Hush Little Baby : Book Review

Hush Little Baby
Author: Joanna Barnard
Penguin Random House UK, Ebury Publishing
Genre:  Mystery & Thrillers
Publication Date: Aug 2017

Hush Little Baby can be a scary reality to some

The book is written from a triplicate point of view. There is Sally, the mum, Richard the dad and Martha his daughter. These three people were part of baby Oliver’s family at home, and when his hand was fractured, no one admits to it. Someone is lying of course, but who?

As in Western countries, well… developed countries with a good/ decent childcare system, family services get involved. A lot of times, parent’s get scared. Because not only they feel that they have done something wrong, they fear that their child will be taken away from them.

It is never easy raising a baby, harder when a stranger rips your darling out of your hands. While there is no question in the reader’s mind that baby Oliver has parents who love him, and a stepsister who is slightly indifferent to him; family services does not know that. Thus began a conflict between family and the ‘outsiders’.

Things get more complicated when skeletons in the closet shows up during investigations. The author tactfully reminds all parents that raising a child does not end when they reach double digits. Very often, when I am dealing with a terrible two, I get the statement: “wait till they are teens.”

(ノ￣皿￣）ノ ⌒=== ┫ —– this is a table flipping emoji. This is me in my mind, except maybe the table is the jerk who says stupid things like that.

This is like my in- laws, they would tell me what I should be doing, and then turn around and ignored their own advice. Honestly, I have to tolerate their rudeness and dismissive behavior, because my mom will have my hide if I lash out. It is very un-Asian to be rude or scold your elders, no matter how much those jerks deserve it.

Verdict

You might have to guess who did break baby Oliver’s arm until the end, or have your suspicions confirmed.  Hush Little Baby has a low amount of intrigue, focusing on family and relationship issues instead. Not sure why this is Women’s fiction, when it is a family matter. Hush Little Baby will break your heart, and make you wonder who has done it. But it is not the only mystery in the book Share on X

The ending was a positive one, the author creates a balance that is acceptable. Hush Little Baby can be too close to reality than some of us might care to admit. This is a good read, but a little confronting at times, especially if you have children.

Hush Little Baby has terrible in- laws too

Dear readers:

If your future mother- in- law tells you that you are family and she loves you as much as she loves her kids, do not be so naive. Yes, she may be very loving and nice to you, and you will have pretty good relationship if you are lucky. But in the end, if the fire burns in a building, you might not be high on her priority list. This is reality.

But if she hates your guts, it’s ok. Don’t try to change her mind, keep boundaries and hate her guts from the outside. No matter how much you crave her friendship and love, she will never ever think that you are good enough for her child. Swallow your words, and be nice, especially if you love your partner. Trust me, if you squeeze your partner, the mother usually wins.

But nothing is worse than a person who tells you lies, with a knife behind her back. That knife will definitely cut your relationship with your partner if you are not careful. This is my first hand experience, where I realized after a fight with my husband, what she had done to us. After the incident, I tried not to pick up her phone calls, because I could then make her tell me things in front of my husband, and then ask for his opinion. Kind of like a witness thing, caught her out a few times too, but at least we no longer argue about he said she said. She had the gall to complain to my own mother that I am not a family orientated person, and too dependent; my mom casually replied that she raised me that way.. haha…

If I can record all my conversations with her, I truly would.

(whinge/ relationship advice over)

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