Reviews of The Other Mother

(5-star book review) from Amazon.com
 

“[The Other Mother] paints an electrifyingly complex and explosively gripping portrait of contemporary, have-it-all motherhood.” — Booklist

“The Other Mother belongs in a new fiction genre: mommy-war lit. Mothers of infants through the kindergarten set will find it compelling — be they stay-at-home mothers or working. … Author Gwendolen Gross' best insights are into how the two women's own childhoods and moms have shaped their choices. And how motherhood seems to trigger a biological urge to judge other females.”
— USA Today (Mommy Lit Book Roundup)

 

“[The Other Mother] is a thoughtful, multi-faceted look at what divides and unites mothers.”
— National Public Radio

“[In The Other Mother] not everything is resolved, but some things are better understood, which is asking for, and getting, a lot.”

— New York Daily News

 

“Gross has crafted a novel that succeeds on an emotional level as well as an intellectual one.” — Toronto Star

 

“Alternating chapters from a working mother and a stay-at-home mom provide interesting perspectives from both sides of the mommy wars.”— OK! magazine

 

“Editors Choice” — RedBook magazine

 

“The battle of The Other Mother is a dark look into everything that tears us apart and brings us closest together.” — Dame magazine

“The depth of Gross' portraits, and the nobility she imbues both moms with, renders a thoughtful account of how, for modern mothers, there is no easy choice.”
 — Boston Now

“Gross' ability to create fiction of such high caliber makes this a must-read for mothers with literary interest...the lovely complexity of the author's writing and her ability to create sensual intimacy make all 300 pages of this text a delight.”
 — The Roanoke Times

“Gross's third novel documents the front lines of the Mommy Wars, but its real strength lies is exposing the complex inner battlefields motherhood can open up....Jersey resident Gross shows the strife between SAHMs (Stay at Home Moms) and WOTHs (moms who Work Outside the Home) to be a lot more nuanced than it's often portrayed.”
—  Publisher's Weekly

 

“I LOVED this book. For me, the best part of this book was the look inside the stay at home mom's house. Since I work full time and always have, I have no idea what it would be like to be a stay at home mom. This book gave me a glimpse into this life.”
— This Mama's Trip


“I’m speechless. I have too much to say. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know where to begin. But there is so much to say.  The book was amazing. ... As the story continues we truly get to know both Moms. OMG – I loved them both. I hated them both. I wanted to hug them both. I wanted to shake them both. I wanted to crawl into the pages and bang THEIR heads together. There was so much of ME in both of them.”
— My Life As It Is


“What I really like about this book is how the characters experience doubts and emotions that every mother experiences. Though Thea and Amanda fixate on one another, the real conflict lies within themselves. In the end, this book isn't about The Other Mother, it's about being a mother in general.”
— Working Moms Against Guilt


“The Other Mother clearly illustrates the self-doubt that is a part of parenthood, the firm convictions that we carry with us - be they right or wrong, and the special treat of being able to really see issues from a perspective other than our own. Congratulations to you, Gwendolen, for giving us the gift of new perspectives and for reminding us that as a parent, each decision made is much more complex and very often much more agonizing that one might originally consider.”
— Go-Go Mommy


“The Other Mother is enjoyable, thought-provoking, and definitely an excellent book club book because not every woman will read it the same way. It is bound to create lots of heavy discussion and introspection.”
— Karianna, Reviews From the Couch


“Gwendolen Gross' novel The Other Mother, in my opinion, does an excellent job of describing what it means to be a mother, and the bizarre Mommy Wars we inexplicably wind up in.”
— Opinionated


“The author has a way of making you clearly see both viewpoints, and I found myself siding with the narrator of the chapter I was reading, only to switch camps when I switched narrators. I found the book to be realistic, if not slightly disturbing. Ultimately, the novel is about the often tireless attempt to find a balance between motherhood and self.”
— Hilary Daninhirsch, Bookloons


“The absolute uniqueness of this book lies in the fact that Gross so deftly tells both sides of the story, with characters so rich and real they could be you and me, it becomes nearly impossible not to root for both characters. The tension she invokes that lies not only between the two women, but within themselves, is absorbing; in this novel, both are right, and both are passionately committed to their separate ideas of what being a mother means.”
— Mommy Blog


“The characters are so believable and are sure to leave a lasting impression, long after the final page has been turned. While I can’t tell you how the book ends, I will tell you that it’s the first time I’ve ever had to reach for the box of tissue while reading a book.”
— Mom Gadget, Supernanny Rules


“Ms. Gross has produced a well-written, thought-provoking novel that is an enjoyable read. ... I recommend it as an excellent choice for women’s book clubs and discussion groups.”
— Work It, Mom!

“Classy Mommy Book of the Week. I thought this was a super read!”
— Classy Mommy

“If you have a book club, [The Other Mother] would be an excellent selection. If you just need a good book to escape into, I highly recommend it for that, too.”
— Adventures in Babywearing


“[The Other Mother] displays with pinpoint accuracy the challenges for both stay-at-home moms and working moms - and the delicate balance that all women face on a daily basis.”
— Work It: A Blog for Working Moms

“This book really touches on some of the deepest issues that come with motherhood, and no matter what side you belong to, you can really get a feel for the other sides life. ... It’s a great read- and I recommend that you all go check it out.” —  Super-Mommy

“The Other Mother is a must-read novel for moms. This book is the perfect combination of skillful writing, dramatic suspense, and a thought-provoking topic.”
—  5 Minutes For Mom


“At its core this book is about a woman’s identity in conflict with the ideas and opinions of any other woman, mommy or not.”  —  Ape Culture


“I found The Other Mother to be very gripping and it really is full of twists, turns and surprises that really kept me hooked through the entire book. Believe me when I say that I didn’t want to put it down.” —  Our Story


“What is significant in The Other Mother just as in a Hitchcock film, is the quality of the director’s perspective. Gwendolen Gross serves a satisfyingly page-turning book with the flourish of a literary consciousness.” —  Small Spiral Notebook


“I really enjoyed [The Other Mother] and would recommend it to anyone who is struggling with the mommy wars and wants to see what they’re really all about while enjoying a great fictional read a the same time.” —  The Opinionated Parent


“I was quickly drawn into this darkly drawn novel.”
—  Three Kid Circus

 

“I think it would be fascinating book club fodder in a mothers’ book group. I wonder if it would prove to be a bonding experience, or if people would start tossing wine at each other.” —  Reading Writing Living


“The Other Mother exposes all of this. The needs and wants of being who we, as mothers, once were—women with dreams and goals. The differences between working and stay at home mothers.” — Mommy Writer Blog

“Richly layered and highly readable. I loved it.”
 — Literary Mama


“Inside this mesmerizing and suspenseful world, Gwendolen weaves a brilliant tapestry that cleverly depicts motherhood rivalry and inner turmoil.”
 — WOW! Women on Writing


“I liked this book a lot. It was suspenseful, it was nerve wracking, and it had plenty of twists and turns to keep me interested right to the end.”
—  What Was I Reviewing?


“If you are looking for a book that will make you think, where the surprises will surprise you, ... then this is the book for you, or for any other mother on your what to give list.” —  Welcome to the Patti-O


“Whether you side with Amanda, editor and mother of newborn Malena, or with Thea, stay-at-home mother of three, you'll agree Gross has a wonderful knack for capturing domestic detail.” —  Parenting and the News


“You can feel the tension and the suspense build with every page-turn.” —  Gift of Green


“Like all good fiction, [Gwendolen Gross'] stories present a true and familiar world in a way that is unique and thoughtful. From the first word, you know you are safe in your hands. You can sit back and enjoy the telling.” —  The Dream Life



—  Jumping Monkeys


—  MotherTalk: When mothers talk, great things happen


—  RoleMommy


—  A Vocational Duality: Motherhood and Freelancing


—  Left-handed Trees and Other Lies: Writing from the Roots


— From Here to There and Back
 

More Praise for The Other Mother

“[The Other Mother] is a wonderful, compelling read for every mom torn by real (or imagined) tension with other mothers who've made different choices about working or staying home with kids. The Other Mother brings alive the reality of each mother's internal war.”
—  Leslie Morgan Steiner, editor of Mommy Wars


“A suspenseful and compulsively readable domestic drama that's anything but ordinary. Smart and timely, The Other Mother is sure to keep the 'mommy wars' debate raging.”
 — Harlen Coben, bestselling author of The Woods

“A finely wrought domestic drama, The Other Mother draws on the intimacies of two women posed against each other's yearnings. Gwendolen Gross's writing is full of nuance and grace, firing every moment of this timely story.”
— Amy Scheibe, author of What Do You Do All Day?


“The writing [in The Other Mother] is so real that I ended up agreeing with each mother's positions and totally different ways of seeing the same situations. This book reminded me a lot of Tom Perrotta's Little Children because it shows how even if we think we're adults, we still carry the same insecurities and damages we gathered as children.” —  Book of the Month Club

“Gwendolen Gross’s absorbing novel manages to engage all the contradictions of motherhood, marriage, and friendship—satisfaction/fulfillment, safety/danger, significance/triviality—and to give them an honest and often very funny airing. Her characters may be desperate housewives but she doesn’t mock them and, with a perfect ear for the sound of young mothers thinking and feeling their way along, she writes too richly to take sides in the stand—off between the women who go to work and the ones who stay at home.”
— Rosellen Brown, author of Half a Heart

Interviews with Gwendolen Gross

Metropolitan Mama interview with Gwendolen Gross

— Metropolitan Mama

— Work It, Mom! Interview with Gwendolen Gross
— Gwendolen Gross' guest blog on Work It, Mom!


— Snapshot


— The Urban Muse: Adventures in Reading, Writing, and Living the Creative Life


— Todays Mama


— Virtual Wordsmith