Review of Like My Mother Before Me

[Amanda Pearcy]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Like My Mother Before Me" by Naley Gonzalez.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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In Like My Mother Before Me, Naley Gonzalez writes about family and growing up while bringing the supernatural to life in her story. The main character Alize grows in so many ways throughout the story. Alize struggles to keep her grades up and stay on the volleyball team. Alize lives with her brother and father because her mom passed away when she was little. Alize portrays herself as a spoiled and unapproachable girl, stuck in her world without a care for what anyone else is experiencing. Everything changes when she starts seeing ghosts and wonders if she is going crazy. Alize starts getting distracted and gets into trouble at school. She doesn’t know what’s going on with her or how to deal with it. She doesn’t want to tell anyone after she learns her mother may have suffered from a similar fate. No one talks about Alize’s mother, so there is a lot of mystery surrounding her death. Alize was so young, and she doesn’t remember. You’ll have to read the book to find out what happens with Alize and what she learns about herself.

Once I started reading this book, I could hardly put it down. I was drawn into the story almost immediately. I enjoyed how Naley incorporated all the real-life struggles faced by teenagers, such as peer pressure, substance use, school bullying, friendship, and dating. Naley does a fantastic job creating the characters and giving them depth. I loved Martin’s trustworthiness, Ezra’s support, and Zoraida’s protectiveness. I enjoyed seeing how Alize’s relationships with these characters grew and changed throughout the story.

I couldn’t find anything about the book that I disliked. Naley wrote a beautiful story about family, change, the struggles of single parenthood, and the difficulties faced by teenagers. She seems to have put much thought and research into the characters. Some Hispanic culture and beliefs were included in the storyline. This provided a greater understanding of how different cultures negotiate these topics.

I am giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. I found very few errors or typos which led me to believe the book was professionally edited.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in mystery and supernatural. I would warn that some characters use profanity and mild drug use in the book. Then one character experiences a rape scene. The story may be more appropriate for a mature audience. This content might trigger some.

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Like My Mother Before Me
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