THE MOTHERS by Brit Bennett

Seventeen-year-old Nadia Turner has just lost her mother to a shocking suicide when she begins seeing Luke Sheppard, the son of a pastor in their small Southern California community. Grieving and reckless, Nadia begins a whirlwind relationship that ends in a pregnancy and then an abortion. That same pivotal summer, Nadia befriends Aubrey Evans, another motherless girl with whom Nadia forms an inextricable bond. In the fall, Nadia heads to the Midwest for college, chasing big dreams and a better life than the one her mother had. But her hometown always calls her back, and as her secrets begin to come out, they have consequences for her, her loved ones, and her community that she never could have foreseen.

I can’t really summarize what The Mothers is about because it is such a beautifully nuanced book and I find a new layer every time I read it. It deals a lot with tough choices — others’ as well as our own — and how we have to live with them. It delves deeply and deftly into themes of family, friendship, and enduring love. It’s also about mothers, naturally — not just the church mothers whose collective voice narrates the book, but Aubrey and Nadia’s mothers, who failed them in different ways; as well as Nadia’s own experience with motherhood, however fleeting. Bennett also makes a lot of keen observations on race and gender, which I loved.

My favorite books are the ones that strike a chord and leave me thinking about them long after the last page, and The Mothers certainly fits that bill. Bennett is a wonderful writer whose lyrical prose, deft character building, and vivid imagery makes for a brilliant and memorable debut. The Mothers is beautifully heartfelt, raw, and bittersweet, and I can’t wait until it comes out in October.