The book follows Bela, a young girl who used to have a friend called Other Mommy. Other Mommy would come to her at night, talk to her, make faces, and make her laugh. Other Mommy didn’t have a face like other people have faces either, oh no, hers was wrong, looked almost upside down. Her body was grotesquely large, and she doesn’t walk like a normal person, she’d slide around the floor, or hang from the closet. In other words—Other Mommy was fucking terrifying. 

As time went on, Other Mommy got more and more daring with testing her and Bela’s friendship. She’d creep out more often, and asked Bela one question over and over again—Would Bela please let her into her heart? Bela gets more and more confused about her feelings towards Other Mommy, especially since Other Mommy can look and sound like other people, and doesn’t know what she should do. 

Jesus. I’m creeped out just writing this review. Malerman has outdone himself with this novel, making a psychological horror that slowly drags you down into madness, not sure who or what to trust by the end. It reminded me of Coraline, where the other mom kept wanting to sew button eyes onto Coraline—but if Coraline was written for children, Malerman’s novel is written for only the strongest-willed. Might have to sleep with the lights on tonight (but it’s totally worth it). 

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!