Plays Well with Others: A Novel By Sophie Brickman

Plays Well with Others is a wickedly funny and incisive debut novel that dives into the chaotic world of New York City parenting, akin to Where’d You Go, Bernadette and Fleishman Is in Trouble.

Annie Lewin, a former New York Times journalist now turned parenting advice columnist for an internet start-up, finds herself at her wit's end. As a mother of three young children with a workaholic husband, Annie is caught in the vicious competition for coveted kindergarten spots in NYC. Despite her skepticism about the madness of it all, Annie is swept up in the frenzy, going to extreme lengths to secure the best for her own son.

Her life is further complicated by an intensifying rivalry with Belinda Brenner, a hotshot lawyer and her perfectly curated nemesis. As Annie's life spins out of control, her advice column thrives, with each of her mishaps drawing more clicks and comments. However, after committing a disastrous social faux pas that goes viral, Annie is forced to question whether she is any better than the cutthroat parents she once judged.

Told through a clever mix of emails, group texts, advice columns, and newspaper profiles, Plays Well with Others is a fast-paced, satirical romp through the minefield of modern motherhood. Beneath its humorous surface, this epistolary novel offers a fresh and open-hearted exploration of the fierce love and craziness that defines parenthood. With its sharp wit and genuine insight, Plays Well with Others promises "heavenly hilarity for readers" (Good Housekeeping).