First published 2010
Susan Tate built her life around doing everything right. As a single mother and high school principal, she worked hard to provide for her seventeen-year-old daughter Lily while serving as a role model in their small town. Then Lily drops a bombshell: she's pregnant. Susan reels from the news, seeing her daughter's future crumbling before her eyes. The situation gets worse when two of Lily's best friends also announce pregnancies. The town erupts with rumors of a pregnancy pact among the high school juniors. Susan finds herself at the center of a firestorm. Parents and community members who once respected her now question her fitness as both an educator and a mother. Her job hangs in the balance as critics argue she can't guide other people's children when she failed to control her own. Susan must navigate the crisis while her financial security and career aspirations slip away. The pregnancy forces both mother and daughter to confront what their relationship really means and what sacrifices love demands.
Genres: fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-drama, social-commentary
Setting: Small Town
352 pages · Hardcover · Doubleday