WOMAN NO. 17 pushes the limits of identity as well as exploring what happens when someone tries to be someone else. Filled with secrets, lies, and duplicity, this book is highly complex story that reads like your favorite trashy beach read. The author manages to weave together extremely developed and complicated issues with such a fluid narrative that it was not until the end that I realized how amazing this book actually is.

While I was reading, I got so caught up in the drama that I didn’t even process the all the layers of S, Lady, and the story until I finished. Then, on top of everything else, there is the pursuit of S’s artistic vision. It shows a deeply flawed girl looking for something through this art project she has committed to. WOMAN NO. 17 is a must read for anyone who loves a darker read about a family that is so far from perfect you can’t help but be pulled into their world.

This book was absolutely spectacular! Thank you for the opportunity to read and rate it!

I loved Lepucki's previous novel, California, so I was eager to read Woman No. 17. However, it didn't really live up to my expectations as I found it difficult to connect to the characters. They were very unlikable, and it was often hard to relate to their actions. However, the writing was sharp and fresh. I was interested to see where the book was going, but unfortunately I don't feel like it really paid off for me.

Woman No. 17 was pretty dreadful. First off, one of the main character's name's is Lady. It's so aggravating, because a lot of the dialogue sounds like a joke. "Hey, Lady." "Whoa there, Lady." "Blah, blah, Lady." (Not actual quotes, obviously.) It drove me insane.

Secondly, everyone is this novel is terrible, except some of the side characters - Esther's dad, for example, seriously seems like such a terrific and kind-hearted dad. While I can usually still enjoy a novel where I hate the characters, they were all so insufferable in this novel that there was no recovering from that. Everyone was selfish and there was an awful possessiveness that several of the characters seem to hold over one another.

The most interesting part of the novel for me was the relationship between Esther (S) and Lady's older son, Seth. I was so intrigued by the connection the two shared, which seemed so deep due to the fact that Seth couldn't speak to her, but she could very much understand him. I believe their relationship is the one thing that carried me through the book.

I would classify this book as dark, but not quite a thriller. I've seen it labeled thriller a lot, but I strongly feel that it doesn't fall into that genre.

Overall, I didn't enjoy this novel - but I think others may. I would recommend not going into this novel with any kind of expectations, and just reading it as it is.

I really enjoyed this story of two interesting women charting their courses in life and sharing a summer while each facing their own "mommy issues."

I seem to be in the minority here because I absolutely loved this book – everything about it, from the complicated female main characters to the twisty and surprising plot, checks boxes off my reading wish list. Woman No. 17 is a darkly humorous noir novel about women and the roles they take on – mother, wife, daughter, lover – and the boundaries they break to redefine those roles. It also explores the importance of female friendship, and how well we can ever know the people that share our deepest secrets.

Lady Daniels lives in the wealthy Hollywood Hills, overlooking Los Angeles. Newly separated from her husband Karl, Lady decides to hire a nanny to care for her toddler son while she works on her memoir. Far from being as privileged and entitled as she sounds, Lady grew up poor and feels like an imposter in the hills. She raised her older – now eighteen-year-old – son, Seth, on her own and struggled to get by until she met and fell in love with Karl. Lady struggled financially, but also emotionally, as she coped with raising a nonverbal son who has been diagnosed with selective mutism – he can hear and is capable of speaking, but communicates instead through sign language or his iPad. Lady’s memoir is about life with a nonverbal child, but her secrets are holding her back from even beginning the book.

Esther is a college student in her 20s, struggling to find her place in the world. She applies for the nanny job on a whim, and Lady hires her without even bothering to check her references – fortunately for Esther, who is in the process of reinventing herself as “S”, and turning her whole life into an art project in which she channels her erratic, alcoholic mother. Instead of repelling people, as she expected, the entire Daniels family is drawn into S’s exciting, charismatic personality. She becomes a confidante for both Lady and Seth, creating dangerous undercurrents of intimacy and shocking conflict.

The first person point of view alternates between Lady and S, including flashbacks into their dark pasts. Both women had horrible, neglectful mothers which formed them into the women they are now, often in unexpected ways. This novel explores so many powerful issues, such as alcoholism, anxiety, depression, abuse and low self-esteem, to name a few – these are universal themes, but here they are viewed with a decidedly female slant. This is far from chick-lit, and it was exciting and reaffirming to read about strong women with all their faults – Lady and S made incredibly bad decisions, but they are good, honest, complex and real.

The title of the novel refers to a series of photographs taken of various women, seemingly caught unaware in their natural environment of cluttered kitchens and unmade beds. The photographer is Lady’s sister-in-law, and it is never clear if it was her intention to objectify these women or to empower them. I think the novel, at least, is about women using their own agency to shift the boundaries of womanhood – to go from being an art object to being able to accept themselves, without pretending to be someone else. In the end, all the secrets come out, and it is just as dark and twisty as you expect it to be – but at the same time, I laughed out loud many times, in both recognition and amazement at Lepucki’s uncanny ability to capture these vicious, sensitive, complex characters.

I received this book from Crown Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Crown Publishing and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Woman No. 17. This is my honest opinion of the book.

Writer Lady Daniels, in an attempt to finish her memoir with a toddler in the house, hires a live-in nanny to take care of him and to keep an eye on her non-verbal teenage son. Going through a trial separation from her husband Karl complicates matters, as Lady is uncertain as to their ultimate status. Esther, or S as she would prefer, quickly becomes an indispensable part of the family. Keeping her true reasons for taking the job a secret, will S's presence in the household serve to disrupt the perfect façade that Lady tries to project? Will both of their lives come crashing down?

Told in the dual perspectives of Lady and Esther, Woman No. 17 is the story of carefully guarded secrets that have a way of being exposed at the worst possible moment. Esther's manipulations and Lady's insecurities are what drives each of these women. The biggest issues that I had with this book were the transparency of the story and the lack of a good, sympathetic main character. Lady does redeem herself a bit by the end, but it was far too late to resurrect the book from an average rating.

I had a very weird experience with this novel, and I still don't know what to make of it. The story is told in alternating perspectives between Lady and S. Both characters were unique and yet they were inherently the same, which was just such an interesting concept to see. I can't say I ever liked Lady or S but they had this essence that pulled at me, that kept me interested in the story, that made me want to see exactly how far they would go to get what they wanted. The other characters were equally complex and the author did a fantastic job in creating stellar complex interactions between everyone. In fact, the author's writing style was something I really enjoyed; it pulled me in at the very beginning and it kept me interested until the last page.

My problem was with the plot. Or lack of it. As I kept reading, I found myself confused by the sudden flashbacks that didn't really have any purpose, the references to things that I didn't really care about. I felt like everything was leading me up to something ... but that something never showed up. Yes, Lady and S both made bad decisions that made me want to slap them. Yes, the author definitely made them complex. But there didn't seem to be any point to anything. I mean ... I guess they grew through this situation? But it wasn't like anything really happened to make them grow or change or develop. If what I'm saying makes no sense, then you understand my experience with the plot: it made no sense. Maybe it's because I have no background (or interest) in art; perhaps someone with a knowledge of the art world would enjoy this novel more. However, it just didn't do anything to bolster the plot for this novel. 

So while the author definitely has a talent for writing and developing strong complex characters, the plot was ultimately a disappointment. Because of the positives, I am willing to give this novel 3/5 stars.

I finished this book yesterday and had to give myself some time to wrap my brain around what I just read. This is probably one of the most difficult reviews I have had to write. Overall, did I love the book? No, not really. Did I connect with the characters and root them on? No. I thought they were out of control insane. Did I have trouble putting down? Yes! This book reminds me of a bad car accident. You want to give the victims their privacy and you know you shouldn't look (or keep reading) but you just can't help it. Every single character in this book is a hot mess!

My biggest complaint after finishing this book is that I felt like from the beginning I kept asking myself, "where is this going?". I was exhausted when I finished. Why? I just went on a a journey that kept going around in circles for 320 pages.

I could see many people loving this story I just felt a strong disconnect. Honestly, I will probably recommend it to other people just to hear what they think. I do not think that that you have to love every character you read but this one I was glad that I didn't pay for it and that it was a summer read.

I will say that the reason I gave three stars is because the writing is really good. Edan Lepucki has a way with words. The book was easy to read and she had a great sense of humor and I love her voice that shines through in her writing! This one may not have been for me but I would like to read another book by her.

Thank you Netgalley and Crown Publishing for a digital copy of this book in trade for a fair and honest review.

Woman No. 17 was not at all what I expected. It was described in the publisher’s blurb as “sinister, sexy noir about art, motherhood, and the intensity of female friendships, set in the posh hills above Los Angeles.” Unfortunately, I didn’t get the “sinister, sexy noir” vibe and the art piece struck me as ridiculous (though, I’m admittedly not an art person).

It’s hard for me to really pin down what this story is about…there are multiple storylines, which felt muddled to me. Is it about Lady navigating her newly separated status? Her friendship with S? Her relationship with her children, particularly her teenage son? S’s oddball art project? S’s relationship with her parents? I have no idea! The most compelling story for me was Lady’s relationship with her teenage son, Seth, and I think I would have been happier had the book focused just on that. Or, at least been described in the blurb as a story about a mother and her son rather than a story about “female friendship.” Seth himself is a multi-faceted, engaging character that (possibly inadvertently) carried the book in my view. Sadly, it wasn’t enough for an overall win.

Set high in the Hollywood Hills, LA, Woman No. 17 is a contemporary 'dramedy' with a razor sharp, edgy dialogue and a dark creepy undertone, an undertone in my opinion that didn't really surface. There are some real comedic moments where I laughed out loud, one of my favourite involving the shit-faced nanny and the pooch. Shamelessly, I loved it.

Pearl 'Lady' Daniels, the mother of two boys, one a lively toddler, Devin, and his half brother, 18 year old Seth, has been commissioned to write a book. A book about motherhood and caring for children with special needs. A book which she has no true impetus to write. She hires a nanny to enable her to concentrate on writing without the distraction of family interruptions or routines. This solution in itself brings its own distractions. Lady is a complex woman with a simmering mass of emotion and hidden depths to her personality that will gradually bubble over during the course of the story.

Esther Shapiro has a very strong dual personality, hers and that of her alter persona of 'S' Fowler which lends an underlying creepiness into the mix. Esther a 21 year old college graduate is committed to her latest piece of conceptual art, 'The Katherine May Project' where she will devote every waking moment to impersonating her mother as a young girl. There's nothing she won't do to succeed in the project. Esther, transformed into the unshaven, plain faced, drably dressed, renamed 'S' Fowler is taken on as the Daniels' live-in nanny.

Seth's character is somewhat unique and impressive. As a mute, self imposed or not really doesn't necessitate too much contemplation, Edan has given depth and perception to a character that could so easily have fallen into the background, or have been one-dimensional at best. He uses his iPad, Twitter feed and sign language, including secret signings for Lady, to communicate and interact in a believable fashion.

Early on its pretty obvious that a relationship is inevitable between the nanny and Seth. It is a relationship that will have a troubling, powerful impact on all three of them.

During the course of alternating perspectives and back stories, a fuller understanding of how the complexities of the family dynamic, significantly that of the mother-daughter relationships, have shaped the women into who they have ultimately become. Sometimes full of selfish tendencies as with Lady not wanting to share Seth with anyone for fear of losing him, and dismissing Devlin's needs in order to fulfill her own; and Esther with her utter disregard for those caught up in her performance art, as she causes upset and mayhem, crossing boundaries, and taking advantage of everyone to the point of exploitation, all for the cause of her art.

I really enjoyed Edan Lepucki's second novel and think it perfect for fans of art literature or anyone wanting to read something 'off-centre' about art and dysfunctional relationships.

Highly recommended.

Hmm what to say about this book. I really enjoyed the author’s first book, California, but this one was completely different. The two main characters were both pretty unlikable and some of the scenarios described seemed a little far fetched but then again, I grew up in Minnesota, far from the Hollywood lifestyle so what do I know. I didn’t feel emotionally connected to any of the characters. More often than not I just wanted to ask them wtf they were doing. I think this was an interesting look at motherhood and how one child can be so different from another. If you are offended by some language, excessive drinking, and sex scenes, I would hesitate before picking this one up. I was hoping for something I enjoyed a little more. It was good but I don’t think I will read it again.

I received an advanced reader's copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Woman No. 17 was described as dark in it's synopsis. I would give it more of a completely dysfunctional vibe. It was like no other book I have read recently. A refreshing change of pace would not be accurate - more like a sweaty, uncomfortable change of pace.

The story line transition between Lady, mom of two boys, and S, the nanny to the younger of the two boys. As different as their descriptions are, their characters were just as similar. An unlikely pair who needed each other in this point in their lives.

I liked it. Would I read it again? Probably not. But I would be interested in knowing where the characters are after this book. The end did give us a glimpse 8 months in the future, but I'm curious enough to know more. I think that's a sign of a good book!

This book was a fairly dark look at motherhood with a pretty unlikeable main character. I had a hard time liking it although I appreciate the great writing and the originality of the plot.

I couldn't get into this one. I can see how it would appeal to other readers but it just wasn't for me!

I can’t remember the last time I stayed up all night just to finish a book. It’s not just the world that Lepucki creates inside the Hollywood Hills—this mix of old money meeting new money within the same family–but the characters themselves that made me want to keep reading. This is one of those books where it doesn’t feel like anything is going on besides your usual mother-child relationship strain and marriage strain until suddenly everyone’s intricate web of lies starts to fall apart. And then there’s no way you can put the book down without seeing how everything plays out.

Esther, a vain Berkely Grad whose Yale-bound ex-boyfriend told her she definitely wasn’t an artist, is out to prove him wrong. After a failed attempt to create a splash in her hometown with a guerilla campaign, Esther starts a new project. She moves to Hollywood to live with her mother and now goes by S. Meanwhile, Lady (that’s her actual name) is handling being a newly (again) single mother to her teenage mute son, Seth, and a toddler, Devin, who never stops talking after she kicks her husband out. Lady hires (the now homely) S to be their live-in nanny.

Both women, S and Lady, struggle through understanding who they are in these new roles which inevitably brings them closer together. So close, Lady begins to tell S all of her secrets—secrets that she’s kept hidden from her family, and will do anything to keep it that way.

And S has secrets of her own, like why she took the nanny position in the first place. But her performance art starts to become less of an act the more she drinks and the closer she gets to Lady’s son, Seth.

As we enter beach reading season, Edan Lepucki’s sophomore novel is a must-read. It’s the perfect mix of darkness, comedy, and explorations of motherhood, female friendships, and competition. This book won’t let you put it down.

It seems like a normal encounter played out over and over. Lady Daniels is an aspiring writer, living in Southern California. She wants to hire a nanny to watch her two year old son while she writes. She is newly separated from her husband and determined to have success in this new arena. S is a recently graduated college student who is looking for a live-in nanny job for a while until she decides what to do. They quickly come to an agreement and S moves into the guest house.

But below the normal surface, each woman has secrets to hide. Lady has never resolved her feelings about her older son. Seth is eighteen and is mute. He spoke one word as a toddler then never again tried and over the years lost the ability to do so. He is now an angry teen, still attached to his stepfather who has moved out at Lady's request and trying to define his own life. Lady is also trying to find her first love, Seth's father. She tells herself it is to find him closure but it is unsure if that is the truth.

S also has her own secrets. She has come to Los Angeles after a disastrous art project left her scorned in her prior city. Her real name is Esther but she is determined to cast off all ties to her past and reinvent herself. She comes to Lady's house in the midst of another art plan; she has deliberately made herself unattractive as she slips into an alternate persona. She is intrigued with Seth and they are drawn together. But even more, she is drawn to Lady when she realizes that Lady is one of a group of women made famous by the art of Kit Daniels. Lady hides the evidence of her former self as she feels taken advantage of by Kit, who has ended up being her sister-in-law.

As the summer progresses, the two women are drawn to each other and soon have a friendship that brings them ever closer. But a friendship cannot survive on deceit and lies and that is what each is feeding the other. The summer starts to spiral out of control to a climatic end that will change everything in everyone's lives going forward.

Edan Lepucki shot to prominence in the literary world with the publication of her debut novel, California. Her work has appeared in various magazines and she is an instructor in the UCLA Extension program. This is her second novel and it explores the worlds of friendship and of duplicity and the corrosive effect of secrets on relationships. This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

I wouldn't be surprised if this book gets some negative reviews because of the unlikable characters - and make no mistake, there's not much to like about any of them. But generally I find unlikable characters more interesting and more realistic. I mean, I feel like I'm pretty well liked in my life but I also related to some of the selfishness these women exhibit. Maybe we don't like the mirror held up to our own souls, but I love to see how other (characters) deal with the stupid situations I sometimes get myself into.

The book switches between Lady, recently separated and living in the Los Angeles hills with her two sons, and "S" (for Esther), a Berkeley transplant recently graduated and trying to find herself. S gets a job as nanny to Lady's youngest son while also getting a little too close to the teenage, mute son. Both women have mommy issues, both likely also have daddy issues, both are thoughtless, selfish, narcissistic and neurotic, and did I mention they have issues?

Seriously, these people are not very likable, but I was fascinated anyway. I think the fantastic writing is what keeps the reader hooked. The author is just a couple steps away from a great piece of contemporary literature, and I'm very excited to see where her future writing goes.

Not everything about the book was perfect. Lady and S live such parallel lives that I sometimes got confused with who was telling the story when they went back in time. S's "artistic plan" feels like a bit of bullshit, but having known several artistic people I can't quite say its unrealistic or implausible. I wish we got some real answers about the mute son. And in what I consider a better way to end books, nothing is really tied up with a nice bow.

Yeah, I know, this is a bit all over the place and I seem to be giving five stars to several unlikable characters and a problematic story. But the writing brings this book to another level. It's also kind of a fascinating look into mother/daughter relationships, and how complicated they can be. I don't want to say anything else about the story, just go into it blind and enjoy it.

What's the name for this category? Kooky fiction? There seems to be a new genre of lightly comic, slightly offbeat new novels from women writers e.g. The Portable Veblen. I'd bracket this one alongside it. Savvy, modern, amusing, a bit inconsequential. I enjoyed it. But the earth didn't move.

This book was, in one word, underwhelming. The blurb advertises a "sinister, sexy noir" and relationships that take a "disturbing" and "destructive" turn. I saw none of that. The novel does capture some hints of noir in its cynicism and moral ambiguity, but the overall tone is not dark and moody, and there's no mystery. It is gritty in some of its descriptions of sex, bodily fluids, etc, but almost in a way that seems like it's trying too hard.

Most of the novel takes place in Hollywood Hills, an affluent California neighborhood where Lady, one of the protagonists, lives with her two sons. Seth is eighteen years old and suffers from selective mutism. Marco, Seth's father, abandoned Lady when Seth was barely two years old. Now, Lady is separated from her husband, Karl, with whom she has a toddler named Devin. In order to write her memoir of her life with Seth, Lady hires a nanny to watch Devin. The nanny Lady hires - which she does without conducting a background check or following up on references - is Esther "S" Fowler, who decides to become a nanny as part of an elaborate art project wherein she "becomes" her mother by dressing like her and adopting her alcoholism.

I feel like this book had a lot of potential, but it all ultimately fizzled out, resulting in a lot of pretentiousness and inane aphorisms. The entire novel seemed to be building up to something significant, an explosive conclusion, but the conclusion was incredibly anti-climactic and abrupt, to the point where I wondered if this were intentional. I also expected a lot more of the friendship between S and Lady, which really only materialized towards the very end of the book and then fizzled out rather quickly when Lady discovers something about S. The very final chapter skips eight months ahead. I'm normally fond of time jumps, but this one did not really provide me with closure or any sort of new information, so I think it should have either been scrapped or altered.

I also expected to see more of their relationships with the protagonists' respective mothers, since that seemed to be such a huge part of the plot. The book had some interesting implicit commentary on motherhood, but again, it never really reaches any sort of satisfying conclusion, never really digs deep the way I wanted it to. Lady is unhealthily attached to her son Seth and wants to keep him all to herself; there are some disturbing sexual undertones to this relationship particularly given how Lady talks about Seth's father, and I honestly thought that was where this was headed, but in the end it yet another detail that was just...there. There was a lot more that could have been said about motherhood and the toll it takes, the necessary sacrifice, the belief that once you are a mother you are no longer a person...the book circled around all that but it never really commits to anything.

Essentially, this novel felt like a whole lot of Chekhov's Guns strewn about. Very little happens that isn't just rich, privileged white people being dissatisfied with their lives. It's that sort of pretentious MFA literary fiction that tries to unveil some sort of universal truth but ultimately just ends up being pompous. It was difficult to relate to either character's ~ennui when both of them are so well-off and have people in their lives who care very much about them (both men, interestingly the women in this book are not shown in a positive light at all). That said, the book was a quick read, and it definitely wasn't boring despite the lack of plot, so that speaks to some writing talent (and the writing does have some pretty unique and fresh metaphors)! I'm probably being overly critical because I had such high expectations for a book that is way outside of my preferred genres.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!