One of the best books I've read this year, easily. This multi-generational story is well-written and smart and presents a family history in an engaging and riveting way. I loved Lila's character and how it echoes in other members of her family. The mystery part of the story was done really well, but I felt that the ending was a bit rushed.
My only gripes are that everything ended very well for all the young characters involved, partially because of the family money and everything it afforded - I suppose after the horrible childhood of Lila, Clara, and Aldo, and the loss of Lila, the imaginary lives of these characters had dealt them enough of the heartache and they could now enjoy the remainder of their existence in relative peace and prosperity.
Some of the zingers of the book, especially "Lila's Rules," will stay with me for a while. I will share some highlights once the book is published, but one of my favorites is about whining in public: the story gets lost, but people will always remember you as a whiner. Taking this one as a new personal rule to follow.

A great read, hard to put down, inspiring, and full of amazing women characters.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House, for sharing an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review. The book is out on October 29.

I loved this book! As a mother of daughters and as a daughter myself, I really connected with the characters of Lila and Grace. It made me think of how the circumstances in our lives affect how we parent and how we were parented. Lila and Grace are both strong, direct women but with flaws as well.

The story spans several decades and includes a lot of characters but they are clearly defined and play an important part in the overall plot. I think this novel will appeal to mothers and to daughters. I will be thinking about this book for a long time and will be diving into the author’s back catalogue.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and The Dial Press for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

A Riveting Story that Pulls You In to Keep Finding Out More. I love family dramas and books that cover large periods of time. This begins in the 60’s and goes to the current time. It involves 3 generations of women, so I found the idea interesting. The book was a fascinating story of Lila, an untraditional wife and mother, who has 3 children, but her true passion is editing her newspaper. She had a mother she never met. Her abusive father said her mother was hospitalized for mental illness and died. Clara, Lila’s youngest daughter, also a reporter, has always been eager to know the true story. Did her grandmother die or did she just leave her husband and children? Clara is determined to find out all the facts, but is it worth knowing? The relationships formed throughout the book worked very well and each character was well developed. I really enjoyed this book so much.

Thank you NetGalley, Susan Rieger, and Dial Press for a copy of this book. I always leave reviews of books I read.

Oh what a wonderful character driven family drama Susan Rieger has given us! Told in three parts from multiple third person views makes this book one of the most riveting books I’ve read so far this year.
Like Mother, Like Mother follows three generations of women, Zelda, whose husband put her in a mental hospital when her youngest child, Lila, was two. Lila, who grew up to be a formidable woman who found her place in a profession filled with men, and Grace, Lila’s youngest daughter who, for being or worse, is just like her mother. It’s a great look at the ties that bind and shows how the trauma of one in an earlier generation can trickle down to affect one in a later generation.
The book is broken up into 3 parts and while each part focuses on one of the women parts of the other women’s stories are their, told through the eyes of the one in whose part we are reading. While this is fiction, there are many politicians and current events that take place throughout the book, making it feel more real than fiction.
I absolutely loved how this was written and I loved nearly every character. I especially loved the realness of the characters. While I found them to be likable, they were definitely flawed. For a fictional story I found this to be one of the most real books I’ve read in a while.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House The Dial Press for an advanced copy of this. Like Mother, Like Mother hits the shelves on October 29th.

I really liked this multi generational family drama. The beginning of the book starts with the family tree of multiple characters and I was quite intimidated thinking I would never be able to keep them straight. But I needed not worry because the author put together a beautifully woven story that was easy to follow. When you think about this book after you read it you realize that you are never taught how to parent, you learn from your Mom and Dad. If those people are terrible parents you are stuck with either being a bad Mom yourself or leave the child raising up to your husband who came from a great family. That is what happened with Lila. Her Mom, Zelda, was abused by her Dad and he ending up putting her in a home for the insane and Lila and her siblings never saw their Mom again. They were told she died. But did she. The search and mystery of Zelda is brought up throughout the book and you will find out the truth in the end. All the characters had depth and I felt very likeable. Of course, Aldo, the abusive father was not. This is about the siblings who love each other and their children who are loved and love each other. It is a fun, very good read. I would highly recommend. I didn't want it to end.
Thanks to #netgalley, #thedialpress and @susanriegerwriter for an ARC of this great book. The comments are my own.

LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER follows three generations of women and their unconventional personifications of what it means to be a mother. After the death of Lila, a famous journalist, Lila’s daughter Grace seeks to find the truth about her grandmother who was reported dead after being admitted to a mental health facility in the 1960s.

In this character-driven story, each woman challenged society’s view of motherhood in their own way. This was an enjoyable family drama with a small side of mystery, but I did have difficulty connecting to the characters. A smaller focus of the story is Grace and her twin sisters. I don’t have sisters and oftentimes don’t fully resonate with sister stories. Overall, this story was a bit slower paced than I was in the mood for but think many readers will find it enjoyable.

READ THIS IF YOU:
-are intrigued by sister stories like Hello Beautiful
-appreciate Jewish representation in fiction
-don’t mind books set in the political scene

RATING: 3.5/5 (rounded up to 4 stars)
PUB DATE: October 29, 2024

Many thanks to Netgalley and The Dial Press for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One man’s plagiarism is another man’s Easter egg.

Once I saw the author’s blatant “borrowing”, it was difficult for me to give this book a fair chance. The author says she paraphrases quotes from other authors throughout the book, lists a few of the authors she paraphrased but doesn’t connect the credit to the passage, and says she cannot remember them all. Maybe this “borrowing” was actually intended to be little Easter eggs for the readers. Or maybe that’s one way to explain it. My issue is - if I quoted from this book, I would attribute those words to Susan Rieger, when there’s a good chance they were not her original creation. I might catch this with well known quotes from Shakespeare, but not with quotes from the lesser known authors and playwrights on her list, much less the works she herself cannot remember. Given this author is an attorney & academic, this is sloppy work at best, and thinly disguised plagiarism at worst.

One example is listed below.

Dixie Carter, as Julia Sugarbaker in the TV series Designing Women - “I’m saying this is the South. And we’re proud of our crazy people. We don’t hide them up in the attic. We bring ‘em right down to the living room and show ‘em off. See Phyllis, no one in the South ever asks if you have crazy people in your family, they just ask what side they’re on.”

Susan Rieger in the arc of Like Mother, Like Mother - “Southerners don’t hide their crazy people in an attic. They bring them out. They show them off. No one cares. They only want to know whose side of the family, mother’s or father’s.”

a fluid 3.5

This book wants to be an Important Book and i'm certain it will be perceived as such in many circles (especially judging by the fact that it's already been optioned for adaptation) and it is a very good book, but for me, being an Important Book is just out of its reach.

Rieger's story is the strongest in the first of its three sections. I feel like the whole story plays out in this section and the rest is just... there. This is in large part because the first section, all about Lila, is centered around a character that we rarely see in fiction: the working mother who is unapologetic in her career drive and ambitions. I love Lila. I love the way Rieger tells her story, unspooling it like a piece of reporting (which is fitting since Lila is a reporter). The following sections simply do not live up to the strength of the first, in large part because Grace, her daughter, comes across as desperate for attention. Grace is a better character when being reported about during Lila's section, rather than being the character with the spotlight on her. She seems to need to pull one over on her mother as if for revenge for not being the kind of mother Grace wanted, and in doing so leads her entire family down a path of pain.

Given the way the first part of the book is structured, I had hoped that each subsequent part would have a different tone or quality. Lila's was reported because she was a reporter. Grace's could have been more narratively sound. Zelda's... well. That hope didn't come to fruition. In fac, Rieger spends a lot of time focusing on Grace's friend Ruth, rather than Grace herself, and I wonder if this is not somehow telling.

In the end, Rieger doesn't even give the mysterious Zelda her own voice, not really. The past is told ABOUT Zelda, a character whose voice is already lost and muddled. It seems a disservice and, in some ways, callous. You do come to understand Zelda, in a way, but never from her own words, not really.

Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger is a recommended generational drama following three women in a family, Lila, Grace, and Zelda. The novel mainly focuses on Lila and Grace as they struggle with the complexities of relationships and trauma.

Lila Pereira had an abusive father and no mother growing up. She ended up executive editor of a major newspaper, The Washington Globe. She marries Joe and they have three daughters, Stella, Ava, and Grace . Lila leaves the parenting of their daughters to Joe while she concentrates on her career. The older two daughters, don't mind but the youngest, Grace, resents her mother's lack of involvement in her life, and constantly takes notes concerning her mother. Grace ends up writing a novel fictionalizing her mother's life.

There is a guide at the beginning to assist readers in following all the characters. The novel itself is divided into three parts. The first focuses on Lila, the second Grace, and the third Zelda. The stories of the individual characters is not linear, but goes back and forth in time to develop the characters and their backgrounds. Starting at the end of her life, the narrative eventually jumps back in time to Detroit in 1960. Lila Pereira is two years old when her angry, abusive father has her mother committed to an asylum. She never sees her mother again but is physically abused by her father until she leaves for college. Grace can't seem to understand her mother's hesitation to be the main parent and her toxic resentment influences her life. Zelda was always presumed to be dead, but Grace looks into what really happened to her grandmother.

While I appreciate the look into generational trauma, none of these characters were even remotely appealing or relatable to me. At times it was a struggle to continue reading, as Grace, the main character driving the plot forward, is a decidedly annoying. Adding to the disjointed feeling, the narrative seemed to lose focus at times and feels scattered, while the dialogue isn't always very well executed. Embedded in the novel is too much editorializing on social/political views on contemporary topics, which is always off-putting.
Thanks to Random House for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

How do you describe a book that you think would be a perfect book club choice… not just because there’s a lot to unravel. But also because it’s one that will generate a conversation about so many different themes or life moments. It’s one of those books that I can see people identify themselves in or despise the way in which the “mothers” lived.

Leading me to wonder (and I took awhile to digest this one)… but can you hate and admire the same woman? And at one point do we stop blaming someone else for the life we have been given.
What makes a woman who struggles, one that never gives up? What makes another woman complain about everything she has or what she wish she had had.

This one was a little unsettling as a woman, mother, wife, daughter and sister. It bent its rough edges into me for empathy and then had me roll my eyes with the ‘poor me’ attitude.
As I said, it’s one that will get under your skin.

And yet, that same woman, who the reader loves to hate (and there’s a couple of them), are really the women I think I admired the most in the end.

It begins with Zelda, carried on by Lila and broken by Grace. What do I mean by that… guess you gotta read to find out.

Also, if you’ve read this, or if you read it in the next few months, come back and chat about the love I had for some secondary characters like Joe, Frances, Xander, Ruth and even the Starbirds.

I will note, my interest was lost when shades of current politics (hidden in plain sight-here’s looking at you Webb), entered the story. It wasn’t necessary for the storyline. And took the reader out of the emotional pieces.

4.5 ⭐️

Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger tells the story of two generations of women navigating complex family dynamics. The novel is split between the perspectives of Lila, the successful and absent mother, and Grace, her resentful daughter, exploring their strained relationship and the secrets that bind them - stretching back to Lila's own missing mother.

I loved the Lila sections—her voice was sharp and compelling. But Grace’s POV felt way too long, and the dialogue throughout the book just didn’t feel natural. Everyone sounded the same, making it hard to fully immerse in their unique personalities. While there are moments of brilliance, the unnatural dialogue and perspective imbalance kept it from reaching its full potential.

Interesting. Engaging. At times, confusing. Difficult to put down - read it in just two days. Definitely recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and Susan Rieger, for allowing me to read this ARC of Like Mother, Like Mother.

Living in families where fathers use their fists to communicate, and mothers don’t feel like being mothers and just leave, it make some sense that you might grow up with a construed idea of what it take to have a happy family. All the people in this book have something to overcome, such as being really short, crying all the time, and just having no feelings at all. Watching these people grow up and work to find successful lives isn’t always easy because their pasts weigh them down. There are surprises at the end. You’ll be smart to make a list of characters as you read.

I enjoyed this book. I enjoy storylines with strong female characters and generational growth. The writing was easy to follow and the whole story gripped me in a way I truly wasn’t expecting.

Really enjoyed this book. I loved all of the family relationships and the mystery that impacted everyone. I have already recommended it to my book group. Will now want to go back and read earlier books by this author.

Like Mother, Like Mother is a book that spans 3 generations of strong willed women. The story starts in 1960 with a young girl named Lila Pereira whose mother is unhappy in her marriage and her husband ships her off to an asylum. This leaves young Lila to fend for herself at a young age. She grows up to strong willed and determined. Lila acts more like the husband not only in her marriage but also as a mother, with her husband taking on the motherly role since she is never home, working as a reporter.

Her youngest daughter, Grace, feels rejected by her mother, and ends up writing a best selling novel about her. When her life is at a crossroads, she decides to find out what happens to her grandmother and give her the ending she deserves.

The novel explores the themes of gender roles, family, ambition and power.

I enjoyed learning about the 3 different generations of women and how their lives intertwined.

What I loved about this book: a strong and fascinating female character, generational storylines, the impact of mothers.

What I struggled with: the plot is moved solely through the dialogue. The made it difficult for me to really sink my teeth into, which was disappointing given the fact that I think there was a lot of interesting things to explore. If the writing had been stronger for me I think I would have really liked this one, as there were many elements that I like to read about.

Hopefully this strikes a chord with readers who appreciate the writing style!

2.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press.

Like Mother, Like Mother, is a complicated family saga, unique in many ways compared to others I have also enjoyed. Involving three different generations of women, the majority of the book centers around Grace, the youngest daughter of career focused Lila. Grace always wanting more from her mother, yet remarkably similar to her mother, takes on a matter of unfinished family business, to learn more about what really happened to Lila's mother. I found this book to be very entertaining, fast paced in how the plot moves forward, and filled with interesting characters. I especially loved Frances, Grace's paternal grandmother and the relationships she retained. Like Mother, Like Mother is an interesting look at how your past shapes you, but also how love appears in many forms, not always maternally. I would highly recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House- The Dial Press for the advanced copy, all opinions are my own.

Like mother, like mother by Susan Rieger. This is the story of three generations of very strong women. The premise of the book is very interesting. I enjoyed the story and the characters. The novel is beautifully written, I really like all the characters.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Interesting story that I was able to read thru NetGalley. It’s a multigenerational story about a family of strong women who have complicated relationships with their mothers. It’s also part mystery because it’s not clear what happened to the original mother until the very end. It’s a good story