94 books like Bad Mother

Fun Home is Alison Bechdel’s most famous work (and it is phenomenal), but this one captured my heart. While the former focuses on her father, here Bechdel turns her focus on her relationship with her mother, weaving in a lot of psychoanalysis and modernist literature.

Bechdel’s characteristic intricacy and attention to detail are on full display, and the frequent inclusion of dreams and their interpretation (a particular interest of mine) make the whole book feel almost surreal yet completely grounded.

If you vividly remember the Columbine High School shooting or any of the horrific moments of spectacle violence in the subsequent two decades (Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Parkland, etc.), this book answers questions you might have been afraid to ask, such as, how do parents of these “monsters next door”– in particular their mothers – survive in the wake of such horror, and where do they find grace? As a mother to three boys and two girls, in a 21st-century America that continues to be plagued by gun violence, I read (and re-read) Sue Klebold’s honest story, aware on every page, that the reverberating effects of Columbine, complete with active-shooter training in our kids’ schools, still permeate our everyday lives.

If you are a Gen Xer like me and you wax nostalgia about the freedom of the mothers of your childhood vs. the shackles of parenting in the early twenty-first century as I have, Kim Brooks’ book is for you. Kim made the most grievous error a parent can make today: she left her four-year-old in her minivan in the parking lot of a rural Target so she could quickly grab an item. Though her child was fine, someone called the police. This event sent Kim down a rabbit hole to find out: is the American childhood as dangerous as people think? Her remarkable, thought-provoking book argues that childhood is remarkably safe, children should be exploring their environs, and some form of free-range parenting for many parents and kids should be the norm rather than the exception. This has been my philosophy since having children, and I was happy to… show more.

So much of this book is filled with folklore and magic, but the provocative and devastating ending, which raises important questions about motherhood and the fine line between animal and human consciousness, guts the reader as any honest book should. I’ve always been fascinated by the wide range of strong opinions people feel in response to a simple question: Are pets equal to children in the hierarchy of living things? I was fully transported into this surprising exploration of violence and motherhood.

I love, love, love fairy lore, but a lot of books with fairies cut out some of the darker aspects—and this one decidedly leans right into the morbid, deceitful side of fairies.

I adored the setting of the fairy court, and while I don’t always consider fairies to be monstrous, the Fae Queen has unique, see-through, glass anatomy and a decidedly inhuman demeanor that made it all the more satisfying when she started to fall for the human main character. I found the thrill-seeking personality of the main character to be refreshing, and her encounters with the icy queen had strong chemistry (in addition to being super steamy).

Paranormal investigators, a ghostly legend, and murder. That, in a nutshell, is what attracted me to this book. While the residents of South Bass Island prepare for Halloween festivities, the Elkhart Ghost Getters arrive in search of footage of the ghost of a prohibition bootlegger named Charlie “Sleepy” Harlow. Harlow was beheaded by rival bootleggers and his ghost is said to appear every Halloween in search of his head. A murder puts a damper on the festivities, causing the League of Literary Ladies to sprint into action. Forced by court order to spend time together in a book club, the three women in the League are now fast friends. I love the ingenuity of the main character as well as how they all work together to solve the murder.

This book is a part of The Night Before series which is such a brilliant and cute idea.

The Night Before Halloween also tells its tale in rhyme form, but is in the pattern of “Twas the Night Before Christmas”. Natasha Wing really has a grasp on keeping to the original style while telling her story in an adorable way that is written in a language that kids can easily follow.

The story itself includes all of the classic monsters as they are getting ready for Halloween and trick or treaters. It is the perfect book that has all of the Halloween monsters without any of the scares!

I am from Baltimore, where famous spooky writer Edgar Allan Poe lived and died right outside a bar I used to go to in my twenties (a few centuries before I ever went there!). Our football team is even named after his famous poem, "The Raven," and its mascots are named Edgar, Allan, and Poe. So of course I love this adorable book about a tiny raven who just won’t go to bed! Stucki’s illustrations make a kind of scary animal—a raven—very appealing to little kids. And everyone can relate to a kid not wanting to go to bed! There is a whole series of books by this duo covering different Poe stories, if you want a very literary Halloween.

Goodnight Goon takes the familiar rhyming and simplicity of Goodnight Moon and creates something weird and wonderful.

It’s Michael Rex’s tiny details in the art that drew me in – from eyeballs in holes in the wall to tiny crawly creatures. There are loads more to look at in these ghoulish illustrations than the original book it’s parodying. 

I adored this creepy, spooky middle-grade book set in Victorian-time London. It tells the story of 12-year-old Nancy Crumpet and her terrifying adventure with Skelter Tombola, who owns the amazing Scareground.

The descriptions were so powerful that I felt like I was right in the story with Nancy, experiencing the scary magic of the fair. The link between Nancy and Skelter is skillfully revealed, and the chapters kept my heart thumping throughout. I couldn’t put it down!