Welcome to Feature & Follow Friday, hosted by Parajunkee’s View and Alison Can Read!

I LOVED all the followers I gained last week as the feature. Thanks so much to all of you who participated and followed.

If you’re here for the hop, please follow via RSS, email, LinkyFollowers or Networked Blogs. All the options are in my sidebar. If you leave a comment letting me know you’re following, I’ll make sure to follow you in return. And if you decide to be SUPER-awesome and put my button in your sidebar, let me know and I’ll return the favor.

If you’re a pre-existing follower, hi! [waves]

And now for this week’s question:

This Sunday in the U.S. is Mother’s Day. In celebration, what are some of your favorite books with strong mother/child relationships?

This question was harder than it sounds. I’ve been thinking recently that most of the books I read lack strong parental relationships. It makes me kind of sad, especially since I’m a mom and would love for my kids to have some great books to read when they get older that exemplify a strong mother-child (and specifically mother-daughter) relationship.

That said, here’s a few I thought of:

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. The relationship between Marmee and her daughters is beautiful. The strong love between them is nearly palpable. She is their rock, their example, their leader, and their friend. This is one of the few examples I can think of where the children are never embarrassed or frustrated with their mother. They admire her and strive to emulate her as they grow up. I’d have a hard time coming up with a better example of what a mother-child relationship should be.

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. There are at least two excellent examples of mothers in this series. The first is the obvious example of Molly Weasley. She dotes on her children and their friends, loves them unconditionally, and protects them fiercely. The second is Lily Potter, who Harry doesn’t even remember, but who possessed a love for him that was so strong, it defeated the most powerful dark wizard who ever lived.

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon. In this book, we learn that Claire willingly gave up her life with Jamie, the love of her life, to protect her daughter, Brianna. She left behind her husband and soulmate to face certain death, then raised their daughter for the next 20 years never knowing her father. It takes Brianna a long time to understand the extent of what her mother did for her, but we, the readers, understand the depth of Claire’s love for Brianna that led her to such a significant sacrifice.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. This isn’t a “real” mother-daughter relationship, as Marilla initially requests Anne from the orphanage as a hired hand, and not as an adopted child. However, as Anne gradually wins her over, the bond between them slowly grows and deepens. Ultimately, the loving relationship between Anne and Marilla becomes strong enough to rival that of any biological mother-daughter pair.

Divergent by Veronica Roth. Kind of like with Dragonfly in Amber, Tris spends the majority of this book having no idea what her mother has done, and is willing to do, for her. Their relationship isn’t bad, but it’s not great. However, by the end, Tris is astounded by the inner strength that her mother possesses, and what she has sacrificed in her own life in order to be the kind of mother she wanted Tris to have.

I realized after putting this list together that the main themes in all these mother-child relationships are selflessness and sacrifice, accompanied by unconditional love.  I’d say that’s a pretty good summary of what it takes to be a mother.

Happy almost-Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!