After her daughter Stella begins mimicking the personality of her deceased babysitter, Blanka, pregnant Charlotte becomes convinced that Blanka has possessed her child, leading her on a chilling and obsessive quest to uncover the truth and save her daughter.
Ashley Audrain's The Push made waves a couple of years ago with its tale of a mother questioning the seemingly nefarious motives and intentions of her young daughter, and now Helena Echlin has arrived on the literary scene to deliver a gripping story in a similar vein, Clever Little Thing. However, where Audrain's The Push brings into question nurture vs. nature, Echlin's Clever Little Thing is less black and white.
Charlotte knows and accepts that her eight year old daughter Stella is "different." Obsessed with complex scientific theories, the anatomy of dead birds, and whatever else strikes her fancy, Stella is a child unlike other children. She has difficulty making and keeping friends or relating to other people, and prefers to keep to her own company. Her parents can't even appease her, walking around on tiptoe for fear of prompting Stella to launch into "freak out" mode, which results in Stella throwing a screaming, crying fit with no ability to soothe.
However, this all changes after the death of Stella's former babysitter, Blanka. Stella transforms from a rigid, intolerant child, to one who is placid and amenable ... not unlike Blanka herself. When Stella starts repeating some of Blanka's former phrases, acquiring a taste for foods Blanka loved, and even writing in her diary in Armenian - Blanka's first language - Charlotte is convinced her daughter's body has been taken over by Blanka's spirit. But is this a case of possession, or one of a mother seeing things that are just not there? As Stella becomes less and less like her former self and more like Blanka, Charlotte is convinced she must act or else lose her daughter forever.
Prepare yourself to trust no one as you read the aptly titled Clever Little Thing! Author Echlin cleverly layers this haunting story to keep the reader guessing throughout its chilling journey. I wavered back and forth as I read this book, never quite sure if Charlotte's perception of the world was reliable and true. My inability to commit to a conviction made for an engaging read, and I must admit that I was fully taken by surprise by Clever Little Thing's unexpected ending.
Clever Little Thing explores the complex, often complicated, mother-child relationship, as well as a mother's sometimes inability to be taken seriously by her spouse, friends, and peers. Who better knows a child than her own mother? But what if no one else is able to see what said mother sees? Is the mother right? Or just delusional? Read Clever Little Thing to find out! - Brooke, Public Relations Librarian