Book Review: "City People" by Elizabeth Topp

To a casual observer, Susan seemed to have it all: a successful career, marriage to a handsome banker, and two beautiful children. Maybe she became a bit unhinged in her quest to get her children's private school to serve healthier food, and she was burnt when none of the mothers in her group supported her, but everyone has their pet peeves. But everyone is absolutely stunned when Susan jumps to her death from the roof of her NYC apartment. Should they have seen this coming?

Susan was one of several mothers whose children were recommended for interviews at Kent, the most prestigious private school in New York. The list of Kent alumni is truly impressive, and each of the mothers knows that their child's future might very well be set if they are accepted. But beyond the pressure and machinations needed to try and tip the scales toward their child, each woman is dealing with her own issues as well.

Vic, herself a Kent graduate, is a struggling single mother and author suffering from writer's block. She also was Susan's best friend (or was she?) and she can't believe she never really saw that Susan was struggling. While she hopes that her experience as an alum will help her daughter's case, she isn't quite sure how she's going to pay for school anyway. And she can't seem to get her high school love out of her mind...

Bhavna is a marketing executive for a cosmetics company, almost sure that her son will get accepted to Kent. And once she lands a major campaign at work and her husband closes a big business deal, they can move to a better part of the city and finally live the life they have dreamed of. How far is she willing to go to get what she wants?

Penelope and Kara are best friends, and seem like clones of one another, until you look closely. Penelope is the daughter of a wealthy family and is the president of the parents' association at the preschool. She's determined to prove her own worth as a businesswoman, and believes that another mother, Amy, may be the key to her success. Kara becomes obsessed with Susan's suicide and the suspicions around her death, in part because it reminds her of her own sister, who took her own life.

Chandice, who left her law career upon the birth of her son, faces an uphill battle as she fights breast cancer. The more she wants her son to get into Kent, the more she struggles with the other aspects of her life, like trying to go back to work.

There were a lot of people to keep track of in this book, and after a while many of them seemed to blur into one another. The book starts and ends with Susan's narration, and then shifts between all of the other mothers. Some of the threads were more interesting than others, but overall I feel like the author was trying for a Big Little Lies feel but I don't think it hit that target.

Thanks to Amazon First Reads and Little A for an advance copy of this book, which publishes 11/1.