One tragic night, Lizzie Futon’s car gets into a terrible crash. With her two daughters sitting in the back, she must make a heart-wrenching choice when getting out of the dreadful situation. This choice haunts Lizzie and doesn’t let her live her life peacefully because all she can do is think about it while it keeps weighing down on her. Her mental state and the subdued atmosphere of her home start distancing her and her family members. At a similar time, she gets news that someone purposefully wanted to see her downfall.
How to Make Friends with the Dark follows Tiger, a teenage girl just trying to make it through high school when her mom tragically and suddenly dies. This book follows her journey of learning to grieve and cope with her mother's death while trying to maintain her relationships.
The Joy Luck Club follows the story of four Chinese immigrant mothers and their daughters. Tan does an excellent job in portraying an immigrant mother and her first generation daughter relationship. She also does a great job in representing generational and cultural differences as these mothers move to America, and their daughters learn to assimilate. Each chapter talks about a different person, their story, and what they have learned from it.
Crying in H Mart is a powerful memoir detailing the author’s unique life experiences. The title comes from Zauner’s memories of crying in the aisles of the Asian grocery store, remembering the dishes her mom used to make. She describes her childhood and her teenage years as a Korean-American, caring for her cancer-stricken mother, and even provides some insights as to the beginnings of her music career.
The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert is an interesting take on dark fairy tales, but also what the definition of family is. Alice, the granddaughter of famous author Althea Proserpine, has had trouble her whole life. Alice and her mother, Ella, have been moving around their entire lives due to strange people following them or Ella’s failed relationships, and not to mention the fact that Alice was kidnapped by an oddly familiar man when she was a young child.
The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan is a coming-of-age story that follows teenager Leigh Chen Sanders as she deals with the aftermath of her mother’s suicide. Shortly after her mother’s death, Leigh believes that she has been visited by her mother- in the form of a bird. She is convinced that she will be able to see her once again if she journeys to Taiwan to meet her grandparents.
Cara Jean has always dealt with her bad health. Doctors can’t figure out what happening to her because Cara and her mom are always on the move. But when Cara’s mother sets up a fundraiser to raise money for her illness, she begins to question the people around her. Is Cara’s illness something she was born with? Or is someone intentionally making her sick?
The book How to Make Friends with the Dark, by Kathleen Glasgow, is a realistic fiction novel. The main character, Tiger, has an unbreakable bond with her mother. Their mother-daughter relationship is deep and understanding, with a few quirks. Everything changes for Tiger when her mom unexpectedly dies. After Tiger loses the person she loves the most, her life goes into shambles. As the book narrates on, changing from first person point of view to second, we see how Tiger’s emotions play out.
