Review: Oh, The Things My Mom Will Do
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Oh, the Things My Mom Will Do: Because She Loves Me Through and Through!
by Marianne Richmond

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think I enjoyed this more than my daughter. A heartwarming tale of the many things a mom will do for their child from running after the school bus with a forgotten lunch to staying up all night making a frog costume for a school play.
My favorite part of reading bedtime stories to my daughter is the books that rhyme. If there is a fun cadence to the story then I usually like it. This was one of those books. I even got a tiny bit weepy at the underlying story of everything a mom will actually do for her child.
Loved this book!
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Great idea, well done... now if only I could get my mother to actually complete it
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Kristy ~ I haven't read your book yet, but your parents just told me about it and I will be ordering a copy soon.  Based on all the other reviews, I'm sure I'll enjoy it equally as much.

Tim would be so proud of you, Kristy. He'd say, "Well done, sis!"
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The complete subtitle of the book is: "This is a story about a mother, two daughters, and two dogs. This was supposed to be a story of how Chinese parents are better at raising kids than Western ones. But instead, it's about a bitter clash of cultures, a fleeting taste of glory, and how I was humbled by a thirteen-year-old."

  From the exerpts that I had read from this book online, I was prepared not to like it and not to like Amy.  However, I really liked the book.  It is a well-written, open and honest sounding memoir.  Amy tells how she is raising her children in what she calls the Chinese way, which she feels is greatly superior to the lazy Western way of raising children.  Her younger daughter, however, rebelled completely at the age of 13 which made Amy have to re-think her parenting techniques and compelled her to write this book.
I think that Amy wrote it to try to justify to her girls how she raised them and to try to tell them how much she loves them and that she thinks she is acting this way to help them to reach their potential.
  Most Western parents will find some of the things that Amy has said to her children and some of the things that she has made them do rather horrifying. She has micromanaged her daughter's lives and screamed at them to force them to practice piano and violin. Even when they travel, she finds places for them to practice their instruments and often also finds tutors to tutor them in practice sessions there as well.  She once refused to accept hand made birthday cards from her daughters telling them that the cards obviously had taken very little effort to produce and were thus an insult to her.  The girls later made nicer cards for her which she accepted.
  I think there are some very positive things about Amy's parenting style.  She is very involved in her daughter's lives.  She sat through all of their piano and violin lessons with them, learning everything the instructors were teaching, taking notes, making drawings sometimes and studied music on her own as well, in order to help her daughters be succesful at playing their instruments.  Her application of that, however, is what most people would find to be too much - screaming at her daughters, not allowing them to take breaks, making them practice for up to 6 hours a day or more.
  I do think that Western parents and the US school system are too lax and we should raise our expectations some, more like the Chinese parents do because children are more capable than we give them credit for and our education system is far behind those in some other countries.
I don't, however, recommend screaming at children and degrading them and taking away all free time like Amy did.
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The first sentence: When we got the letter in the post, my mother was ecstatic.

Thoughts from the first and second chapter:

The writing style (first person, again) and voice pulls you in very quickly. Also you're wondering about what the talk of numbers has to do with this story, and so you easily flip through the pages to understand what shes going on about with a letter and royalty. She doesn't want to be a One. Umm, why not? Do these main characters never want the super, amazing, special thing/position ever in books? Doesn't seem like it. Oh, and yes, another female character who denies her beauty, but its sooo obvious to everyone else. The secret boyfriend: Uhh..okay? Will this turn into some kind of a love triangle or what? And apparently.

Main Character: America Singer (Yeah, really).

I have no problems with names, usually. America was a pretty common name for girls at some point in history. I have a few Americas in my family tree and so do a lot of other people, but does it make sense in this story where the country itself doesn't exist anymore? Maybe or maybe not, depending on what you want to believe.

The Plot: Well, its a fairly simple one. 35 girls compete to become the princes wife. Although, it really wasn't much of a competition or so it seemed to me. America didn't really have to try and she didn't.

The other characters:

Americas family: I liked them for the most part. I could understand why her mother wanted her to join the competition. A chance for a better life.

Aspen: I didn't get why he wanted America to join the competition. That whole what if excuse didn't work for me. For some reason I just didn't like him at all.

Prince Maxon: I do like this character, but I wonder how he didn't know that the lower caste people were going hungry and stealing to provide for their families in the first place.

Princess wannabes: Most of them, well, were meant to be unlikable. Celeste for example. She was a total witch with a capital B.

Annoying Things: A competition was promised, but there wasn't much past a few angry glares and whispering behind Americas back, let alone a real competition where they do more than just take pictures and whatever. Aspen, I couldn't stand him for some reason.

Overall: This book was entertaining for what it was. The issues with this book can be pretty easily ignored for just the quickness of the read and the entertainment factor.
Also I ship Prince Maxon and America.

Will I read the other two books: 50/50 chance. It was good, but not enough to excite me to continue.
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I usually get inspired to read books by my mother. When she finds a really good book she tells me about it and I become interested in it so I read it. I like this way because I don't like finding books on my own. I usually find a book I do not like. I like my mom finding the books because she knows what I am interested in. Also, I like how I have someone to talk about the book with; in case I do not understand what is happening.
This book is about a school shooting telling how and why the kid did it and the others who are affected by it. It dealt with many high school issues, like teasing, dating, peer pressure, mother-daughter relationship, and more. The author used these topics through many characters associated with the shooting. Jodi Picoult showed Josie dealing with dating and Peter confronting teasing. I liked how they used high school issues because I use them as advice for what to do when I am in that situation.
I liked how the book was exciting from start to finish. The action starts right way. It was hard to put down because I would read an exciting part and tell myself to stop after it and then another exciting part comes up. I liked the many different characters point of view. I liked the cop's point of view solving the case, the judge's decision, why the shooter shot everyone, and how the victim deals with the shock. I liked how real the book was. It was cool to see what lead the kid to shoot the kids. It scared me how it could happen at my school.
I did not like the parts when there was a touching mother and daughter moment. Also, the random judge cases like a girlfriend receives a stolen necklace from her boyfriend and claims she did not know it was stolen. Those parts were boring and did not understand why she put it in the book. Otherwise, I loved the book and would recommend it.
I would recommend this book to high school students. It opens teenagers eyes to what can happen. It shows them that a school shooting can happen to their school. Shootings are a problem for schools and Nineteen Minutes is a good example of what happens in those situations. The book shows me that it is serious and that people can die.
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sent this to my mom as a gift, she loves it.
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This is a great little book. I actually bought it to give to my mom.
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I bought this book for my mom for Mother's Day.  After receiving the book, I started thumbing through it and was a little concerned with the amount of reference to sex I found in just the few pages I read over.  I didn't want to give my mom a book that would be embarrassing.  Not being much of a  reader, I decided to just go ahead and read some of it and decide if it was  a good gift for her.  Well, let me tell you, I read all 338 pages of the  book in less that 24 hours.  I thouroughly enjoyed the book and feel anyone  with compassion will also find it interesting.
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I wanted Premiere to make a movie for my Mom's 90th birthday. I did and it was a huge success. Thank!
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I order this product for my mom and she really enjoys it.
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Earlier this month, I read Be the Mom, by Tracey Lanter Eyster. Tracey is a blogging mom who writes about what it's like to also be a full-time mom. In her book, she describes the different traps that moms can easily fall into, how to recognize where you are in regard to those traps, and what to do should you discover that you're in over your head. She gives very practical advice on how we should think about being a mom, as opposed to how others believe we should think.
This was a very helpful read. Lately, I've found myself encumbered by far too many things, mostly self-afflicted obligations, and I've lost track of how to truly enjoy motherhood. I'm so busy most days that I find it difficult to pull away from the things that I believe must be done, in order to make room for those moments that I truly desire to spend with my son. But I'm learning to reprioritize a bit, and instead of procrastinating when it comes to hanging out with my son, I've been pushing off the "important" things to carve out some quality time with him. I know I'll get those things done; I'll just make the time somehow, but I also know I'll never get these few precious years of my son's childhood back.
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This was a gift to my mom.  She is enjoying it, although she is skipping chapters, looking for certain parts that really interest her.
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An awesome entertaining movie that my mom loves so much she watches it over and over along with a Few Good Men as those were two of the movies she watched with my Dad during his last days .it is a momorie she carries .
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As my mother approaches her 87th birthday, there is so much I still don't know about her.  Fortunately, she is very active and remembers her past much better than I can remember mine.  This is such a wonderful format for  her to put down in her owns words those memories I could never think to  ask. How she felt about different phases of her life, what she cooked as  her first meal, how she met my father, what she did in school, her likes  and dislikes, fashions and style, travels and descriptions of her family  and so much, much more. The book makes a wonderful gift to give to  a woman  to chronicle her life for future reference.  I can't wait to give mine as a  holiday gift to my Mother and look forward to reading about her life in her  own words. This book is a must on your book list.

February 11, 2009:  My Mother is now approaching her 97th birthday on March 26th.  I gave her the book ten years ago and she wrote in it until four years ago.  I have not read it and have decided to do so on my Birthday, April 17th.  With her failing memory, vision and hearing, I will savor and treasure every word that she has written.  I am blessed.
slec17@yahoo.com
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Although I don't care for sappy love songs, my mom is a huge fan of soft rock/easy listening. And every weeknight, my mom listens to this DJ. So, for Mother's Day, I bought her the book with no intention whatsoever of actually reading it... Wrong! It's the kind of book you can open up anywhere and begin reading- it's not a story or some autobiography, but rather a collection of essays and stories, both from Delilah and her listeners. Wow... an author who doesn't have to write every word to create a masterpiece! It's like a bunch of great chick flicks all in one little powerful book. As a 25-year-old lover of dance music, road trips, concerts, and boys, I had no idea that this type of book would end up meaning so much to me. needless to say, mom did get the book but I had to buy another copy for myself. You'll laugh, cry, and reflect on what relationships truly mean to you.
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I grow up with my mom using this book so really enjoyed it so i though I would try it out too.