For quite a while now this book came up on my recommendations on Amazon and Goodreads. Reviewers on #cbr7 were enthusiastic. A friend breathlessly insisted I add it to the stack of books for the year. When the kindle price came down, I pounced.
In an Australian seaside town, children and parents alike converge upon a primary school for the introductory day of kindergarten. A chance meeting brings together three mothers, the “glittery girl” Madeline, the beautiful and wealthy Celeste and newcomer and single mother Jane. But soon it’s evident that things will not be easy.
It had never crossed her mind that sending your child to school would be like going back to school yourself.
I won’t spoil the twists and turns of this story. There’s a death, domestic violence, the challenges of blended families, ruminations on helicopter parenting and more. Told in a conversational fashion, with quick snippets of reportage filling out the narrative, it was a pretty quick read.
It’s not the worst four dollars ever spent but I can’t say I would recommend this to anyone else. What others have referred to as surprising or shocking seemed to be telegraphed miles ahead to me. But hey, I thought Gone Girl was contrived and tiresome. So perhaps these kinds of novels are just not my thing.
