Playing Through Every Choices Book, In Order (Part 53: Mother of the Year)

Hey y'all! Miss me? Sorry for no reviews in a while. I've been dealing with a lot of personal affairs recently, and Choices was honestly the last thing on my mind lol. However, all that's done and I'm back!

Today, we move to a new town as a struggling single mother with daughter whose brilliance has won her a scholarship at an elite private school. Can we deal with our awful ex-husband and his lawyer who happens to be the head of the PTA in a custody battle that'll shake us to our core? Who knows...

Next time, we begin a book that makes me question why I decided to begin this series in the first place, as we traverse through one hundred chapters of a young woman dealing with love issues that even Betty, Veronica, and Archie wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole!

Link to previous reviews: https://www.reddit.com/user/stresseatingdog/comments/sj3s3m/all_choices_reviews_megapost/

SPOILER WARNING, AS ALWAYS!

Mother of the Year

M/C: Deja Day

M/C’s Daughter: Nia Day

Final LI: Thomas

Favorite Chapter: Chapter 18

Favorite Character(s): Thomas, Eiko, Levi, Alma, Luz, Nia, AJ, Cynthia, Hugo

Least Favorite Character(s): Guy, Vanessa, Talullah

Overall Rating: 10**/10**

Review:

This book is very well put-together, and that’s coming from someone who has no clue what it’s like to be a single mother living paycheck to paycheck. M/C’s struggles throughout the book and her camaraderie and bond with her daughter are so well contrasted and portrayed. I love all three LI’s in this book. Thomas is so hot, sweet, and I like his commentary on white Latinos. Levi is also incredibly hot, sweet, and I love how good he is with Nia. Eiko is freaking awesome, and I love how resilient she is even after getting outed to the entire PTA by Vanessa, and I love how she succeeds in fulfilling her dream with the heart monitor. Alma is such a sweet friend character, and I love how she is representation for disabled folk. Nia/(daughter’s name) is so cute and sweet and I love how invested she is in space. Luz is a fun character too. Guy is so, so detestable, omg, and I hate how in the end he still gets weekends with Nia. God I wish I could punch him in his smarmy face. I take solace in knowing that his sprite is Tanner Sterling’s sprite, meaning in an alternate universe, he is brutally murdered by a deranged deputy. Tallulah can go screw herself too - she is such a little minx omg. Vanessa is so awful as well, and the conversation you can have with her in the final chapter didn’t redeem her fully, but then again I suppose it isn’t meant to redeem her. M/C is so likable omg. I love how headstrong she is, and how much effort she puts in for her daughter’s sake. The ending and bonus scene are also really sweet and I love the idea behind the New Beginnings board. Look, this book only works with M/C being a single mom, yes. However, I kind of wish they had done a companion book to this one, called Father of the Year, in which we play as a struggling single father, and see how single parents of both sexes can struggle. It would have been a great opportunity to highlight the advantages/disadvantages of being a single mom or dad, and could also serve to show how terrible it can be being a single parent, regardless of one's sex. I can't fault the book for not having a companion, so I won't take the usual genderlock points off, but I just thought it was a neat idea worth exploring. I feel like so many of the genderlocked books could be resolved by having companion books instead of sequels or whatever, but I understand how much extra effort and expense they would necessitate. Still, just an idea I thought I'd throw out there. All in all, though, this book is amazing, really.