Three women - three
secrets - one heart-stopping story. Katie, seventeen, in love with
someone whose identity she can't reveal. Her mother Caroline, uptight,
worn out and about to find the past catching up with her. Katie's
grandmother, Mary, back with the family after years of mysterious
absence and 'capable of anything', despite suffering from Alzheimers. As
Katie cares for an elderly woman who brings daily chaos to her life,
she finds herself drawn to her. Rules get broken as allegiances shift.
Is Mary contagious? Is 'badness' genetic? In confronting the past, Katie
is forced to seize the present. As Mary slowly unravels and family
secrets are revealed, Katie learns to live and finally dares to love.
Funny, sad, honest and wise, Unbecoming is a celebration of life, and learning to honour your own stories.
My Rating: 3/5
I have read Jenny Downham's previous 2 novels and enjoyed both of them so I was grateful that Scholastic Australia sent me a copy of her newest book for review.
In her previous works, Jenny Downham did not shy away from heavy and sensitive topics such as terminal illness and sexual assault and this book was no different.
I found this book to be beautifully written although a little too slowly paced for my liking. I also thought that too much was tried to convey in a book so slowly paced. It took me quite a while to get into it as the beginning is especially slow.
I really enjoyed the multi generation concept and the relationships between similar to Gilmore Girls and Looking for Alibrandi.
The book mainly focused on Kate, the teenager and her relationship with her grandmother Mary who Kate never knew existed and who has alzheimers. Even though I (thankfully) have no experience with the topic, I felt like Alzheimers was accurately portrayed.
I feel like had Kate's mother (and Mary's daughter) Caroline been more heavily involved the book could have been even better as without her as a significant character, it felt like part of the story was missing.
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