City Mouse

by Stacey Lender

Priced out of their Manhattan neighborhood, Jessica and Aaron move with their young daughters to the one place Jessica swore she’d never go: the suburbs. But to Jessica’s surprise, life in the commuter belt makes a great first impression. She quickly falls in with a clique of helpful mom friends who welcome her with pitchers of margaritas, neighborhood secrets, and a pair of hot jeans that actually fit.

Still, it's hard to keep up in a crowd where everyone competes for the most perfectly manicured home and latest backyard gadgets. And what’s worse, as the only working mom in her circle, Jessica sometimes feels disconnected and alone. So she’s thrilled when she’s invited to a moms-only weekend at the beach, which she assumes will mean new opportunities for real talk and bonding. Instead, the trip turns into a series of eye-opening lessons, and Jessica must decide if she’s strong enough to be honest with herself about the sort of life she really wants.

City Mouse is an irresistible debut that examines what it means to find your place, revealing unspoken truths about motherhood, friendship, and the thorny pursuit to have it all.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Chick Lit

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 22, 2017

About the author

Stacey Lender grew up in the suburbs of New York City with a god-awful perm and later graduated from Cornell University. She started her career as a roadie and production assistant for Bugs Bunny and Billy Joel, and rose through the ranks from luggage schlepper to marketing executive for entertainment brands including Radio City Music Hall, USA Network, Madison Square Garden, Sesame Street Live, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and One World Observatory at the top of One World Trade Center. Today she lives in Manhattan and Connecticut with her husband and two daughters, and has traveled to all fifty states. CITY MOUSE is Stacey's first novel.

Reviews

[Jason Pettus]

DECLINED TO REVIEW. As far as I could tell, this novel about a young Manhattan couple who decide to move to the suburbs consists exclusively of the boring little nothing small-talk suburban real-life conversations that I thought authors were precisely supposed to edit out when creating a piece of literature; and by the time I got to the one-third mark and had still not come across a single solitary thing of consequence that had actually happened to any of the characters, I finally gave up and moved on to one of the other 50 books I'm currently behind on in my to-read list. Not sure who this book is intended for, but certainly not for people expecting an interesting three-act narrative story. My second huge disappointment in a row from celebrity-driven imprints run by the usually excellent Akashic Press; if all the books being "hand-picked" by their famous guest editors are going to be this way, they need to dump the concept altogether.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Toward the end of this book, the (completely loathsome) main character realizes that the beautiful plants in the home of her seemingly perfect neighbors are actually made of plastic THIS IS A METAPHOR YOU GUYS!

[Katy O. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vacation Review #4 🚗 "City Mouse" falls perfectly and satisfyingly into the genre I call Mommy Lit - books solidly about and for the moms in the world. It is both an engaging and entertaining story of motherhood and marriage, but also a love letter to New York City and urban life as Jessica and her husband wrestle with the decision of where to live with young children.

Jessica and Aaron are like so many parents who are desperately trying to do what they feel is best for their family but sometimes end up sacrificing their own sense of self and happiness in the process. And in this case, suburban drama and humor enter the picture as Jessica realizes that the 'burbs are nowhere near as quiet and boring as she thought they would be!

I identified so closely with Jessica's working mom woes and laughed out loud at some of the predicaments she found herself in, but the part that sealed the 4th star for me was the addition of the Hamilton subplot. It is such a timely and smart part of the story and ties in perfectly with Jessica's job as a Broadway advertising executive.

Highly recommend this book for all my mom reading friends and especially for those who appreciate NYC and the theater world. I can't wait to read more from this author!

I received a finished copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes- all opinions are my own.

[Dianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was about as I expected. And that ruined it for me somewhat.

Take a businesswoman out of New York City and plunge her into the wilds of suburbia and what do you think you get? If you said a 'fish out of water', you would be sort of right. This book was more like reading about girls in Junior High School ----who is in the cool crowd, who is a huge liar, who has sex with anything that moves, and who has the best barbeque grill!

It was a decent read, had an interesting twist and a read you can do in one day if you so choose. The language is that of a teenage boy/girl, so if you are sensitive to that stay away---some sexual scenes too but they are not overly descriptive.

[Melissa Borsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the author and Library Thing for my honest review. I really enjoyed this fast, fun read. Jessica and her husband have two young children and a very small apartment in the City. Jessica's husband wants to move out to the suburbs which terrifies Jessica but she reluctantly agrees. She cannot believe the types of people who live there and the way they behave, but since she is trying to fit in she tries to turn a blind eye which becomes impossible. I highly recommend this addictive read!

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this book started out in an interesting and appealing manner it soon lost its luster for me. I was not a fan of the suburban moms and I hated the changes made by Jess and Aaron. I kind of liked the ending, though, when they found themselves.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you can imagine Us magazine as a full-length book, that's this novel. I think there's a reason Us is only 20 pages and mostly pictures...

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

City Mouse by Stacey Lender

Jessica, her husband and daughters move out of New York City to the Suburbs. This is not exactly what she had hoped for but Jessica is determined to fit in. She meets a group of neighborhood Moms, they welcome her to their group. As time goes by the women decide to go on a weekend "Mom's only" trip to the beach for some fun, friendship and friend bonding.

Jessica is put into a world that she is not really wanting to be (in). As she quickly falls into a new clique, she is adjusting to her new environment and friends. As she makes changes to her life, she also learns about friendship, self discovery and (her) meaning of life.

An original story with likable characters, engaging dialog, secrets revealed and laugh out loud moments. Stacey Lender pulls you deep into Jessica's life with flare, grabbing your attention and not letting go. I highly recommend City Mouse to those who love a great (women's fiction) story.

*I received this book from LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review.

[Tess Forte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely pitch-perfect look at what happens when a Manhattan couple moves to the suburbs. It was like reading a book about my own life. Readable, honest, loved every second. Great debut from a new author I'm excited to hear from again. Must-read.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Easy, fast read but not a good one. I disliked all of the characters, but especially Jessica (it feels weird to say I disliked Jessica because my sister-in-law is a Jessica and I really like her!). Book Jessica reminded me of the worst of junior high or high school, doing anything to fit in. If you don’t want it to look like you cheated on your husband, you don’t put yourself in positions where it looks like you’re cheating on your husband.

I also despise the “city people are better than those awful suburbanites” vibe through the whole book. As a rural person myself, the narrative that the only perfect life is in NYC gets old.

Wow, I guess I disliked this book more than I thought!

[La La · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another book that had some really great parts, but more stinky cheese parts. The writing is nothing special. It was almost dull. This book had an identity crisis going on between Women's Fiction with an empowerment theme and cringe worthy sleeze Romance. I thought vajazzling (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajazzle) went out years ago.

I was approved for an eARC, via Edelweiss, in return for an honest review.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

An ‘advance reading copy’ of CITY MOUSE: A NOVEL by Stacey Lender was sent to me by Akashic Books in exchange for an unbiased and honest review.
Jessica and Aaron Almasi are a young couple with two young children, living in an extremely cramped apartment on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. They are experiencing severe growing pains with their apartment situation and are very discouraged and frustrated after looking at scores of newer, more expensive, bigger places to live. Aaron would like to move to the suburbs where their kids will have more room and they can have more space and privacy. The move would be doable, cheaper and more satisfying and Aaron couldn’t be more mistaken!
Jessica tries to fit in with a local ‘mommies group’ and while they are helpful in some areas, their lifestyle choices make Jessica increasingly uncomfortable.
Some reactions:
The amount of money being spent is obnoxious; appalling; unreasonable; and completely out of my realm of understanding. Designer everything; gift baskets, flowers, clothing - always a one-upmanship level of control over friends and neighbors.
Aaron and Jessica’s ‘quality of life’ begins to spiral downwards quite quickly while their ‘quantity of life’ and pretentiousness grows alarmingly.
Jessica thought she knew herself but suffered a full-blown identity crisis after moving to Suffern. (a play on words? suffern=suffering?)
After a girls weekend in South Carolina with huge amounts of alcohol, drugs and blatant infidelity, Jessica comes to her senses and realizes she must remove herself from this suburban lifestyle. Aaron is pulled into the poisonous atmosphere also, and luckily new work opportunities allow the couple to move back into their beloved city.
The writing is tight and crisp with some humorous moments. I was prepared not to like this book, but the main characters were intelligent, reasoned and very capable of introspection. Aaron and Jessica care for each other and their children and want to do what’s best for the family. They are honest and likable. Their situations are very real. They are good communicators. I was rooting for them all the way through the story!
I did enjoy this book and would heartily recommend it.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book club choice for this month. While I found the story funny and love that it was set in NYC/surrounding suburbs, I think I would find this a lot more relatable in about a decade, give or take a few years. It was a cute, light-hearted read and I would recommend it to any mom who lives in a city who's thinking of moving to the suburbs.

[L]

It's a novel about a 35-year-old woman coming of age. And once again, it's a novel about the nasty side of the suburbs. 2021 must be my year of reading about suburban life.

I see that some readers really disliked this book, but I thought it was okay. It will never be at the top of my list of books to recommend to others, but for a quick, kind of light read it was fine.

[Corene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy reading novel about an NYC living family with young children who decide to try the commuters' life from a big house in the suburbs.

They fall in with a shallow crowd of Real Housewives-style mothers, competitive fathers, and lots of drinking parties. The whole thing is exhausting, but I still quite enjoyed the book as a guilty pleasure.

[Mandy Jacobs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, pretty trashy. And just trashy-trashy, not fun trashy. Also - moving to Brooklyn was the forgone conclusion - that was clearly the solution about 15 pages into the book. It should not have been seen as some miraculous discovery. Has the author even been to New York City, or just watched a lot of "Sex and the City" reruns?

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC from LibraryThing. A pretty easy read, with clearly-drawn characters. Jessica, the city mouse, moves reluctantly to the suburbs, and tries to fit it with the moms she meets there. They're not quite what they seem, as she finds out, but all's well that ends well. Nothing special, but not bad.

[Katelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun women's fiction about a family that gives in to the pressure to move from NYC to the suburbs "for the kids." Follows the mom, Jessica, as she meets a group of women who seem nice and amazing but turn out to be pretty horrible people. Jessica learns to navigate the social and financial pressures of this group. This is easy and enjoyable to read. I was hooked until the satisfying conclusion.

[Truff · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked this book although there was a definite subtle message that there is something wrong with you if you didn't want to live in the city, and that almost all suburbanites are sex crazed maniacs, especially the women.

[AJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review
I wanted to love this book because it’s about one of my biggest fears: moving to the suburbs. I plan on living in a city forever, and would absolutely hate the ‘burbs. I grew up in a small town where nothing ever happened and nothing was close, so I completely understand Jessica’s desire to stay in New York City. Reading about the adventures of a city mom dealing with the crazy antics of suburbia and suburban mom drama sounded like gossipy-fun and perfect for a quick summer read.

I had some serious issues with this book, though, most of them dealing with Jessica and her husband. I’ll start with the husband, Aaron. Initially Aaron and Jessica were looking at apartments in the city before broadening the search to houses in the suburbs at Aaron’s request. He wasn’t thrilled with the offerings in the city for their budget and wanted to see what the suburbs could offer at the same price. However, Jessica manages to find the perfect place in the city and within their budget, thanks to a tip from one of her friends. Despite never stopping their search in the city while looking at houses, Aaron is completely pissed over her excitement at finally finding a place that checks off all the boxes in the city. He calls her selfish for not fully committing to living in the suburbs, even though they both agreed to start looking there, not only look there. He calls her a selfish mother and wife. He was just a complete asshole, and then Jessica APOLOGIZES TO HIM. She decides to pass on the apartment in New York and agrees to buy a house in the suburbs because of a grown man’s temper tantrum, not because of a calm discussion between a husband and wife where they decide together what is best for their family. It was all because of his freaking temper tantrum, and he never apologized for it.

There were so many times I wanted Jessica to divorce Aaron, or at least have a serious conversation with him where he realizes how wrong he is and agrees to change. I would have bumped the rating up to 4 stars if that had happened. After an incident with a minor car accident when the nanny was driving their kids, a furious Aaron demands that only Jessica drive the kids anywhere, despite that fact that she has a full-time job in the city (a job that is supporting their family, since Aaron is not making as much at his startup job). I wanted to Jessica to point out that he isn’t volunteering to stay at home and play chauffeur. He also had to call her 5 times when she was on a well deserved vacation (despite her increased hours at her job, most of the childcare still falls to her – funny how that works). The emergency? He didn’t know how to work their washing machine. He lived there for a year and never used the washer. How is that even possible?

Jessica had her share of faults, too. She frequently comes across as very judgy, and at some points I couldn’t stand her. She acted like the innocent victim among all of the mom drama even though she wasn’t forced to participate. She seemed to be just using those women to avoid being lonely. Also, her first reaction to her distraught friend saying her husband used all of their family savings and was taking out money from their 401(k) was that her friend should remember she’s lucky to have a 401(k)? Really? That’s the advice you have for your clearly upset friend?

While I listed several issues above, this book was a fast and engaging light beach read that could be great with some sangria or margaritas. I think I was delving a bit too deeply into a light and funny read for some of my complaints. I read most of it on a two hour plane ride, and it was able to thoroughly keep my attention for the length of the flight.

I recommend this if you are able to push past some of the problems I listed above for a fast and entertaining beach read. It just wasn’t for me.

[Miriam Downey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read my full review here: http://mimi-cyberlibrarian.blogspot.c...

Jessica and her husband Aaron, both busy professionals, are living in a one-bedroom flat in Manhattan. With two toddlers, it is just too small, too crowded, and too lacking in privacy. Aaron brings up the possibility of moving to the suburbs, a notion that Jessica finds horrifying, but realizes that for the sake of the family, it may be the best choice. They find a modern Victorian in the village of Suffern, move in, and Jessica tries to adapt to suburban life. It's pretty hard to do because she has a long commute into the city four days a week, working from home on Friday. Aaron travels a great deal, and Jessica is never sure that this suburban life is all it's cracked up to be. Then Aaron and Jessica meet the neighbors and are quickly included in the social life of the young parents who make up the majority of the preschool community where their daughter is enrolled.

The women Jessica meets are primarily stay-at-home moms of young children, and frankly, are boring, catty, and mean-spirited. Yet, they are friendly and accepting of Jessica and her work schedule. Jessica tries to volunteer as much as she can, and she continues to seek out women with whom she has more in common, including a young Hispanic mother who is studying for a degree and is doing some fascinating research about Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. (By the way, I found her research to be the most interesting part of the book.)

The women who take the major roles are extremely petty with few interests beyond their children and their partying. They aren't the type of people Jessica would have found interesting if she were living in the city—nor would she have spent any time with them. Are they typical of small town, suburban women? I don't really think so. At one point, after the rather shocking weekend trip the "friends" take, Jessica bemoans the fact that she didn't work hard enough to seek out more like-minded women. She settled and almost paid a huge price. Ultimately, the couple decides to move back to the city—this time to Brooklyn. Jessica muses: "I thought about how I'd been spinning in circles for so long, like so many mothers, trying to live a life that was supposed to be best for my kids without losing the essential bits of myself. " She wonders about how many other women were living rather unfulfilled lives "twirling desperate to find the perfect place to land."

My first inclination was that City Mouse was going to be like Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty or Stepford Wives by Ira Levin. However, there is no murder to keep you reading like in Big Little Lies and, unlike Stepford Wives, the husbands play a very small role in City Mouse—in this case, the wives are the manipulators. While the climax of the book is scandalous, it is absolutely as small-minded as the rest of the book.

The value of City Mouse lies in its exploration of the notion of "having it all." If you have trouble finding your place in a culture that seems alien and shallow to you, is it possible to have it all? On the other hand, is suburban life as bad as Lender implies? My thinking is that any community has both the good and the bad, and a discerning resident can find like-minded people virtually anywhere.

I was interested in an item on the PBS News Hour last night that discussed a group of women in rural West Virginia, who are defying the prevailing wisdom of their community and are speaking out regarding the policies of President Trump. Jessica, the City Mouse, might have found some alliances there.

Stacey Lender, the author of City Mouse, is a marketing executive for entertainment brands, a career very similar to her character Jessica. Unlike Jessica, however, she lives in Manhattan with her husband and two daughters.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked certain aspects of this book but was ultimately disappointed by the ending. I thought the "drama" between the women was really ridiculous and overblown. The main character was strangely prudish and judgmental (who cares if other adults smoke pot at a backyard party? It's legal in half the country. Who cares if other adults kiss or go further with other, consenting adults? A.) it's none of your business and B.) there are many different ways of being married. Perhaps they have an open marriage or different parameters for what constitutes cheating in their relationship. Again, it's none of your business!). I found it really unrealistic and absurd that Alyson would resort to trying to blackmail Jessica into staying in their friend group. Adult friendships drift apart all the time (usually that's the problem!). You find new friends or you reinvest in your old ones. And then Jessica flipping out in front of all those people because she saw Emmy elbow Phoebe in one ballet lesson and stole her headband? Give me a break. Talk about overreacting. It would have made more sense for her to react that way if she found out that Emmy had been trying to exclude Phoebe from their friend group but then the girls would have to be a few years older. That actually could have made for an intriguing plotline that I'd be interested in reading: good adult friendships negatively affected by their children's drama.

I've read other novels that do a better job of underscoring the potential "darkness" of picture perfect affluent suburban communities (Tom Perotta's Little Children springs to mine as one of the best but there's also Revolutionary Road, Goodbye Nobody, The Arrangement,and Cutting Teeth). I guess I thought Lender would go in that direction rather than the juvenile one she chose: Mean Girls Mom edition. She should have stuck with more sophisticated and realistic topics like financial problems and racial issues, maybe something with the school district rezoning it's boundary lines. That often gets suburban parents worked up. Or maybe she could have done something more with the MLM strand, that's really timely and controversial right now, especially in affluent suburban communities. I don't know, the adolescent cheating/blackmail storyline just screamed middle school to me. Then to top it off with the revelations about Alyson/Chris and Jeff/the campaign manager? Over the top and not at all believable. I like plot twists to be subtle, dark, and devastating. This was riduvlous.

[Melissa Ramirez · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars overall.
MILD spoilers follow! You have been warned.

I admit, I finished "City Mouse" really only because I wanted to see if our main couple decided on suburban living as the end-all-be-all.

This is an okay book, but it doesn't have a lot of substance; and is clearly pushing the 'houses and wives made of plastic' theory. Yes, suburbia is sleepy and sometimes boring, but it's not all that dramatic. Maybe only in the gated-community, 'developments' with names like Shady Pines in the middle of the desert. (See, even suburb-dwellers have their own stereotypes.) It's written in the first-person POV, but Jessica, our MC, comes off increasingly self-absorbed, to the point where you even wonder why so many other characters are included. Overall, the book is about 16 chapters and is a pretty light and fast read, despite the mediocre cardboard characters. Sometimes-assertive-but-people-pleasing Jessica almost completely removes her backbone and instead inserts her foot in her mouth, once she meets her new suburbanite friends - reverting back to a 13-year-old version of herself who is worried about fitting in, mostly sitting on the sidelines while her fellow moms gossip. Jessica seems disinterested (at best) in her kids: 2 little girls, and once she gets caught up in the suburban lifestyle, is pawning her daughters off on their nanny all the time to try to keep up with her new circle. Things pick up a little when Jessica meets a new mom friend at the park; who kind of brings her back to Earth, a bit. She starts spending a bit more time with her kids, and becomes a little more likeable, but overall, Jessica struck me as a high-and-mighty, nitpicky person who needed to be brought down a peg. Her sometimes-hysterical nature bothered me. Surely, some of this was to illustrate the fact that she's now embroiled in suburbia; but overall I was not impressed with her character development. There's kind of a big reveal toward the end of the book but even that was sort of glossed over (though maybe not purposely?) which made it anticlimactic.

The last two or so chapters were good enough; but "City Mouse" despite its cute name, (which is why I picked it up) is essentially "Mean Girls" with the cast of characters aged up, and a bit of "Sex and the City" glamour thrown in; probably rated R. Nothing super special here; though I will concur that I'm probably a little bit younger than the target demographic for this genre.

[Cindy Roesel · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Who knew house hunting could be an aphrodisiac? Mamaroneck, Purchase, New Rochelle, Harrison - the more towns and houses we visited, the more energized Aaron's libido became. Morning sex in the shower and then again on the kitchen floor." CITY MOUSE
In Stacey Lender's novel, CITY MOUSE (KaylieJonesBooks), facing the worst fear of every city dweller, being priced out of the metropolitan, Jess and Aaron are forced to leave their urban life for the suburbs. But as it turns out, nothing is as bad as it first appears. They go house hunting and settle on Suffern. Perfect, not a Starbucks in sight. Jessica is determined to make it work for hubby, Aaron and daughters, Phoebe and Madison. Now they have closets, the girls have their own bedrooms, even the driveway is heated, life is magical. And while the grass may look greener, Jessica and Aaron quickly learn the suburbs have their own set of challenges.
Starting with the neighbors. Jessica hasn't even unpacked the moving boxes or taken a shower when alpha-power-mom, Alyson shows up at her door, with a tin full of warm cookies, ready to get her up to speed on the 'hood. Jessica quickly falls in with a clique of 'burb moms, who love to drink, particularly margaritas by the pitcher! Alyson, Tami, Carolann and Ivy always seem to find time to call Jessica up and gather for a round - it's five o'clock, somewhere. Weekend gatherings are made up of the dads grilling, kiddies swimming in the pool and lots of drinking, gossiping and power parenting. Jessica and Aaron who thought moving from the city might make their lives a bit easier start noticing cracks in all the perfection.
CITY MOUSE is a fun beach read. The characters are what you expect, over the top and predictable, but perfect for the novel. The male characters seem like distractions at times. I was happy with the ending. Without giving it away, I always appreciate it when the main characters get back in touch with their values, after losing their minds a bit.

[☘Tara Sheehan☘ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I over identified with Jessica a little since my life choices were similar to hers in many ways so it probably biased my review.

I was Ms. City person, LOVED living where there was a Starbucks on every corner and the noise never died down. Then I had kids and felt, particularly with them being on the Autism spectrum, I should switch over to the PTA, suburbia mom life. Like Jessica I tried to throw myself into every ‘mom’ activity possible and make all new friends to embrace this identity I was crafting for myself and my family.

It’s been a nightmare, I’ve had many similar experiences as Jessica and felt the author must’ve read my mind on many of these interactions because they were in her book over and over. I think if you have lived through this you’ll get it and enjoy this therapeutic like venting. If you haven’t you’re probably not going to like the book very much to the point you’ll think she’s created nothing but false clichés and stereotypes – my personal life begs to differ.

I liked her characters and felt she created good literary versions of reality based types of people. Her dialogue flows easy and comes off very conversationalist so you almost felt as if you were a part of this group listening in on them talk. The author captured how the cliques are real and merciless, alcohol seems to abound, and boundaries are non-existent. She laced enough humor in her storyline you won’t get emotionally bogged down in a ‘Desperate Housewives full of secrets and intrigue’ like atmosphere.

This should help you think twice before jumping into those horrible ‘mommy-wars’ which are ever so popular, the movie Bad Moms could have been marketed as a documentary. The book starts off a bit on the slow side but it will pick up and keep you curious to the end in a satisfying conclusion as it’s just a fun women’s fiction novel that is the perfect guilty pleasure to pick up at the beach or between PTA meetings.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jessica and her husband are finally ready to make the big move from the city to the suburbs, but Jessica doesn't find the paradise she expected. She's having a little trouble making friends, when the neighbor brings over a treat and invites her to a cookout. Everyone is friendly at first, but on closer acquaintance, she finds a few flaws. These new friends fight too much, drink too much, swear too much, and that's just the warm up.

But Jessica is so desperate to fit in that she ignores all the warning signs and throws herself and her two kids into every activity she can fit into her schedule. She's got the nanny, the preschool, the giant mortgage, the commute - so why isn't it as fulfilling as she expected?

So far, this is about what I expected from this book. For all that I believe in sisterhood and feminism, I know that the mommy wars can be nasty. They shouldn't be. We should support each other. But in reality, so many women are insecure about their choices and they take that out on each other.


My main complaint about this book was the amount of sex in here, and the amount of casual cheating going on in this group of friends. Maybe my friends are the exceptions here, but I would NEVER consider flirting with, much less sleeping with a friend's husband, and I've never had one hit on me. (So awkward!) Really, I didn't identify with these women very much at all. It was like reading about a myth of suburban life, and nothing like what I actually experience. For this reason, I have to give it 2.5 stars.

[Mara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm so glad that Stacey Lender finally admitted near the end of this book that there might possibly be good people living in the suburbs, because I was starting to feel very discouraged. Actually, I was starting to feel very grateful for my own suburban mom-friends, because Lender's characters, besides being mostly interchangeable, are also all mean and petty, not to mention serial adulterers.

Our heroine Jessica finds that out the hard way when she and her family move to Suffern from Manhattan, looking for more space and a yard. Thinking she's hit the mom-friend jackpot when it turns out that right next door is a mom with a daughter the same age as her own daughter, Jessica gets pulled into the competitive sport of volunteering and car-pool. Jessica and her husband both enjoy the social scene at first, but when Jessica is invited to join a mom's-only beach weekend, she starts to really figure out who these new friends are.

Lender is a skilled writer and this book kept me turning the pages, even though the subject matter is nothing new. I look forward to seeing what she writes next, and hope that she chooses material that better showcases her talents.

[Ismée Amiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

City Mouse is a fast-paced novel that I couldn't put down. I brought it with me on a two-week trip but finished it in four days, leaving me wanting more and scrambling for another read. I was immediately drawn to Jessica and her world. Her struggles to make the perfect home for her family, to find a place in their new community and balance work with being a good mother and a wife are portrayed with a winning combination of humor and deeply affecting tension/anxiety. For any mother who has questioned the big life decisions of where to live, where to work, where to send your kids to school, and who to hang out with on the weekend, this is a great read. Fans of Allison Pearson's I Don't Know How She Does It will also enjoy this winning debut. I look forward to more from author Stacey Lender.

[Becky Durstenfeld · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated this book. It was full of filthy language and sex. I hate books with bad parenting, too. The group of people who were all parents, that the main character hung out with were terrible people. Though she finally realizes it, she participated in some bad things with them and even when she wasn't with them, she wasn't the greatest person, wife or mom either. She also had a foul mouth and had little time with her young daughters.

I also don't like her portrayal of life in the suburbs versus life in the city, as if life in the city is better except for many people with families not being able to afford to live there, which is very true. The suburbs weren't good for the main character because of the long commute to work and the people she chose to hang out with so much. I was glad that she did eventually find some decent people in the suburbs.

[Leslie Burke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book.....it wasn't boring or hard to get into. BUT, I had a hard time relating to most of the characters in the book.

The book is about a mom who moves from Manhatten to the suburbs because her husband wants more room and thinks they'll be happier. This mom, Jessica, meets her next door neighbor and subsequently a group of women that hang out together. And these women all have kids the same age and hang out with each other. The women Jessica meets are all a little over the top. I've met quite a lot of different people in my 40 years and never have I met several women all at once that do the things these women do. And they're all wealthy.

All in all, it was not a bad read, but it wasn't that great either.