Just What Kind of Mother Are You?

Distractions. I prejudged Paula Daly’s debut novel, Just What Kind of Mother Are You?, and let it sit on my bookshelf unread for almost a year. I assumed it was targeted to women and I thought it would have little interest for me. I sat down and read it this week, and I was surprised and delighted. I wish I had read it sooner. Daly presents protagonist Lisa Kallisto as an overworked, distracted and frazzled mom. The plot surrounds a missing girl, a friend of Lisa’s daughter. Lisa feels responsible and guilty that because of her many distractions, she didn’t do what she could have done to prevent the assumed abduction of the girl. Daly captured the lives of busy parents, and then layers on issues of class and wealth. The novel explores the nature of relationships and manipulation, and reveals that things are not always what they seem when we observe the lives of others. This short novel was a delight to read, and I recommend it to any reader, especially to parents. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Just What Kind of Mother Are You? from amazon.com.