When we first meet Charlotte she is being asked to hand over her shoelaces and her phone. She is told all sharp objects have been removed. The laces she hands over, but not the phone. What follows is the story of how Charlotte came to be admitted to an institution. Now pregnant with her second child, Charlotte has had a difficult pregnancy. In addition, her eight-year-old daughter Stella has special needs that Charlotte is perfectly attuned to. With the sudden death of Stella's babysitter, Blanka, Stella's entire demeanor changes. She gradually and inexplicably seems to adopt all of Blanka's characteristics and mannerisms, even her appearance to some extent. How is this possible and what is the reason for it?
CLEVER LITTLE THING, by Helena Echlin, offers a deep examination into the power of a mother's love. A mother who realizes her daughter is special and whose idiosyncrasies are what makes her so. As Stella begins to change, Charlotte seeks professional help and is met with failure. She becomes convinced she is the only one who can save her daughter from whatever is happening to her. Told in the recent past and the present, Charlotte's path to being institutionalized is cleverly laid out. Tension is palpable from start to finish and this keeps readers engrossed.
CLEVER LITTLE THING is a skillfully crafted psychological thriller that includes a bit of horror and fantasy. Well-plotted and filled with unexpected twists, the story moves quickly. As for the conclusion? I never saw it coming.
A taut, powerful mom-noir psychological thriller following a mother who must confront a sudden and terrifying change in her daughter after the abrupt death of their babysitterCharlotte’s daughter Stella is sensitive and brilliant, perhaps even a genius, but a recent change in her behavior has alarmed her parents. Following the sudden death of Stella’s babysitter, Blanka, the once disruptive and anti-social child has become docile and agreeable. But what’s unsettling is that she has begun to mirror Blanka’s personality, from Blanka’s repetitive phrases to her accent, to fierce cravings for Armenian meat stew after being raised a vegetarian.Charlotte is pregnant with her second child, and depleted and sick with the pregnancy. She is convinced that Blanka herself is somehow responsible for Stella’s transformation. But how could Blanka, dead, still be entwined in their lives? Has Blanka somehow possessed Stella? Has Stella become Blanka? As Charlotte becomes increasingly obsessed, she is sure that only she can save her daughter. . . even though it’s soon clear that her husband believes this is all in Charlotte’s head.Helena Echlin’s singular, chilling voice holds light to the blurred lines of diagnosis in children and to the vital power of maternal instinct. Kaleidoscopic and tense, pulse-pounding and genuinely creepy, and infused with shades of the supernatural, Clever Little Thing is an ode to motherhood and a nuanced critique of the caretaking industry, a page-turner that will haunt readers long after its epic, surprising finale.
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