Reviews

Unraveling
by Michelle Baldini and Lynn Biederman
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No matter how old we are, our mothers have power over our lives. As teenagers, we love them, but we also hate them. As adults, if we’re lucky, we put the hormonal angst behind us and recognize that our mothers are actually people worth knowing. Sometimes, our mothers come to the same realization.

In their new novel, Unraveling, Michelle Baldini and Lynn Biederman invite us to witness the crucial turning point in a mother-daughter relationship, and while the book will be found on the Young Adult shelves at your local library or bookstore, I found it a satisfying enough read for any adult.

In this novel, the daughter is fifteen-year-old Amanda Himmelfarb, cursed with a nickname that is a less-than-attractive pun on her last name, as well as frizzy hair, a pointy chin, and the singular ability to turn any encounter with her mother into either a screaming-fest or a silent sulk, where she retreats to her room to write melodramatic (and typically teenager-ish) poetry.

The mother, whom Amanda refers to as “the Captain,” is Susan Sturtz-Himmelfarb, an exacting person who, at least through Amanda’s eyes, is rigid and uncaring, imposing rules that seem oppressive and setting standards no one can match. It’s no wonder that Amanda feels inadequate.

Fleshing out the Himmelfarb family are Amanda’s little sister, Melody, who (as all little sisters, especially fictional ones, are) is the “good” child, who never upsets mom, never gets into trouble, never seems to do anything wrong, their father who is so much the epitome of laissez-faire that Amanda refers to him as “La La Man,” and Aunt Jen, their mother’s sister, and Amanda’s confidante.

Set against the usual sibling rivalry and tense parental relationship is Amanda’s quest to be one of the cool kids at school, and she gets her chance when Rick Hayes, the ultimate catch at her school, takes notice of her, but their clandestine make-out sessions, during which he promises he’ll break up with shallow Courtney (school queen be, and Amanda’s arch-rival) “soon,” only make her self-esteem plummet, and then he offers her The Deal: her virginity in exchange for being her date to the prom.

At times funny and chatty, and at other times brutally honest, Unraveling is a riveting read that took me back to my own volatile teen years.

Unraveling is a Delacorte Press publication, and will be released on July 8th.

Melissa A. Bartell left her heart in San Francisco, because her books took up too much room in her luggage. She is a freelance writer living and working in the Dallas, TX metroplex, and generally reads 2-3 books a week. She is the Senior Editor here at All Things Girl. Find out more about her on our About Page. You can find her at her blog as well as other places here and there.

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