One of the truest passages I marked in my book, a one-off line with no real importance to the story, was this: I obviously identified quite a bit with new mom Elisabeth, marveling at the rapid growth of her son and simultaneously needing a break while never wanting to leave him. But when they try to help, they get spun into a web of deceit and drama that’s impossible to untangle. Along with these themes is one of naivete, each character seems to think that another is clueless in one way or another. As far as I could tell, the races of these characters are never identified, but there is a heavy focus on class, money and privilege. This book also reminded me of another recent read, “Little Fires Everywhere,” for its focus on class rather than race. who thinks she’s going to move to England to marry him after graduation.

Not to mention the 35-year-old boyfriend… or fiance?. Spurred on by the “fight the power” spirit of Elisabeth’s father-in-law Sam makes a risky move to do something she thinks will help them, but finds herself more alienated than ever. Little does she know that Elisabeth is desperate to show off for anyone who will listen, and hiding a financial problem from everyone, even her husband.Īnd on the other end of the spectrum, Sam is attending a costly private college on scholarship, with friends who can fly to Paris on a whim, while also working in the dorm kitchen and befriending women who have to take home kitchen leftovers to feed their kids. She starts to find that someone in Sam, having family dinners and binging bad tv together, until Sam starts spending time with Elisabeth’s in-laws and noticing the casual way Elisabeth seems to throw around money, in a way that Sam could never dream of. However, where those characters revel in drama right up front (both of the self-made kind and thrust upon them), Elisabeth and her nanny, Sam, seem decidedly boring in a good way… at first.Įlisabeth misses her Brooklyn neighborhood so much that she stalks the “BK Mamas” Facebook group at all hours of the night, yearning for someone to talk to. If this premise sounds familiar, that’s because it’s nearly identical to “Such a Fun Age,” by Kiley Reid, another book I read and reviewed last year. “Friends and Strangers” follows Elisabeth, a new mom who’s also new in town, as she hires a part-time nanny from the local college. Courtney Sullivan since I read Commencement back in college, and even though her stories can be sort of fantastical (and a tad unbelievable) at times, I still love her style of writing. This was a great read to start off my year. Join me in this journey! #marissareadsmore I'm also trying to better educate myself about important issues so that I can be an ally and a positive voice. Recently, I've been reading a lot more board books than novels, so I'm trying to change my habits by posting book reviews for accountability.

Friends and strangers courtney sullivan