ENTERTAINMENT REALM

The Mother by Yvvette Edwards. Amistad| May 10, 2016| 256 pages | $21.99| ISBN: 9780062440778 |

 RATING: ***/5*

 “What has happened can never be undone and it is the fact that it can never be undone that means it will never be okay.”

As a trial unfolds, a London woman must focus on the details of her sixteen-year-old son’s violent murder. Barely coping and subsisting on drinks and pills, Marcia Williams learns details about her son Ryan’s death and about the accused killer, a teenager named Tyson. While attending the trial with her sister, Marcia’s husband flees the house early each day and the two barely communicate with one another. Every mother thinks she knows her child until the worst happens. Marcia discovers some surprising aspects to his life during the trial. Inevitably she scrutinizes Tyson while comparing him to her scholar-athlete son. She also compares herself and her family to Tyson’s mother and Tyson’s family. How will she come to terms with her son’s death? Will she be able to manage her own grief and salvage her marriage?

Author Yvvette Edwards thoughtfully and thoroughly examines black on black crime. She deals with race and class in London in a classic good vs. evil match-up of star athlete and student planning to attend college vs. delinquent street hustler. Whether black or white or living in a city or the suburbs or a mother or child-free, readers can relate to this family tragedy. The comparison between the two teenagers proves quite interesting. Viewing a trial from a mother’s perspective also captivating. The novel falls a bit short in lingering on Marcia’s wilting relationship with her husband rather than focusing on the murder and trial. Despite the writing, the story proved more predictable than expected. The ending did not sit well with me either. After all that stress and reflection, why did Marcia make that decision?

–review by Amy Steele

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for review from Amistad.