The Mothers Club — Sarah J. Naughton

Perfect for fans of Aimee Molloy's The Perfect Mother and Jessica Strawser's Not That I Could Tell is a lesson in what it takes to be a mother in suburbia.

What does it mean to be a mother? How far would you go for your loved ones? For yourself?

A group of wildly different young women have come together to survive the trials of motherhood, usually with wine in hand, huddled around someone's polished marble kitchen counter, whispering about lives they had pre-child, said children now out of sight and mind. Having responsibilities, it doesn't happen too frequently, but the rarity only encourages greater indulging.

After one such late gathering, Bella Upton wakes the next morning to find her husband is gone. Everyone knows "it's always the spouse," but as the police begin to ask questions, the testimonies among the other mothers begin to crack. Only one thing is clear: everyone has something to hide.

In a moment in time when a new generation is becoming parents for the first time, The Mothers Club is an intimate look at the desire for self-preservation amidst becoming "mother."