A NOTE FROM BRIT BENNETT

When I was sixteen, I started my first job at the Oceanside Public Library, a job
that I, naturally, assumed would entail sitting at a desk, answering the occasional
question, and spending the rest of my shift powering through as many books as I
could. Little did I know what being a library page actually requires: pushing a heavy
cart of books from shelf to shelf, feebly explaining to patrons that I was not a
librarian and therefore unqualified to answer their research questions, and climbing
into the dusty book-drop bins each evening before closing where I became
increasingly paranoid that Id reach for a book and instead pull out a spider or a
snake or any other creature that might have found its way inside.
Maybe life as a library page wasnt as glamorous as Id hoped. Still, I felt at home at
the public library where Id spent countless hours ever since I could sign my own
name on a library card. In the coming years, I again returned to libraries, working
for three years at my universitys music library and spending so much time in the
humanities library that a friend once told me that she suspected Id been
abandoned in the stacks as a kid and raised by the books.
I was, in a sense, raised by books; most writers are. And the library was where I
learned to love reading. In the library, I read with abandon. I abandoned books I
disliked. I dabbled in everythingmysteries and thrillers, romances and classics
picking books Id never even think about reading today. Amidst the constant
pressure I felt to succeed at school, I loved the library because it was a place where
failure did not exist. There was only trying, only discovery, as I found, again and
again, all the strange and marvelous books I never even knew I could love.
As an adult, I sometimes miss the open wonder with which I approached books as
a child, before I had the wild idea that I might write a novel someday, before I
cared about taste or reputation or craft or technique. I try to protect that sense of
wonder that still flickers inside me and Im grateful to my childhood public library
for sparking my interest in books, for allowing me the freedom to nurture my
curiosity, and helping me grow into a person who asks questions of the world.
Brit Bennett

A dazzling debut novel from an exciting new voice, The Mothers is a surprising story about young love,
a big secret in a small communityand the things that ultimately haunt us most.

PRAISE FOR THE MOTHERS

Brit Bennett is the real thing. The Mothers is a stellar novelmoving, thoughtful. Stunning. I couldnt put it
down. Im so excited to have this brilliant new voice in the world. Jacqueline Woodson, National Book
Award-winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming and Another Brooklyn
Brit Bennetts masterful debut is brimming with unforgettable scenes and the sort of keenly-observed, precise
language that makes you look at your own relationships anew. Told with the wisdom of a seasoned,
compassionate storyteller, The Mothers is a novel about community, friendship, grief and growth. The two
women at the center of this novel are characters you will find yourself thinking about long after youve turned
the last pagethey pull you in close and never let you go. Bennett is a brilliant and much-needed new voice in
literature. Angela Flournoy, author of National Book Award-finalist The Turner House
Brit Bennetts The Mothers is a brilliant exploration of friendship, desire, inheritance, the love we seek, and the
love we settle for. It is the kind of book that from its first page seduces you into knowing that the heartbreak
coming will be worth it. Danielle Evans, author of Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self
Brit Bennetts The Mothers is an engaging and assured debut novel of depth, and introspective power. It
succeeds as a brilliant study of a modern black woman, and as a lyrical and majestic portrait of her place in
society. Chigozie Obioma, author of The Fishermen
Conveys the complexities and challenges of young love with refreshing honesty and beautiful sentences. I
cared about Brit Bennetts characters, and the choices they made, and couldnt stop reading this remarkable
debut. Vendela Vida, author of The Divers Clothes Lie Empty
This book is something special: sage and sad and spectacular. This is a book about how the choices you make,
and those made for you, shape the lovely, hopeful tragedy of your life. Bookriot
[A] brilliant, tumultuous debut novel . . . [Bennett] shows extraordinary compassion for her flawed characters
. . . an exquisitely developed story. Publishers Weekly, starred review
A wise and sad coming-of-age story showing how people are shaped by their losses. Kirkus Reviews

978-0-399-18451-2 | $26.00/$35.00C | Riverhead Books | HC |October 2016

E: 978-0-399-18453-6 | AD: 978-0-7352-8828-7 | CD: 978-0-7352-8827-0 | LP: 978-0-7352-8828-7