Small Animals interrogates how we weigh risk as parents, how we judge one another’s parenting and what the costs might be — not just to parents, but to children, too — of a culture of constant surveillance ... At times, Brooks’s summaries of academic thought can seem dutiful and rushed; she’s best when she takes the time to digest the material and present her own insights.
In Small Animals, Brooks seeks not to defend herself or walk readers through the grueling years of court dates, panic and punishment that followed that sunny March day. Instead, she explores the 'why' of it all ... Brooks explores both the legal and cultural forces shaping American parenting, fearlessly and brilliantly illuminating the influences of the media, socioeconomic class and the watchful gaze of other parents ... Reading Small Animals feels like enjoying a particularly stimulating conversation with a friend over coffee. Brooks does not whine, cajole or beg; she simply asks the questions ... Refreshingly, Brooks is not afraid to confront her own privilege ... Brooks does speak to women of different races and classes, but does not claim to be able to tell their stories ... What she can do, and has done beautifully in Small Animals, is ask her readers to give mothers the right to be rational.
Parents will flock to read the first nonfiction book from Brooks ... [Small Animals is an] engaging account of life as a modern-day parent blends memoir and her research from interviews with other parents, psychiatrists, and parenting experts ... arents will see themselves in Brooks’ personal account of parenting and may relate to the dramatic experience from her own life that frames the book ... Parents who are seeking advice, rather than reflection, will appreciate the vast number of other titles Brooks cites throughout the book. Small Animals belongs on the shelves of every public library.
Consulting experts, authors and other mothers, Brooks uncovers some explanations for overblown parenting worries, including parents’ perceptions of what they can control, their horror at rare but headline-making tragedies, and their sense of being judged by other parents ... My one frustration is that Brooks underemphasizes the fact that it’s mostly mothers worrying about this stuff. She tends to refer to 'parents' and 'mothers' interchangeably, as if dads shared these burdens equally. Yet Brooks takes responsibility for providing most of the hypervigilance.
Brooks's own personal experience provides the narrative thrust for the book — she writes unflinchingly about her own experience. In the pages, Brooks is extremely relatable. She writes about her children and her parents with a wry humor that helps the reader really get a sense of who she is as a person. It's a quality that makes her endearing and frustrating ... Readers who want to know what happened to Brooks will keep reading to learn how the case against her proceeds, but it's Brooks's questions about why mothers are so judgmental and competitive that give the book its heft.
Unsurprisingly, given her background, much of Small Animals feels like fictionalization. There’s a lot of dialogue, including reconstructed third-hand scenes. The book is short, and the seams where occurrences have been stitched into narratives show through. Like other books that emerge from viral articles, Small Animals includes the story of its publication and the public’s overwhelming response. I wish writers would leave these parts out; although a huge online reaction is a good reason for an agent or a publisher to bring a project into existence, I don’t find that information adds much to the actual books ... Small Animals is best when Brooks leaves her own (compelling, albeit article-length) story behind and starts talking with child development experts and advocates about the social changes in which she’s been unwillingly tucked.
An incisive investigation ... [Brooks] skillfully interlinks her personal story with interviews of other mothers ... She also provides a well-researched look at the American parenting system ... An engaging, enlightening story that reveals the potential harm parents and society can do to children when they don’t allow them any freedoms at all.
[A] disturbing, ultimately affirming look at why parenting in the contemporary United States is defined by fear ... Throughout this book, readers will be eager to reach the conclusion and discover the ultimate outcome of the author’s misstep, and along the way, will learn much about U.S. culture today.
