motherhood

"Haelewise has always lived under the shadow of her mother, Hedda--a woman who will do anything to keep her daughter protected. For with her strange black eyes and even stranger fainting spells, Haelewise is shunned by her village, and her only solace lies in the stories her mother tells of child-stealing witches, of princes in wolf-skins, of an ancient tower cloaked in mist, where women will find shelter if they are brave enough to seek it. Then, Hedda dies, and Haelewise is left unmoored. With nothing left for her in her village, she sets out to find the legendary tower her mother used to speak of--a place called Gothel, where Haelewise meets a wise woman willing to take her under her wing. But Haelewise is not the only woman to seek refuge at Gothel. It's also a haven for a girl named Rika, who carries with her a secret the Church strives to keep hidden. A secret that people will kill to uncover..."--Provided by publisher.

"Fifteen-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college, in spite of having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising a daughter. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed on to her like a birthright . . . Eleanor Quarles arrives in Washington, DC, with ambition and secrets. When she meets the handsome William Pride at Howard University, they fall madly in love. But William hails from one of DC's elite wealthy Black families, and his par?ents don't let just anyone into their fold. Eleanor hopes that a baby will make her finally feel at home in William's family and grant her the life she's been searching for"--Provided by publisher.

"An emperor penguin mom treks up to fifty miles to bring food to her hungry chick. A toothy American alligator carefully carries hatchlings in her mouth, shuttling them safely to the water. A piping plover uses her best acting skills to feign an injury, luring predators away from her offspring. Whether building elaborate burrows, forgoing food for months on end to feed their cubs, toting hundreds of spiderlings on their backs, conducting patient swimming lessons, or fearlessly kicking away hyenas, mothers in the animal kingdom--whatever their species--give it all (and then some!) to keep their little ones safe, fed, and ready to face the world on their own. This first book in a young series on animal science includes in its back matter a look at the 'super' qualities of some of the animals and offers a collection of resources for budding naturalists"--Provided by the publisher.

"Sunyi Dean's The Book Eaters is a contemporary fantasy debut. It's a story of motherhood, sacrifice, and hope; of queer identity and learning to accept who you are; of gilded lies and the danger of believing the narratives others create for you. Out on the Yorkshire Moors lives a secret line of people for whom books are food, and who retain all of a book's content after eating it. To them, spy novels are a peppery snack; romance novels are sweet and delicious. Eating a map can help them remember destinations, and children, when they misbehave, are forced to eat dry, musty pages from dictionaries. Devon is part of The Family, an old and reclusive clan of book eaters. Her brothers grow up feasting on stories of valor and adventure, and Devon--like all other book eater women--is raised on a carefully curated diet of fairytales and cautionary stories. But real life doesn't always come with happy endings, as Devon learns when her son is born with a rare and darker kind of hunger--not for books, but for human minds"--Provided by the publisher.

"Set in near-future America, The School for Good Mothers introduces readers to a government-run reform program where bad mothers are retrained using robot doll children with artificial intelligence. Protagonist Frida Liu, a 39-year-old Chinese-American single mother in Philadelphia, loses custody of her 18-month-old daughter, Harriet, after she leaves Harriet home alone for two hours on one very bad day. To regain custody, Frida must spend a year at a newly-created institution, where she practices parenting with bad mothers from all over the county. There, she learns to love an uncannily life-like toddler girl doll in order to demonstrate her maternal instincts and prove to her family court judge that she deserves a second chance. Frida is an outsider in every way: better educated, more affluent, and the only Asian. The mothers, whose transgressions range from benign to horrific, are under constant surveillance. If they don't pass all the school's tests, their parental rights will be terminated. Inspired by dystopian classics such as 1984, Never Let Me Go, and The Handmaid's Tale, the novel eviscerates the dominant American parenting culture, while highlighting the tragedy of state-sponsored family separation. Is there one right way to mother? Can a bad mother ever be redeemed? With warmth, heart, and dark humor, the novel tells a timeless story of a mother fighting to win back her child, and her struggle to hold onto her integrity while being indoctrinated"--Provided by the publisher.

"From three-time Bram Stoker-Award-winning novelist Sarah Langan comes a propulsive literary suburban noir set in near-future America during the hottest summer on record. Maple Street has a neighborly cul-de-sac, where a terrible secret tears a rift between two misfit moms who were once best friends. When innocent Shelly Schroeder falls down a sinkhole, it's one mom's word against the other's, in a court of public opinion that can end only in blood. Think Big Little Lies--if reimagined by Shirley Jackson"--Provided by the publisher.

"Families of different shapes, colors, and sizes must cross deserts, navigate rough seasons, and climb mountains--all to find their miracle babies"--Amazon.

The lives of four women intersect in a miraculous way when India Bishop, having married and then fallen in love with a wealthy older man, decides to cement their relationship with a baby, despite the disapproval of his grown daughter Bettina, and turns to Princeton student and egg donor Jules Strauss, and surrogate mother Annie Barrow, for help.

Discusses the need to keep mothers healthy before and after their pregnancies, following the stories of children who have been affected by the issue, and looking at what is being done to ensure the health of mothers and children.

Jane, one of the most popular girls and best students in her school, loses her good reputation when she has a baby at the age of fourteen, but as her Native American grandmother predicted, Jane learns that motherhood has only made her stronger.