Certain Things about My Mother: Daughters Speak

"A third anthology of honest voices that resonates with teens."

These stories are deeply personal, poignant accounts of the relationship between mothers and daughters during the contributors' teen years.

Hiromi Goto is conflicted about accepting her mother's reassurance of love. To right things, Goto declares, "Tomorrow I'll have to be extra bitchy so she'll know she's not my friend."

When Sue Goyette's mother takes a job, her daughter becomes the surrogate mother by default. The initial feeling of power is soon replaced by a longing for the way things were.

Melanie Little's nerves jangle from the constancy of the fighting between her and her mother, leaving her to "figure out how human beings can sustain such nastiness."

Such is the world of teen daughter/ mother relationships. Except when you're motherless. Priscila Uppal's story exudes the pain of wondering how her mother could leave without explanation, without seeming to care.

These memoirs shine with truthfulness. They will comfort teen readers as they struggle to become the women they want to be.

Key Features: True stories from adolescence by women writers Gritty, edgy writing appeals to teens