Trouble

We Could Be Heroes

By: Janelle Brown

Narrated by: January LaVoy

Length: 1 hr and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

What does it take to be a good mother? A good neighbor? Straight answers are hard to find in this keenly observed short story by New York Times bestselling author Janelle Brown.

Polly’s fourth-grade daughter has been spending a lot of time with her classmate Sylvie—maybe too much. Sylvie’s clothes are a little…flashy…and her phone (a ten-year-old with a phone!) doesn’t seem to have any parental controls. It seems that Sylvie’s mother, with her vape pens and her too-high heels, may not be making good choices. As Polly tries to exert a positive influence, she discovers just how little anyone can tell about a family from the outside.

Janelle Brown’s Trouble is part of We Could Be Heroes, a darkly inquisitive collection of short stories that examines heroic intentions versus their real-life consequences. Read or listen to each in a single sitting.

©2023 Janelle Brown. (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Meh

Meh. This story was told from only one perspective which I always find to be so limiting. There was so much build up... jumping to conclusions, misunderstanding actions, manipulation, and differences in parenting styles... all for a lackluster ending.
Part of the Kindle Unlimited catalog.

An interesting story

This was an okay quick read to listen to on my morning walk. The story was quite predictable but left some unanswered questions. Worth the price of free 😬

Very predictable story

The performance is good but the storyline is a bit predictable. Just listening it to pass time. I guess this is a bit of a fable kind of story, telling rich white ladies don’t meddle too much and be so righteous before knowing the full picture.

Great short story

I’m loving this short story series. This one definitely left me wanting more! Hoping for another part for sure! Great characters and storyline.

Short

I just finished this … I really didn’t like Polly. , I felt like she was too judgemental. But overall it was a great short story.

A short story.

A short story about middle school girls growing up. But some want to gro up faster than others. And one girl in this story is extremely manipulative and will do whatever it takes to get what she wants.

Quick listen

I wish this had been longer; it was an intriguing story, but it felt underdeveloped. Excellent narration.

I enjoyed the narrator

This was probably my least favorite of this collection of stories in the "We could be heroes" anthology. Not that it was bad, because it wasn't, but it was the one that I had a couple of issues with.

The story is based on a stressed out mother of two who seems to do nothing but apologize for the fact that her family is well off while at the same time, she looks down on others for certain attributes that she deems inappropriate. Her husband does something in the film industry and is out of town for most of this story.

The story arc focuses on a certain new young child (age 10) who is a new student at her daughters private school. The girl is obviously not up to the "standards" that the other children obviously are, and to add to that her mother's appearance calls into question what her occupation might be. This girl dresses in ways that cause concern for the mothers, talks about things they deem inappropriate and has a brand new iPhone - able to watch TikTok and be on social media without supervision. All things that the school mothers have banded together on the same page to set parameters (way in the future) for these items - such as social media access.

The story revolves around manipulation. But who is manipulating who? It attempts to be somewhat of a psychological thriller and does work for the most part. Unfortunately, there is not enough time to fully create any level of investment on the part of the reader. And, most importantly, I never really liked the main female MC. She comes across as arrogant at times, weak at others and condescending most of the time.

The ending which I think was supposed to be a shocker was just more of an "okay". At least for me.

Narrator seem to call the character, poly and Holly at different times

Poly made some wrong assumptions, but was convinced she was right good twist at the end

Victim, Manipulator or Both?

Thank you for writing this short, compelling story. However, I have to admit, I get a little bored reading about the guilt of people who have either been successful, or have by good or bad luck, inherited money. This book does sprinkle in the “privilege” theme a little extra, but I was relieved that the overall message was about the difficulties of navigating a child’s claims of abuse and neglect.

It’s very challenging as an outsider looking in to know who to believe or where to turn. In terms of getting involved, If you don’t know how bad it really is, there is the potential of putting the child into an even worse situation if they are removed from the home. There is also the risk of CPS getting involved, making a couple of home visits, determining there is no proof of abuse or neglect, and then the child, as well as you and your family, face possible retaliation from the parents. Also, from my personal experience, children, especially girls, who have been raised in emotionally or physically abusive homes, or even by manipulative parents, learn at an early age to be manipulative, and they can be very good at it, so you never quite know who or what to believe, or how much risk you should pose to your own family to get involved.

As a person raised in a dysfunctional home, and one that has tried to take custody of a niece, and does have custody of a nephew, I can relate to all of this. I also found the subtle resentment of a mother whose life was turned upside down and then became all about her children, and the internal struggle of also being grateful that it can be a about her children, very realistic.