powerful, successful, strong woman who is also a mother.. but maybe not maternal. Her husband fills that void. Lila remembers when her mother was put in an asylum and the abuse from her father that followed. It made her who she is. After her death, her daughter Grace realizes she doesn’t know much about her mother’s family. Did her grandmother die in that asylum like they were told? She sets out on a search to find out and in the course of her journey, learns so much about herself and her mother.

Like Mother, Like Mother is a story of three generations of very strong women.
The story follows Zelda, the grandmother, Lila, the mother, and Grace, the daughter.
Complicated and imperfect characters, secrets, family dynamics, dysfunction through generations. How do people survive? By doing what they have to, regardless of other people’s opinions.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this book.

This is a story of love and maternal bonds that will captivate you from the beginning. I was an interesting story of the newspaper worldq and I highly recommend it

To say that I loved Mother, Like Mother would be an understatement. I absolutely adored this book. The storyline is creative and the added mystery of Zelda was the cherry on my sundae. The characters are well-drawn, and it is hard for me to say goodbye to them, especially Grace, Ruth., Frances, and Joe. I would be so happy to hear that the writer has a sequel in her back pocket, chronicling the lives of Grace, Ruth, the Starbirds, and, perhaps, a wonderful wife for Joe.

Grace’s mother, Lila, is not particularly motherly. She is never around when her girls are growing up and leaves all the parenting duties to their father, Joe. Lila grew up without a mother in her life and she warned Joe that if he wanted kids then he would need to assume the role of both parents.

Grace grew up to write a book titled, “The Lost Mother”. loosely based on her life, that has some accusatory claims against her accomplished mother and an imagined destiny for her unknown grandmother. Lila was a fierce reporter who got her toughness from growing up in a violent home in a rough area of Detroit. She carried a switchblade all her life, and cried at the Eminem movie, 8 Mile, because it brought back memories of the neighborhood she came from.

Grace is determined to find out the truth about what really happened to Lila’s mother, Zelda. Through DNA testing websites and detective work, with the help of her two sisters who are lawyers, they track down some answers.

I admired the ambition of Lila, Grace, and Grace’s roommate Ruth, who all worked very hard to become successful in their careers in journalism/writing/podcasting respectively. The end of the book is definitely the most exciting part (the novel is broken into 3 parts: Lila, Grace, Zelda) to be able to uncover the truth behind stories that have been believed and skepticized in this family for far too long.
This novel is an excellent exploration of family relationships, and the physical and personality traits that are passed down and differ among family members. It highlights how found family, like spouses, in-laws, college roommates, can fill the gaps and be better for us than blood relations.

"Like Mother, Like Mother" is about three generations of strong women and raises the question of how much of our personality and ambition is shaped by genetics versus nurtured in our upbringing. It also offered an interesting look at the choices that we make in the name of survival and the ripple effect that they have. The writing was fantastic and immersive, and I really enjoyed this book.

The book follows the story of Lila, whose abused mother was committed to an asylum when Lila was just a baby, through her career pursuits and raising her own daughters, including Grace, who has followed in her mother's footsteps as a journalist and published a book about her often-absent mother.

I love books that explore the relationships between mothers and daughters, and this one had some great development of unconventional female characters who were deeply invested in their careers and strong in their identities. There are, in fact, very few male characters in the story, with the author focusing on the women. Readers who love layered multigenerational stories about complex women will really enjoy this book. While the characters are not always likeable and make some questionable decisions, to me, that made them all the more fascinating and real.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced read.