I recently attempted to read "Plays Well With Others" and unfortunately, I found it quite challenging to get through. While the premise had potential, I struggled with the pacing and character development, which made it hard for me to stay engaged.

Despite my best efforts, I found myself losing interest and having to put the book down several times. It just didn’t capture my attention in the way I hoped it would. The writing felt drawn out, and I often found myself wondering when the story would pick up.

In the end, I had to admit defeat and stop reading altogether. It’s disappointing because I wanted to enjoy it, but sometimes a book just doesn’t resonate. I’m sure others might find value in it, but for me, it just didn’t click.

what was actually going on? lol. the blurb was interesting, but the writing didn't suit my taste and I couldn't follow the story. sorry.

My son is thirty now, but I’m still drawn to books that recreate the highs and lows of parenting littles: toddlers that won’t sleep, friendships with other moms, school drama, competitive sports. There’s a universality to these experiences that make them natural fodder for novels in every genre. But time and distance has also given me perspective on how unique some of my experiences were, and how privileged our options. I’m starting to see these books in a slightly different light.

In reporter Sophie Brickman’s first novel, Plays Well With Others, NYC mom Annie Lewin is headed for a nervous breakdown. With three kids under five (two in preschool), a nanny, a two-story penthouse apartment, a husband who works constantly at his own fund, and a part-time job writing an advice column for moms, Annie is pushed to the brink by the process for finding her genius son Sam a place in one of NYC’s amazing and competitive private schools. Her friendships start to fray: she’s jealous of wealthy divorce lawyer Belinda even though their sons are best friends; she hallucinates that a black hole is trying to suck her down. But as her advice columns become more unhinged, Annie earns the 21st century’s most coveted status: She goes viral. Will her new popularity help Annie and her family… or blow up in her face?

Plays Well With Others is very well-written, which is not surprising considering Brickman’s long list of publication credits. Annie is a funny woman who, at least in the beginning of the book, has a wry voice and some perspective about her situation. Her descent into irrationality—along with her crush on a dad at her kids’ pre-school—is something that any woman who stayed up all night to design her son’s PTA directory can appreciate.

And yet, Annie is not someone that every mom can connect to. She and her husband both went to Harvard. Annie was an arts reporter for the New York Times before taking on the advice column gig. Her husband makes so much money that specific amounts are never mentioned. Her nanny might live in or not; a scene from later in the book implies that either she lives in or Annie is fine with her children being alone in the apartment overnight.

Plays Well With Others has been compared to Fleishman is in Trouble, another novel about how parenting in NYC can make a woman lose her mind. (Fleishman, however, is not told from the point of the view of the mom who actually does have the nervous breakdown.) No one in these books ever mentions moving to New Jersey or Long Island or Connecticut or any town within train distance to the city that has an exceptional public school system, except as a mean joke. Nor does anyone think about working with the neighbors to turn around their public school.

New York City is still the sun in the publishing universe, so it’s not surprising that editors and acquisition teams would connect with these characters. Who doesn’t like to read about themselves? For most women, though, sympathizing with a woman because her brilliant son might get into a “safety” school that features numerous playgrounds, small classes, and lots of chances for a child to be himself is almost impossible. This is not a criticism of Brickman’s writing talent, which is strong, but a plea for publishers to realize that a reader’s ability to connect to characters should be the most important factor in a book’s marketability.

Truthfully, I did connect with Annie, because I was a privileged mother who struggled to get her son into private school, and when that didn’t happen, we moved to a better school district. And it wasn’t until I moved to Florida and got out of the Washington D.C. bubble that I realized how unusual our experiences really were, in comparison with the rest of the country’s families. As for Annie, an epilogue written fifteen years in the future adds further twists to her story that I would have liked to see play out. Losing her status, however, didn’t seem to be one of them.

Plays Well with Others by Sophie Brickman was a light and humorous read.
I throughly enjoyed this witty and lighthearted novel.
The plot was intricate and well-thought through. I was invested from the first to last page.

Thank You NetGalley and William Morrow for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

“Plays Well with Others” by Sophie Brickman takes readers into the chaotic and competitive world of NYC’s elite preschools, where the children seem to get along better than their ambitious, often neurotic mothers. At the center of the story is Annie Lewin, a former New York Times reporter turned advice columnist for moms. As she navigates life with three young kids and the pressures of high-stakes preschool admissions, Annie finds herself overwhelmed by the relentless demands of motherhood and the superficiality of her social circle. Brickman’s novel offers a satirical yet relatable glimpse into the lives of these mothers who outwardly play nice but are often driven by rivalry and insecurities.

The novel’s fast-paced narrative, witty dialogue, and sharp observations make it a fun, light read, perfect for the beach or a quick escape. Brickman draws vivid parallels between the behavior of preschool children and their parents, often highlighting the absurdity of their adult interactions. As someone who has raised kids in private schools, I found the depiction of Annie’s struggles both entertaining and reflective of the pressures many modern parents face. However, the book’s exaggerated portrayal of Annie’s unraveling, with her frantic attempt to balance her personal and professional life, occasionally felt disjointed and veered into a territory that was more chaotic than cohesive.

Despite its humor and engaging premise, the novel’s pacing and character development sometimes missed the mark. The story’s conclusion, including Annie’s divorce and new marriage, felt abrupt and underexplored, leaving loose ends that made the ending unsatisfactory. Annie’s character, while relatable in her flawed attempts to keep it all together, wasn’t always likable, which might make it challenging for some readers to fully root for her. Overall, “Plays Well with Others” is a witty, insightful read that offers a humorous yet critical look at the pressures of modern parenting in a hyper-competitive environment. While it has its shortcomings, it’s a story that many parents, especially those navigating the complexities of work-life balance, will find relatable and worth the read.

This book allowed for a lot of contemplation about what could happen if we made a public mistake that would follow us everywhere we go.

I loved the meditations on motherhood and navigating motherhood in the modern world. It was extremely raw and relatable.

Maybe I didn't understand the summary of the book, but I had a completely different idea of what the book was going to be like. I thought it was going to be funny and maybe for some readers it may be, but I found it kind of sad. It targeted the uber rich of NYC who would do almost ANYTHING to get their children into a "top" school. I think (although maybe it was written with a bit of sarcasm ) it was a look into these people's lives--and maybe to point out that money doesn't buy happiness, but I found it to be a slog. Another view of this world is a book by Stephanie Kiser: Wanted Toddler's Personal Assistant, maybe because it is non-fiction, it seems to provide a more humane picture of the very affluent NY parents. Plays Well With Others was a bit of the slog, with Annie dealing with her friends, her career, her children, her husband, and her oldest son's kindergarten education. There just seemed to be so much going on that none of it was believable--which maybe was the point...

I'm a sucker for satires of the New York elite and this fit in nicely. I appreciated the mixed media format but I thought it could have done a little more with it, and the epilogue came a little too suddenly and smugly for my liking with a whole lot of unanswered questions.

As a bonafide New York City, mom and writer, this book was super relatable and super cute!!!
If you already know this author from New York media, and read her parenting stuff, you will love this. Even if you don’t, please pick it up.

The preschool children in Sophie Brickman’s novel manage to get along pretty well together despite their rich, socially elite and somewhat neurotic mothers who play the odds trying to enroll their children into some of NYC’s top kindergartens. Annie Lewin is our main character. She used to be a respected reported for The NY Times but after marrying Dan and having three children in 4 years she now writes an advice column for mothers. Her life has taken on a frantic pace juggling three small kids, giving advice to mothers that she can’t seem to follow herself (all for more “clicks” and followers) and navigating the halls of Bartleby, a prestigious preschool “Where Play is Work.” Tiger Moms abound in the concrete jungle and Annie is on the edge of getting chewed up and spit out. These moms do not play well together although on the surface they pretend to!
I’m an old mom now having raised my own three kids to adulthood. But they were in private school and I can relate to some of what poor Annie is going through. I can’t imagine trying to raise three littles in that environment in NYC today. Not for the faint of heart! This novel is a fast read, has some fun language and humor, and I wanted to see how it would end. If you are raising kids today and trying to keep up but feel like somedays you just miss the mark I think you’d enjoy this. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the chance to read this!

Plays Well with Others by Sophie Brickman

I realize these days it’s dangerous to admit this, but I don’t have kids. I did, however, teach kindergarten for a few years. And honestly, there’s always one parent (or group of parents) who stick out. They volunteer to be the house mother. They sign up for every class trip. They are the first to show up for conferences, even though what you’re saying is nothing new.

But then there’s the next level. That’s where this book takes place. In the Upper East Side of NYC. Apparently to some people, you must start child development early and seriously. That’s what happens to Annie Lewin. I say I think because even now I am not too sure. Does Annie just get caught up in the rat race of prestigious parents wearing their children like accessories? Or does she truly lose it? I have no clue.

If you want a humorous book about the eccentricities of being a mom to three young kids, this isn’t it. If you want a book about Tiger moms pushing their kids too hard, there is something here. There are also far too many cliches here. Dan, Annie’s husband, cannot stay off planes long enough to parent or even listen to his wife. Dan is completely oblivious to everything because he thinks his kids will be legacies. The leader of the Mean Moms, Belinda is a hot shot divorce lawyer. There are two friends who try to keep Annie in check. Laura is local and another mom. Camila is Annie’s friend from Before, illustrating there are other ways to raise children.

Not only does Annie feel her whole identity change because of motherhood, her career is also under attack. She is an ex-Times arts writer, now stuck writing an advice column for - guess - moms! But with today’s online netscape trouncing tradition print, Annie is lost. Unfortunately, so was I.

I wanted to like this book more. I wanted to empathize with Annie. For a while I did. At the end of the book is an epilogue some years later. This feels like too much of a rushed afterthought - a way to end plotlines with a big bow. But it just doesn’t fit. Much like the rest of the things in the book. It is mildly entertaining but it just doesn’t have any great depth.

I wanted to like this but it was just not for me. I tried but could not get into it and quit at 30%. I could not relate to the characters or their situation.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with an arc of this book.

Although I am not the primary audience for this story, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I absolutely loved the mix of storyline, email correspondence, text chain, and Annie’s column! Each of these sections’ writing styles were so unique, and perfect for each of their respective mediums, which I think perfectly shows Sophie Brickman’s talent as a writer. I am docking one star simply because I was a little flustered by the ending. I was really hoping things would turn out differently, but I definitely understand why certain choices were made. Overall, a great book that masterfully balances important topics with humor and wit,

Loved this one! Great and fun read. Highly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for my ARC.

Every book has its reader, and I am clearly not the audience for this one. Found the characters shallow and predictable, the plot full of tropes about parenting, millennials and the rich behaving badly. There was some humor but not enough to overlook the superficiality.

Advice columnist Annie "married up" and is living a life completely foreign to her roots. Caught in the web of finding a suitable school for her kindergartener (to ensure entry to an Ivy League at 5 years old, natch!) she can see the ridiculousness of it all even through her involvement. Her nemesis, Belinda, the one whose son is always competing for spots in the best schools with Annie's son, has also seemingly become very close colleagues with Annie's husband.

Good general adult fiction novel, but I always love the stories of societal drama set in schools. I like the format of the book which includes some of Annie's columns and emails between Annie and her editor, which are completely ridiculous, but somehow believable.

This is an unusual novel, which at has some extremely fine writing, but it’s simply too much. I felt overwhelmed by the plots and subplots and multiple strands. This means that there are too many names and at times I felt lost. It’s the story of Annie Lewin, mother, writer, wife, friend, who is suffering from stress and hallucinations. I’m honestly not sure why Annie had to be everything. Yet, even with all the different roles, there is a definite predictability.

It seems that the intended main plot is the Manhattan obsession among a very elite class, to get children into a few super, exclusive schools, which these people believe will guarantee them admission to the colleges deemed worthy of attending. So, Annie is the midst of this maelstrom when her 4 year old must move into kindergarten. At the same time she becomes known for her web based column, Mother Superior. Readers get to sample her writing, which is certainly the best part of the book. For me, the BUT is all the issues surrounding her which for some reason includes weird hallucinations. Is Brickman trying to inject a sci-fi element?

I thank Netgalley for this ARC of a novel by a talented writer.