by Naima Coster
First published 2026
Val arrives in New York to raise her daughter alongside her best friend Milly, reuniting after a decade apart. Both women are pregnant and married, eager to recreate the closeness they shared as the only Black students on a study abroad program in France. Back then, an older woman named Helene took them under her wing, showering them with money and attention while showing them new possibilities. Now Milly works as a successful influencer married to restaurant royalty, while Val struggles as a journalist trying to write her first book. The reality of their different worlds becomes clear as they navigate strained marriages and approaching motherhood. Class differences and social capital create distance between them. Despite their efforts to move forward, both women cannot escape the rift that began years ago in France. Their buried secrets threaten to destroy the sisterhood they are trying to rebuild. As they move between Brooklyn brownstones and memories of glittering French beaches, Val and Milly must confront what it means to be mothers without mothers, sisters without blood, and women pursuing the lives they want.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, contemporary, adult, adult-fiction, womens-fiction
Vibes: bittersweet, emotionally-complex, intimate, introspective, thought-provoking
Tropes: buried-secrets, coming-of-age, found-family, reunion
Setting: New York, Brooklyn, France
Period: 21st-century, contemporary
480 pages · Paperback · Random House Large Print