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smmorris said: 4stars
Adam was raised by a single mom who, like many moms, kept her eyes on him at all times. Finally a high school graduate and a freshman at University of Southern California (USC), Adam is breaking the apron strings and moving 2700 miles away from his loving mother. During his years at USC and ever since, Adam has received postcards, letters, and notes from his mother all by snail mail. For whatever reason, Adam kept all those mailings in a box, some unopened, until the day he decided to put them to good use and wrote this book.
Most of these letters are funny, some funny as hell. Adam’s mother tries hard to keep more than a modicum of control over Adam’s life through missives of warnings (“Please do not eat sushi!”), to-do’s (“ . . . go buy a new tire . . .”), and specific career advice (“You could send Clive Davis . . . a sample of your music?”), along with an occasional Hanukah Gelt (money). Adam receives admonitions because he does not write enough, call enough, or think of Mom enough. He learns about the dating habits of the previous generation – sometimes in unwarranted detail. Sometimes there is just a quarter, a newspaper clipping, or flight insurance information (“Enclosed find this insurance document in case my plane crashes.”)
From Adam’s first year at USC (“I don’t understand why your music professor is giving you a hard time. Do you want me to talk to him?”), to worries over his mother-in-law (“She’s a little nutty herself!”), S’Mother will delight and tickle. This is technically an adult title but any teen moving away for the first time, be it college or a new job, will gain insight into the blight of a suddenly childless mother. Why does mom ask so many questions? Why does she call every Friday when I’m getting ready for a date? Why did she send money, I have a job? S’Mother may be the book to explain the “why” better than any other book. Adam’s mother is definitely in the extreme, yet all parents and especially mothers, hold on forever.
Between each letter or postcard Adam tried to explain or understand his mother and sometimes, himself. The funniest section is the aftermath of Adam breaking his hip in an automobile crash. Mom travels across country to take care of him, like most any mother would. Difference? Adam’s mom moves into his shared dorm room at USC. When mom was not nursing her son, cooking for the other guys, or making sure they got off to school each morning, she went on dates. Once Adam got back on his feet and into his classes, mom stuck around. It wasn’t until the Christmas break that Adam could get her back home to Miami – he accompanied her, of course. Freshman year can be a difficult transition in itself, add mom to the mix and . . . well, Adam survived by virtue of the pain medication he needed.
This truly delightful book will keep you in stitches, even if you are a mom with a child in college. It is sweet, irreverent at times, and full of love from both mother and son. I highly recommend this title. S’Mother is a one-of-a-kind, just like Adam’s mom.
Side note: Who is Adam Chester? He is a singer-songwriter who sits in for Sir Elton John during rehearsals and concert warm-ups. He is a composer and a piano man. Most importantly, he is a husband and the father of two boys, who he tries to shelter from grandma.
Note: received from netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, Abrams Books
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