Nothing prepares this mother for the helplessness that follows when her attempts to steer her daughter back on course fail and Pearl shuts her out . . . or when she discovers the unthinkable about her nemesis, the football coach. Emotionally riveting and profoundly moving, Mother of Pearl brings us into the heart of a mother bound by an incredible burden, who ultimately finds she must recognize her own vulnerability and learn to trust in something much bigger.
Goodreads Summary
This book is very aptly named. How do you fix your daughter when you don't even know how to approach the situation? Barrie's daughter Pearl suffers a fairly huge betrayal by her friends and reacts badly. Pearl is no longer acting like herself and everything is going downhill, Barrie's perfect life has been interrupted.
It's really interesting that this book revolves around the daughter, but is written from the mother's point of view. That viewpoint added so much to the book that a reader would ordinarily miss. Barrie's clear love for her daughter is admirable, but can she turn Pearl around? Barries' character is probably the most dynamic. She goes from happy as can be to down in the dumps. Her faith in God and herself is shaken. She undergoes major changes during the book, the reader will love finding out how Barrie is reacting and will enjoy sympathizing with her as well. Pearl's character is bratty, a little out of control, but the reader will understand why the more he/she delves into Mother of Pearl. This book isn't so much about why Barrie begins to lose and question her faith, but about how her questions strengthened her.
With a rocky start and volatile characters, the reader may be worried about the ending. Fortunately, Kellie Coates Gilbert handles everything with ease. Cleverly tying up the knots and reinforcing her original message, the conclusion to this book is deeply satisfying. Mother of Pearl is recommended to adult readers.
4 Stars
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It is interesting that this is written from the mother's point of view. I'm getting to the age that I identify more with mothers than with teens!