Today is Three Kid Circus Auditions' stop on the Mother Talk Blog Tour for Gwendolyn Gross' latest novel, The Other Mother. With all the press received about the so-called "mommy wars" - I'll admit I wasn't sure I even wanted to read a fictional tale of strife between a stay-at-home mother and a working mother. Curiosity won out, though, and I was quickly drawn into this darkly drawn novel.

from the back cover:

"Amanda is a successful book editor at a prominent publishing house in New York City. Thea is a stay-at-home mother of three who has never really left the community in which she grew up. Amanda, eight months pregnant with her first child, and her husband move in next door to Thea and her family, and the two women are both drawn to and repelled by each other and their opposing choices in the constant struggle to balance career with family life.

When a disaster forces Amanda and her family to take refuge in Thea's home, the underlying tensions simmering between them are pushed to the surface -- even more so when Thea fills in as Amanda's temporary nanny. But once dead animals start appearing on Thea's front porch -- surely a macabre gift from Amanda -- the battle with "The Other Mother" begins in earnest.

A compelling story about family, work, and the constant push and pull of contemporary womanhood, this stunning, dark, suspenseful novel is as brave as it is shocking."

From the opening chapters, the stories of Thea and Amanda play out in parallel, and the view from both sides of the fence grows increasingly tangled and conflicted. Gross illustrates her character's world with poetic, descriptive passages that add richness and build tension masterfully. I couldn't put "The Other Mother" down, and was left with a vague sense of disquiet upon closing the book.

I've got two extra copies on hand - if you'd like to win a copy, leave me a comment on this post, and I'll randomly pick two of you.

For more reviews from my fellow Mother Talk Bloggers - check out the roundup post here. To get your own copy of The Other Mother, or to visit author Gwendolen Gross at her site click here.