Elisabeth is a new mother who is struggling to adjust to life in a small town. She and her husband have recently moved to the town after having lived in New York City for many years. Elisabeth has a new infant son which makes the adjustment all the more difficult.

She is a journalist and author and is eager to get back to her writing. So she posts an ad on the local college message board that she is looking for a part time nanny. Sam who is a senior art major at the college sees the ad and applies for the job. Since Elisabeth and her son bond with her, Sam immediately starts her job as their nanny.

In a short time, the relationship between Elisabeth who craves a companion in her new town, and Sam who is struggling with her own life issues, changes from one of employer and employee to one of a mutual friendship. As friends, the two begin to share intimate details about their lives. Sam becomes almost part of the family and when she meets Elisabeth’s father-in-law she also finds they share an interest in world issues.

Then everything changes when Sam gets involved in a romantic relationship that might hinder her ambitions for a successful career. At the same time, Elisabeth and her husband, Andrew’s marriage meets with some rough moments due to hidden secrets, job difficulties, and family situations. Elisabeth tries to save Sam’s future while at the same time she struggles to manage her own problems.

Sullivan writes about the isolation that a new mother experiences when she moves from big city life to living in a small town. She further complicates that isolation by building a close and unexpected friendship between mother and nanny. The relationship also addresses the unspoken class disparity that exists between the two women.

The book focuses on other issues such as motherhood, true love, family, infertility, lies and social causes as the narration switches back and forth between the voices of Elisabeth and Sam.

Due to the many themes in the book, it is less about plot than it is about thoughts and ideas. The narration flows at an easy pace and the characters provide a realistic example of how strangers can become friends and then how just as easily those same friends can become strangers.

This review is written from the egalley courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley.

This was my first experience reading this author's work and it won't be my last. I really enjoyed this look at motherhood and female friendship. Thank you so much to Knopf for providing me with an e-galley in exchange for my honest review. I liked it so much that I went out and purchased a hard copy to have for my personal library.

Sullivan explores the intricate friendship between a new mother and her college aged babysitter in Friends and Strangers. Whar begins as an unlikely pairing between Elisabeth and Sam, the soon to be college graduate babysitting her child, evolves into a deeper connection than either anticipated. Sam looks to Elisabeth as a source of knowledge on attaining the normal, albeit seemingly perfect life she longs for, and Elisabeth becomes obsessed with Sam's life as she tries to mold her into the young woman she missed out on being. The writing is beautiful and real in that it hauntingly echoes friendships all of us readers have experienced throughout our journies.

Friends and Strangers ended up being a DNF book for me. I thought the writing was good, but the story felt like it was dragging, and I didn't particularly like any of the characters.

This was my first J. Courtney Sullivan read, but clearly I've been missing out -- I loved her writing! It's impactful but in an understated sort of way. I thought the juxtaposition between Elisabeth and Sam was so interesting -- an accomplished journalist and new mother vs. a college senior. One who appears to have her life all figured out, and one whose early adulthood still brims with endless possibilities. But of course, as the novel progresses we learn that these women's lives are far more complex than we initially believe, and that each possesses something the other has. It's rare that I read a book told through dual perspectives in which I like both viewpoints equally, but that was certainly the case with FRIENDS AND STRANGERS. I'll definitely be picking up SAINTS FOR ALL OCCASIONS next, and I can't wait for Sullivan's next book!

a well=written, very readable book that cleverly highlights the complicated lives of adult women at different stages in their lives. The book has flavors of Such a Fun Age, Little Fires Everywhere and Queenie and will appeal to anyone who enjoyed those books.

Sullivan does an excellent job creating two individuals who represent so much about relationships. Elizabeth, the woman needing childcare, is so utterly disdainful of anything she thinks is beneath her interests and intellect. Sam, the working-class girl who got into a prestigious private woman’s college, on the other hand, is so wanting to be in Elizabeth’s sphere. Providing childcare for Elizabeth’s young son, brings forth a lot of what is making a middle-class existence challenging. Both have strong voices as they each tell their story. I found Sam’s college life and her friendships with the Spanish-speaking women with whom she worked in the dorm’s dining hall to be much more enriching characters, and that is probably the point of the book. Money doesn’t define who you are.

This was my first book by J. Courtney Sullivan. I’ve tried to write my review a few times and come up blank. That’s not a great sign, but I did enjoy this book, it just didn’t WOW me. It was . . . “fine."
Sullivan’s writing is excellent. At its best, this is a book with astute observations about human behavior and interactions. I’ve heard the plot compared to Such a Fun Age, and I think that while that is absolutely valid, this is the better book. Sullivan’s characters are believable, and the situations she put them in feel real. Simply put, this is the story of a young NYC couple who move out of the city with their new baby. They hire a nanny from a local college and the mom and the nanny form a friendship - almost a codependency. And we see what happens when lines become blurred. There’s more to it than that - Sullivan explores privilege, motherhood, female friendships in all its forms, and what it means to be an adult. Although the writing is really strong, the plot felt somewhat dull. I found myself thinking it could have been about 200 pages shorter. I did love the NYC/Brooklyn setting and if 1/2 a star were an option, this would be 3.5!

2.5, rounded up. The writing flows well, but it was tough to connect to the main characters (Sam, an idealistic college senior; and Elisabeth, a new mother in her thirties). As other reviewers have noted, there was less a plot and more a reflection on ideas that Sullivan has been thinking about--infidelity, lying in relationships, IVF, inequality in both wealth and ideals. There was also a lack of realism; Sam, who notes that she has taken out lots of loans for school, somehow manages to go to London multiple weekends to see Clive, her British boyfriend. Elisabeth and her husband's relationship also seemed unrealistic.

I was so excited to have my wish granted to read this but the only thing I can say is that it's definitely published by Knopf as there's a 1/2 to 2/3 of a page watermark reminding one of this and that the arc is for reference only, which what?? I am never going to use Friends and Strangers as a reference book, and the watermark layout makes the book impossible to read. I'd love to give this more stars, but how can I when it's impossible to read the book?

This book is going to be a hit with book clubs! Well-developed characters, secondary characters with substance, Friends and Strangers is a book that literary fiction lovers will clamor for. The plot and sentences are superbly crafted.

This book was well written, offering a glimpse of the lives of a well rounded group of persons. It just didn’t seem to go anywhere, It left me struggling to determine what the book was really going to end up being about. Too many loose ends in the relationship of Sam and Elizabeth.

I have reach all of J. Courtney Sullivan's books and was excited to dive into this one. The book follows Elisabeth and Sam over the course of a school year at a small New England women's college. Elisabeth has recently had her first child and is figuring out her new normal. She is also a big secret keeper and all around medley. Sam is a senior at the college, an art student, and definitely trying to figure out her love life and what comes next. They both grow over the course of the book and it certainly didn't end exactly like I predicted. I did end up liking Sam a bit more than Elisabeth but I felt Sam was better fleshed out.

It was a good read and a relatively fast one as well. I will be recommending it to my patrons this summer, for sure.

Friends and Strangers by J. Courtney Sullivan is about a new mom, Elisabeth, and her new babysitter, Sam. Sam is a senior at the local college and an artist. Elisabeth is a published writer who is attempting to begin her third book. These two become entwined into each other's lives and the results are spectacular. Read and enjoy!

J. Courtney Sullivan is one of my favorite authors, and I enjoyed this book as I have her previous ones. While some of her earlier books have revolved around several characters, "Friends and Strangers" mainly focuses on two women. Elisabeth has recently moved from Brooklyn to a small college town in upstate New York with her husband and baby. She is a writer who is struggling with financial worries and her ambivalence about having another child. Sam is a college student with an older long-distance boyfriend, wondering what to do when she graduates and trying to find her place among her wealthier peers. This is not an especially plot-driven book, but rather a thoughtful exploration of motherhood and class. There are also interesting subplots involving Elisabeth's husband Andrew, his parents, and the dining hall staff at Sam's college. I enjoyed the pace and found this to be Sullivan's best-written book so far, but the story as a whole is slightly underwhelming and the ending is somewhat abrupt.

OMG this book! I loved every single word. I have been a big fan of J Courtney Sullivan's ever since reading 'The Engagements' many years ago, so I couldn't wait to read this, and it didn't disappoint. The description of feeling ruddlerless and lonely during new motherhood was so beautifully done, as was the experience of trying to work out what you want to do in life. I loved the friendship between the two main characters and I really believed in them. I was so upset when it came to an end. This book was brilliant, I completely immersed myself in it and couldn't put it down.

I love all of J. Courtney Sullivan's books and anytime I get to read a new one, I am happier. Sullivan has an ease to her writing and you can easily get wrapped up in the pages. This story however was not my favorite and I look forward to her next book. Friends and Strangers touches upon the issues of class, privilege, female friendships, motherhood and more. But doesn't dive as deep as we want. Thank you Net Galley for the ARC.

A compelling tale of two women at different stages of life who try to find what they need from each other.

Elisabeth is a successful published author turned stay at home mom. Adjusting to this new lifestyle is proving difficult despite the love she feels for her son. She and her husband have also recently moved from the city to the suburbs where she know no one.

Sam is a college student preparing to graduate from the local college. Sam is in a long distance relationship with an older man and is struggling to decide where her life will take her. More than anything, she feels she just wants to be an adult and have everything figured out.

Sam is hired to babysit for Elizabeth's son and a friendship soon begins but what is each one looking for out of this?

A tale of friendship, loneliness, motherhood and finding ones way in life, this is a fun and thought provoking novel.

Saddened -- and surprised! -- that this novel was such a disappointment. Have loved and covered Sullivan's previous books but the characterization of both the women didn't ring true, the dialogue was flat, and overall the story meandered.

When you break this book down very little really happened, yet I was hooked throughout. It is about the lives of Sam, a senior at college and the woman she babysits for Elizabeth, an author from Brooklyn who finds herself in small town America. Elizabeth is lonely and snobbish but embraces Sam into her life with warmth and friendship. Sam is stuck in imposter syndrome, at her fancy, private women's college but having more in common with the kitchen ladies who serve the food in the college hall.
I really appreciated Sullivan's writing and her consistency with characters personality and storyline. It felt so realistic, all the characters jarred on my nerves at various points but I understood why they acted as they did and it didn't irritate. People have flaws, keep secrets, make stupid decisions and the characters in this book were very busy with all these traits! But people are also loving, kind, generous and well meaning and fortunately so we're Sullivan's characters.
Don't come into this book expecting suspense or romance. This is a well written tale of everyday life and how people battle through it. It's definitely worth the read.