City Mouse

April 10, 2017
Lender’s debut novel tells the story of a young family on the brink of change. Unable to find the space they need for the right price in New York City, Aaron finally convinces his wife, Jessica, to move out to the Connecticut suburbs with their two young daughters. A working mom in love with her job and the big city, Jessica takes some convincing. But when they move, the Victorian house and the new neighbors are just the change Jessica needed. Their shiny new home and vibrant friends, however, quickly begin to lose their luster. Commuting is the nightmare Jessica imagined, and she misses the walks around the city and easy dining options. She also struggles to keep up with her new friends, who are mostly stay-at-home moms, free to organize school and charity events. Although desperate to fit in and make this new life work, Jessica can’t get over her disgust for her new friends’ grade-school-level cattiness and excessive partying. When eventually invited to a beach trip with the neighborhood moms, Jessica jumps at the chance to get away, relax, and really get to know her new friends. But her weekend away uncovers a host of secrets and scandals that make her question her family’s move even more. Lender’s enlightening, beautifully plotted novel dives deep into the notion of having it all while playing with the shallow notions of the American dream.

April 1, 2017
Sharing a bedroom with two young daughters is bound to damage a marriage. So a move from a cramped apartment to the suburbs sounds like a dream come true for Manhattanites Jess and Aaron.Their new, spacious home in Suffern offers lots of amenities, from a heated driveway to a deck begging for an upscale grill. But Jess and Aaron had not bargained on the neighborhood clique. Before she can even shower, let alone finish unpacking their boxes, Jess is swept up by Alyson, the alpha she-wolf, and her girlfriends. Alcohol-drenched parties rife with gossip fill most nights, while the days pass through a bewildering array of toddler dance classes, mommy breakfasts, and an extensive cast of nannies-on-duty. At first flattered to be part of the popular crowd, Jess is savvy enough--after all, she does work in a New York City advertising firm catering to Broadway--to notice troubling fractures. While making catty remarks and mercilessly judging the excluded neighbors seems par for the course, Jess is disturbed by incidents of parental neglect and insensitive remarks about the less-privileged nannies. When she accidentally oversteps the line Alyson has drawn for her, Jess faces a whiplash-quick scolding and the punishment of a temporary freeze-out. The women's annual getaway weekend, however, finally shatters Jess' dreams. Fun and games descend into debauchery and potentially incriminating evidence captured on Alyson's cellphone. Debut novelist Lender sharply portrays the corrupt privilege of upper-middle-class suburbanites, and with a twist of her pen, the Stepford Wives take the upper hand over their husbands. Yet as she establishes the women's social power, she leaves the men's foibles mostly offstage. Consequently, the tension building up over possible blackmail fizzles out, but the climactic explosion takes everyone by surprise. A bracingly tart portrait of suburban hell.

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