THE PERFECT BOOK GROUP SUMMER READ FROM BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF THE ENGAGEMENTS AND MAINEI LOVED IT Meg Wolitzer, author of The Female PersuasionHER BEST YET Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of Daisy Jones & The SixA SMART AND DEEPLY COMPELLING EXPLORATION OF FEMALE FRIENDSHIP Tom Perrotta, author of The LeftoversCAPTIVATING, WISE AND LAUGH-OUT-LOUD FUNNY Ann Napolitano, author of Dear Edward. Elisabeth, an accomplished journalist and new mother, is struggling to adjust to life in a small town after nearly twenty years in New York City. Alone in the house with her infant son all day (and awake with him much of the night), she feels uneasy, adrift. She neglects her work, losing untold hours to her Brooklyn moms Facebook group, her "influencer" sisters Instagram feed, and text messages with the best friend she never sees anymore. Enter Sam, a senior at the local womens college, whom Elisabeth hires to babysit. Sam is struggling to decide between the path shes always planned on and a romantic entanglement that threatens her ambition. Shes worried about student loan debt and what the future holds. In short, they grow close. But when Sam finds an unlikely kindred spirit in Elisabeths father-in-law, the true differences between the womens lives become starkly revealed and a betrayal has devastating consequences.A masterful exploration of motherhood, power dynamics, and privilege in its many forms, Friends and Strangers reveals how a single year can shape the course of a life