The Other Mother

Matthew Dicks (Twenty-One Truths About Love) captures the yearning and uncertainty of youth in this reflective coming-of-age story about a teenager who believes a stranger has replaced his mother.  

Fourteen-year-old Michael Parsons is drowning in secrets, like his crush on pretty, popular next-door neighbor Sarah. But the biggest secret, hidden in a yellow envelope under his mattress, belonged to his father. Even if he wanted to show it to his mother, she's gone. An impossibly identical imposter with the "same curly brown hair with a little streak of gray on the side.... Same blotchy freckle on the back of her left hand" has taken her place. Only Michael notices the change, and he knows no one will believe him. This other mother's appearance is too convincing. He can only muddle on as though life were normal, even though normalcy died with his father three years ago. Since then, Michael can't stop filling up and exploding with anger despite his guidance counselor's help. As he and Sarah embark on a friendship he never expected, Michael discovers the power of empathy and the solace of trusting others. When Sarah doesn't believe his imposter theory, Michael knows he has to find out what happened to his real mother before she's gone forever.

Based on a real condition that causes the sufferer to believe a loved one is an imposter, The Other Mother celebrates the healing magic of friendship and reclaiming one's self. Told in Michael's wry, often anxious voice, this quietly triumphant feel-good novel addresses the burden of grief, the complications of family and the mysteries of first love. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads

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