Katie meets her grandmother Mary for the first time when the hospital calls. It's an understatement to say that Katie's mother, Caroline, has a tense relationship with Mary, and she's none too pleased to have to care for the woman, who's slipping into dementia. Katie, however, is enchanted, and she compassionately endeavors to help Mary remember as much as possible. In dredging up the past, however, Katie learns painful secrets about her mother, secrets that strain their already rocky relationship. But learning about her family helps Katie feel brave enough to share her own secret at she's gay t only with her mother but with the whole world. The three women at the heart of the story tie, Caroline, and Mary e all richly detailed and well developed, and Downham slowly, tantalizingly unspools each of their stories. Though the passages focusing on Mary's and Caroline's struggles with parenting and marriage might not resonate with teens, Katie's brave self-discovery will likely ring true, and Downham's lyrical meditation on the nature of memory will be deeply thought-provoking.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Downham's gotten high praise for her last two books, Before I Die (2007) and You against Me (2011). Expect her latest to have just as rosy a reception.

Seventeen-year-old Katie didn't know she had a grandmother until the hospital called, asking her mum to pick up Mary, who's suffering from dementia. As Katie helps care for Mary, she uncovers a web of family secrets and struggles with her own: Katie is pretty certain she's gay. A limited third-person perspective follows Katie's and Mary's stories, constructing and contrasting two fully rounded characters.

Unbecoming is the story of three generations of women all harboring their own secrets: Katie, a British teen; her mother, Caroline; and her grandmother, Mary. When Mary, who has Alzheimer's, comes to live with her family, Katie is stunnedher mother has never mentioned her. Katie is already dealing with studying for her final exams, taking care of her brother with special needs, and trying to win back her best friend after an incredibly embarrassing incident. However, she finds that she very much enjoys her grandmother's company. She takes her to old haunts and compiles a memory book for her. In the process Katie finds herself increasingly curious about the circumstances that drove her family apart and is determined to put the pieces of the puzzle together, even as it causes painful memories to re-emerge.This is an extremely well-crafted novel told from multiple points of view. Readers get a glimpse of what it was like for Mary to be a pregnant teenager in the fifties and see Caroline caught between her depressed aunt and freewheeling mother. Some readers may feel that the author does not spend enough time on Katie's story. Others, however, will enjoy following these women on their journey to better understand themselves and each other.Kirsten Pickel.