Mind blowing and twisted. Such a great read!! I couldn’t put it down!! During the pandemic Grace finds herself between jobs, her mother moving in and having some bizarre dreams. As the story progresses each dark twist has you glued to the page waiting to see what new twist will develop. This was my first Zoje Stage book and will be looking for more!!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley, Zoje Stage and Thomas & Mercer for hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

LOVED this book as much as her first one Baby Teeth. She is quickly becoming my favorite author. RUN and go read this book. I devoured it in 2 days.

3.5 Stars

In the height of the pandemic, Grace finds herself out of a job as all of the hair salons have either shutdown or scaled back. Unfortunately, she had, just months prior, purchased her first home and is not sure how to make ends meet with the lockdowns. Her mother, Jackie, just lost her husband and needs a place to stay. They have a completely strained relationship but this arrangement in the end would help both women. As the days and weeks carry on you can see the strain wearing on Grace mentally. She is having vivid nightmares to the point she doesn't trust what is real vs what is a dream or possibly flashbacks to her childhood. This is where the book got completely creepy, even as a reader I couldn't tell exactly what was true and what wasn't and was falling into that spiral with her. These were written really well and at times made my stomach turn at how descriptive they were. The only quibble I have is I felt it got a bit slow in the middle however this is more of a slow burn so kinda makes sense.

As I mentioned this book takes place completely during the pandemic with Grace and Jackie pretty much in isolation. If you want an escape from anything COVID pandemic related this will not be that. However, I think that's what made this book even scarier! As I got to the end, I found myself a little confused but if what I think was the root of everything then that is absolutely terrifying!

Normally I don't take time out to read Acknowledgements but in this instance I did and can see how the author's personal experience could be seen throughout the book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced copy

I really enjoyed Baby Teeth, so I was excited to read Mothered. Both are wonderfully creepy but Mothered just hit me different. Maybe because of it being set in a pandemic situation or because of my own 'mommy issues'? It got under my skin in the best possible way. It was like being inside the mind of someone slowly loosing their grip on reality which was truly chilling.

While I enjoyed this more than Wonderland, I feel like Mothered missed the tension provided in Getaway. Stage has definitely improved in writing children to come off more realistic, but the overall family dynamic was off (not to mention Miguel not REALLY fitting into the story at all).

I'll continue to read Stage's novels. It may just be hit or miss for me.

Once again, Zoje Stage does not disappoint! This book was unnerving; it felt disjointed and frustrating in all the best and most unsettling ways, which is what most (if not all) of us were feeling during the global pandemic, and it translated to the page beautifully. There were so many twists and turns, I almost got whiplash reading it. Do yourself a favor and read this book when you're home alone. Read it with all the lights off and all noise blotted out. Read it in total isolation.

Just make sure your mother is in the next room...

This started promising and had an enjoyable main character. The story went on for a bit longer than I thought necessary and there were no real answers to the questions.

I got misery (Stephen King) vibes to begin with and maybe I self consciously put it on that pedestal. I would have liked more from the story as it felt as though there was something missing throughout.

Is Grace crazy? Is Jackie crazy? Am I crazy???

A few weeks into the pandemic, Grace wonders if it couldn't get any worse. Ahe bought her new house and can't even go shopping for cool new furniture and her job shuts down which was the bread and butter of her life. But things get much, much worse when her neglectful mom calls and asks if she can move in. Instantly regretting it, Grace says yes and Jackie moves in immediately. Things start getting really really weird. Grace begins having nightmares that blend memories of her childhood with Jackie and her disabled sister, Hope, and is sleepwalking. Jackie is acting as if she should win the "Greatest Mother Ever" award. Everything seems to come to a head when Jackie makes a declaration about how Hope really died and Grace is forced to finally face her past.

Okay, I'll admit that this is the first Zoje Stage book I've read, and the real reason I wanted it is because I heard so many good things about Baby Teeth but haven't had a chance to read it yet.

But I. Was. Not. Disappointed.

Mothered is a full-on nightmare. It's full of crazy... lots and lots of crazy. It made me question "What did that just say?" and re-read sections because I didn't fully capture the manic the first time. I loved this book because it just kept getting more nuts and I couldn't quite put my finger on who was doing what and why it was happening. Were Grace's dreams real or just dreams? Why in the hell is Jackie eating a flower? And then the ending... What? Did that really just happen? Is there more to this story than Grace and Jackie? Read this book if you want to be satisfyingly confused and feel like you're dangling above reality.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I have been a fan of Zoje's since I first read Baby Teeth, I couldn't put it down, nor could I put this one down. When Grace's mother comes to live with her during the Covid pandemic, can they live together and repair their fractured relationship, discuss the death of Grace's twin, Hope and finally move on and be mother and daughter again. When Grace's best friend, Miguel lands in the hospital with Covid, things take a turn for the worse in her home. Are her dreams reality, and what does her mother really want from her. I think this is her best book since Baby Teeth.

I didn’t love this one but I don’t think it’s a bad book. I really enjoyed the dynamic between Grace and her mother Jackie; I think a lot of people house family trauma and will really be able to relate to her character, in that aspect. I also think a lot of people will be able to relate to the pandemic and the sickness in this book (that the author forwards saying it’s not related to Covid.)
I just felt like there should be more. The ending was satisfying and I was left feeling kind of meh. I wanted there to be some terrible sort of secret that was let out, or atleast confirmed. She kills her mother and leaves here sitting there for 2 weeks and that was kind of it? I just wanted more exploration and exploration. It just didn’t feel finished to me.

Zoje Stage's Mothered brought to mind a funny thing I see on the internet sometimes. "Are you funny?" a meme with forgettable visuals asks... and then the gut punch of a punchline: "...Or did you have a happy childhood?" This never fails to elicit a bleak cackle from me, and I gotta tell you, Mothered is a mother-frikkin' bleak cackle of a book. If you had a happy childhood, then perhaps the book's premise doesn't seem like the trappings of a potential horror movie: wherein Grace has just lost her job and her elderly mother, recently widowed and just out of the hospital, has moved moved in with her. Seems win-win; Grace needs the financial support as she has just purchased a home and being unemployed during a pandemic makes it tough to pay the mortgage, and her mother obviously is going to need a bit of help recuperating after having been unwell. And there is of course a lot of unhappy history there; Grace and her mother are estranged, there's childhood neglect and trauma --and maybe some other stuff!--that's never been adequately addressed and with all of this in their past, they are really struggling to reconnect and communicate while living under the same roof again. Grace begins having nightmares, losing time, and sleepwalking, and endures a heartbreakingly gruesome accusation by her mother. What's going on? Is Grace slowly unraveling from sleep deprivation? Is her mother the one who is losing it? Maybe it's both?! If you've got a dark sense of humor and that cackling darkness was developed as a defense mechanism, I think that you, like me, will find Mothered a grim, gripping giggle of a summer read.

Baby Teeth is one of my absolute favorite books and I didn't think Zoje could top that. But then she comes on the scene with Mothered and I question everything! I hooked from the first chapter and it did not stop. All the while, the reader doubts his own sanity, while Grace questions hers. 100/10, seriously, this will be among my first readings of 2022, I already see it. The twists keep coming, just when you think you have some control over what's going on, no, Zoje throws another round. Very nice. So heartbreaking. spank like that. I liked it!!

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest opinion.

Though I still enjoyed Baby Teeth more, I still tore through this creepy thriller about a seriously messed-up mother/daughter relationship in the midst of a pandemic. Very good, with some horrifyingly gory descriptions!

Grace reluctantly allows her mother Jackie to be her roommate during the COVID pandemic. They’ve always, ALWAYS, been distant as Grace’s twin Hope was severely physically disabled (wickedly smart though) and Jackie worked full time. It was all about Hope until Hope’s death at age 12. Now, suddenly, Jackie wants to know her living daughter and she’ll pay her share of the bills. Well, the money would help, so…..ok.

“Mothered” is like surviving a gaslighting, but you volunteered for it by reading the pages, and you loved every minute of it too. I’m still going over Grace’s nightmares, memories, Jackie’s role, and allusions to something more going on when Jackie discusses the death of her husband Robert of an illness before the COVID pandemic. The writing is masterful as you read along and, like Grace, don’t know if she’ recalling a childhood memory or if she’s dreaming. Is Grace going mad, or is Jackie messing with her head or is something eve more malicious happening here?

“Truth is dangerous. It topples palaces and kills kings. It stirs gentle men to rage and bids them take up arms. It wakes old grievances and opens forgotten wounds. It is the mother of the sleepless night and the hag-ridden day“. -Frances Hardinge

Thank you #netgalley for allowing me to read this amazing book #Mothered This will be added to my All Time Favorites shelf on Goodreads.

I am a huge fan of Zoje Stage so I was super excited to get this book. Right from the beginning you are hooked. It takes place during the pandemic which makes it so relatable and engaging. Grace looses her job and is having financial trouble and then her mother moves in with her. That is more than enough to stress someone out.

Grace starts having terrible nightmares. She starts to doubt her own sanity and isn't sure what is real. Her mother is very passive aggressive and just fuels Grace's anxiety and stress. Grace keeps remembering her terrible childhood and how awful her mom and sister treated her. Her sister Hope was always the favorite and could do no wrong. Grace got stuck taking care of Hope and lost her own childhood in the process.

As I read this I love it as I am not sure if Grace is having mental health issues, or if Jackie is messing with her or what is the truth so I just want to keep reading on and find out. I loved the surprise ending.

I am o f 2 minds regarding Mothered.
1.. this was the pandemic novel we NEVER needed
2. This is the pandemic novel we ALL needed.
This books was certifiably batshit crazy. Zoje Stage perfectly wrote the tumultuous insanity/love/hate/paranoia the pandemic brought out in humanity , whether in tiny bursts, inside your home, or alone in your room.

Stage has outdone herself with Mothered. Blurring the lines between reality and dreams, this taut atmospheric story will make you question whether we can truly ever be certain what is fact and what just lives in our sleeping minds. I’ll never look at drifting off for a little nap quite the same again. And what an epic epilogue to wrap it all up. Thanks to NetGalley for the early read.

Creepy story of a mother and daughter forced to live together during the pandemic. Grace has never really been close to her mother, she lived her childhood in the shadow of her twin who had cerebral palsy and got the lions share of her mother’s attention. After her sisters passing, her relationship with her mom got even worse, as her mother simply avoided her. Being forced to live together during the stress of a global pandemic does nothing to bring them closer, instead it has disastrous consequences. Fast paced, impossible to put down. Fans of Baby Teeth will love this book.

You ever read a book that's so crazy and just out there, that at times you start to question your own sanity? Well, that's exactly what Zoje Stage did to me with her upcoming horror novel Mothered. It's an odd mixture of sibling rivalry, the horrors of the pandemic, and an exploration of a strained relationship between a mother and a daughter, who are suddenly living together after years apart. And it isn't only their differences that make their current living arrangements so difficult, but also the past and what will be unburied during their time together.

It's clear that Mothered takes place during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, when we all still thought it might just blow over. But even in her writing, Stage makes it clear how wrong we all were. She perfectly captured the horror we felt at being locked into our own homes, and just like Grace, many of us simply couldn't deal with being stuck inside all day. On top of that the she looses her job, and is now forced to let her estranged mother move into her cozy little home. But with the arrival of her mother also come the old memories of her dead sister; memories Grace has been trying to forget all her life. Yet, her mother won't let her, and she seems to stop at nothing to make Grace see the truth, even if it means plunging into a lockdown fueled nightmare.

A big shout out to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc!

Now, this is a book that plays on your deepest fears: the world as it is (or was a year ago.)

I think anyone who obeyed the rules of lockdown due to the pandemic will feel the claustrophobia that this book brings about, not to mention playing on your anxieties that most people have suffered with. Add into that the fear that most adults have about living with their "parent(s)" again and you have the perfect recipe for disaster.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, to the pint where I could not put it down and finished it in a day. While it may not be gory enough for some horror fans, I think the brilliant writing and subtle play on our emotions from the pandemic (and continuing pandemic) are enough to thrill almost everyone.