Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

This is such an interesting thriller that moves quickly and keeps you turning the page. Charlotte's eight-year-old, Stella, exhibits signs of neurodivergence, but after her babysitter, Blanka, dies, Stella starts becoming much more docile, vacant, and "normal" - just like Blanka had been. Charlotte becomes convinced that somehow Blanka is possessing Stella, and things go off the rails quickly.

Besides being a fun, creepy story, this novel powerfully explores modern motherhood, generational trauma, the difficulties of parenting a neurodivergent child, the imbalances and abuses of the care industry, and the unequal emotional and physical labor that so often characterizes heterosexual marriage. Stella appearing to be consumed by Blanka feels like a metaphor for the way Charlotte's entire identity becomes subsumed into being a mother, and the way that society glorifies motherhood and maternal instinct but also demonizes people's parenting choices. Seeing Charlotte's own struggles manifest - especially as she reckons more with her own mother's parenting and life - is both heartbreaking and real, and the novel kept me guessing about whether Charlotte's psyche was blurring dreams and reality or there was actually something supernatural or magical happening.

It definitely gets a little hard to believe towards the end (even beyond what's going on with Stella and Blanka), but the build is slow, and by the time I got to the end I was just enjoying the ride.