What does it take to be a good mother? A good neighbor? Straight answers are hard to find in this keenly observed short story by New York Times bestselling author Janelle Brown.
Polly’s fourth-grade daughter has been spending a lot of time with her classmate Sylvie—maybe too much. Sylvie’s clothes are a little…flashy…and her phone (a ten-year-old with a phone!) doesn’t seem to have any parental controls. It seems that Sylvie’s mother, with her vape pens and her too-high heels, may not be making good choices.
As Polly tries to exert a positive influence, she discovers just how little anyone can tell about a family from the outside.
Janelle Brown’s Trouble is part of We Could Be Heroes, a darkly inquisitive collection of short stories that examines heroic intentions versus their real-life consequences.
Suburban soccer mom, Polly, is concerned, because her ten year old daughter, Hannah, has made a new friend in Sylvie, a girl from the “other side of tracks” who she fears might exert a negative influence on her innocent daughter. Worse, is Hannah’s mom, blonder-than blonde bombshell Katrina, new to the community and not showing interest or involving herself in the children’s activities like the other suburban moms.
“Katrina was aggressively blonde, violet nails filed to violent points, a stubborn tightness to her jaw despite the fleshy invitation of her body. Katrina didn’t show up for back- to- school meetings, didn’t sign up for soccer, didn’t attend the spring carnival or the open house or any of the Wisdom Warriors speaker series events. She materialized only at drop- off and pickup, always at a distance from the other parents who lurked by the school entrance, her cheek glued to her cell phone and her mink lashes tilted toward the sky.”
I mean… can you blame her? Would you want to hang out with an established clique of women who call themselves the “Wisdom Warriors”, a social justice warrior wannabe group? It’s giving, “you can’t sit with us” vibes.
I’d keep my distance too.
“Sometimes, late at night, Polly would sneak into her daughter’s bedroom to watch her sleep, Hannah’s face a perfect mask of innocence, and feel a love so overwhelming that it made her queasy. How much there was to lose. How easily life could go sideways.”
Polly ultimately allows Hannah and Sylvie to have play-dates at her house and tries to befriend Katrina, but her attempts are unsuccessful. One day they have a semi-breakthrough, which only concerns Polly further, regarding Sylvie. She brings her opinions to the “hivemind” and they make a plan. Except, it’s the holidays — the ladies are far too busy, especially Polly vacationing in Hawaii with her husband and their children– so the serious matters concerning Sylvie will just have to wait… After all, at least they made a plan — they think and pat themselves on the back.
“Maybe Sylvie could benefit from Polly’s children’s good fortune. Polly had so much; it was only right to give some of it away.”
Cringe! Oh, Polly… money doesn’t make one “fortunate.” Your socioeconomic class doesn’t determine your worthiness and your daughter doesn’t need to bestow her “fortune” onto “poor,” “needy,” “lower-income,” and “lower-class” Sylvie.
The FMC, while happy with the life she has as a stay-at-home mom, feels unfulfilled, wishing she had a career like her husband, but is unable to communicate that to him because she doesn’t want to appear ungrateful for what he’s provided which she is very grateful for. Unfortunately, I think this led her down the social justice warrior, or Wisdom Warrior path, because it gave her a purpose — something to obsess over and take her mind off the mundane daily drudgery of wiping little noses and making healthy meals.
“…having little of her own life to convey to Eric because really, what was there to tell, except for what had happened to the kids in school?— and she couldn’t help resenting him for having a life, for being out there in the world while she was stuck here in the house, wishing she had something that showed her worth beyond simply raising two healthy, adjusted fucking children.“
I struggled connecting with Polly, the FMC, because she was so uppity, judgemental, and assumed the absolute worst about people based on very little, her suspicions amplified by the Wisdom Warriors who supported and encouraged her upcoming actions. I did feel for her when she struggled getting Katrina to warm up to the idea of a friendship between them and she felt outright rejected. But overall, she wasn’t a likable character to me. Katrina, with the “aggressively blonde hair” – Whatever that means, I did like, though!
““You fancy moms, you think you know everything, with all your smug pity. Believe me, you know nothing.”“
The twist was excellent, the story kept me guessing, and the truth was completely unexpected. The last lines of the book made me laugh out loud in a good way. Clearly my dislike for the FMC didn’t affect my rating. The story just wouldn’t have been the same without her cringe-worthy inner dialogue and embarrassing attempts to befriend Katrina!
I’d recommend this read to fans of thrillers and mystery, with children in peril themes.
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