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Reviewed by Donna Stevenson for Readers' Favorite
The Youngster by Bibi Berki is a story of love, belonging, and loss. Cherry has been diagnosed with dementia. She is a single mother with only one child, Georgie, and they are more like buddies than mother and daughter. Cherry is already showing signs of short-term memory loss, but Georgie is adamant that she wants to be her mother’s caregiver and keep their current lifestyle as long as they can. Then Georgie contracts Covid, becomes terribly sick, and is hospitalized, ventilated, and it is two months before she can go home. By then, Cherry has a new relationship with a younger man who lives in her house and takes over her daily care. Georgie feels shut out of her mother’s life, questions the intentions of this man, and finally decides to take matters into her own hands to reclaim her mother and the relationship they once had.
The Youngster by Bibi Berki offers a fascinating look at the complicated mother-daughter relationship through dementia and Covid. The author moves the story forward with a carefully constructed plot, showing the longer-term effects of Covid, the realities of dementia, and how isolation and separation can affect one’s view of the world. The author also includes a couple of twists, including the reality of the Beatrice character and how Georgie deals with Cherry’s caregiver, both of which I did not see coming. This heartfelt story demonstrates how fragile relationships can be and how critical belonging is to those whose lives have been ripped apart by disease.
