What do you think?
Rate this book
What Do You Want From Me?
In this gripping, family drama, the past collides with the present in unpredictable ways.
When her father’s former lover falls down the stairs on Halloween, Maeve finds herself torn between protecting her mother and seeking the truth. As Maeve juggles caring for her aging, unpredictable mother while managing the demands of her own family, dark questions about the past arise. Did her mother really cause the accident, or is it just a tragic coincidence? And what will Maeve do with the truth when she finds it?
Rich with deeply intriguing characters, this novel explores the complexity of family loyalty, memory, and the haunting influence of long-buried secrets. In order to unravel the truth, Maeve must confront her own perceptions of the past, all the while trying to repair the fraught bond with her teenage daughter.
Suspenseful and emotionally charged, this is a story about the deep, unsettling rifts that can tear families apart. Perfect for readers who love darkly humorous, thought-provoking narratives that challenge notions of guilt, love, and the pull of the past.
When her father’s former lover falls down the stairs on Halloween, Maeve finds herself torn between protecting her mother and seeking the truth. As Maeve juggles caring for her aging, unpredictable mother while managing the demands of her own family, dark questions about the past arise. Did her mother really cause the accident, or is it just a tragic coincidence? And what will Maeve do with the truth when she finds it?
Rich with deeply intriguing characters, this novel explores the complexity of family loyalty, memory, and the haunting influence of long-buried secrets. In order to unravel the truth, Maeve must confront her own perceptions of the past, all the while trying to repair the fraught bond with her teenage daughter.
Suspenseful and emotionally charged, this is a story about the deep, unsettling rifts that can tear families apart. Perfect for readers who love darkly humorous, thought-provoking narratives that challenge notions of guilt, love, and the pull of the past.
278 pages, Paperback
Published April 22, 2025
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 27, 2025
Jennifer Dupree's embrace, or should I say, celebration of complicated, non-conforming women is so refreshing. If there is one throughline from her first marvelous book The Miraculous Flight of Owen Leach to this new novel, it is one of women whose coping skills as parents are challenged by their own disconnection. But when you're doing the best you can and it's never enough, who wouldn't disconnect?
In What Do You Want From Me? Maeve is so caught up in her own cockeyed perception of herself as defective that she can't see the many ways she's alienating her teenaged daughter, echoes of the alienation from her own mother (who's now lost to her because of dementia). I won't reveal the central betrayal that underlies Maeve's actions throughout the book, but it was painfully relatable to me and even when Maeve is at her most infuriatingly self-absorbed, I understood it as an expression of her pain and I wanted her to find a way to move on. Again, no spoilers, but the ending satisfied me completely. This is a sorrowful story but it isn't without hope for these damaged people. And there were many times that I laughed out loud. Dupree knows how to use irony and the mundane as comedy.
I would be remiss if I didn't also comment on the elegance of Dupree's prose, and she always finds the exact right details to put you into the scene. The references to Portland, Maine landmarks were like Easter eggs too. (I lived in Portland for many years.)
If you enjoy stories about complex women, how real, imperfect people struggle to communicate, and how estranged families can begin to heal, you will love What Do You Want From Me?
In What Do You Want From Me? Maeve is so caught up in her own cockeyed perception of herself as defective that she can't see the many ways she's alienating her teenaged daughter, echoes of the alienation from her own mother (who's now lost to her because of dementia). I won't reveal the central betrayal that underlies Maeve's actions throughout the book, but it was painfully relatable to me and even when Maeve is at her most infuriatingly self-absorbed, I understood it as an expression of her pain and I wanted her to find a way to move on. Again, no spoilers, but the ending satisfied me completely. This is a sorrowful story but it isn't without hope for these damaged people. And there were many times that I laughed out loud. Dupree knows how to use irony and the mundane as comedy.
I would be remiss if I didn't also comment on the elegance of Dupree's prose, and she always finds the exact right details to put you into the scene. The references to Portland, Maine landmarks were like Easter eggs too. (I lived in Portland for many years.)
If you enjoy stories about complex women, how real, imperfect people struggle to communicate, and how estranged families can begin to heal, you will love What Do You Want From Me?
May 26, 2025
As I read more and more family dramas, I get increasingly critical of an author's ability to make the characters' issues *believable*. Certainly not all stories will be about situations I have familiarity with - but being able to immerse myself into the characters' mindsets is key. My favorite part about this story is that both mothers, although I am not one myself, are imminently relatable and their thoughts, reactions, and breakdowns seem so real. I loved Jen's first novel but I think I like this even more. Recommended!
May 8, 2025
Compelling and complicated characters, beautiful and funny prose that brings to mind Meg Wolitzer at some times, Lorrie Moore at others, and moving human tragedies rendered vividly. Highly recommend!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews