A Most Uncommon Degree of Popularity: A Novel - Softcover

Seidel, Kathleen Gilles

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312333277 ISBN 13: 9780312333270

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, 2007

Synopsis

Her own daughter...one of the popular girls?
On the first day of middle school, Lydia Meadows, a former lawyer turned full-time mother, is startled to discover that her daughter Erin is one of the popular girls, a tight foursome whose mothers are also great friends. Lydia has always thought of popular girls as ambitious little manipulators who enjoy being cruel. But Erin is kind and well-adjusted. Maybe this popularity thing won't be so bad after all.
Then a new student ruthlessly targets Erin to boost her own popularity, and Lydia helplessly wonders what to do when her daughter's phone stops ringing. And the uneasiness among the girls begins to affect the friendship of the mothers―even though they are all grown women who should know better. Has their driven energy, once directed toward their careers, turned into an obsession with the social lives of their daughters?
A Most Uncommon Degree of Popularity is a delightful novel of manners, an unabashed chronicle of the rules, rituals, and pitfalls of raising a daughter.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

A Most Uncommon Degree of Praise:
"Tellingly--and often poignantly--pinpoints the deep and unexpected feelings as a mother and daughter negotiate the tricky, often fraught, transition from child to teenager."
--Elizabeth Buchan, "New York"" Times "bestselling author of "Revenge of the "
"Middle Aged Woman" and "The Good Wife Strikes Back"
"Kathleen Gilles Seidel is absolutely the most fascinating writer. She turns an insightful and entertaining eye on the elite world of private school teenage girls and the moms who care...maybe too much? Reading groups take notice! Lots to talk about here."
--Susan Elizabeth Phillips, "New York Times "bestselling author of "Match Me If You Can"
"Jane Austen lives! Kathleen Gilles Seidel's wit, social insight, and wry, compassionate view sound like no one else."
--Mary Jo Putney, "New York Times" bestselling author of "River"" Of ""Fire"
"A piercing tale of a perfect mother caught between her desires for her children and the realities of their lives, Kathleen Gilles Seidel's novel is a page-turning, irresistible read."
--Amy Scheibe, author of "What Do You Do All Day"
"What do you get when a super-charged turbo mom wakes up one day to find her teenage daughter suddenly on the outs with the in crowd?" Desperate Housewives" meets" Mean Girls"? No! Kathleen Gilles Seidel's witty and compassionate new novel."
--Nancy Lieberman, author of "Admissions"
"A heart-wrenching, funny, and insightful tale of privileged mothers and the children they love too much. I laughed. I nodded. I cringed. I gobbled this delicious novel up in one weekend."
--Karen Quinn, author of "The Ivy Chronicles"""
"Seidel trains hermasterly lens towards the troubling world of young Queen Bees and B-Listers, but smartly focuses on the mothers around them who ought to know better. A gripping and very adult tale, and above all, entertaining."
--Laurie Gwen Shapiro, author of "The Matzo Ball Heiress"

About the Author:

Kathleen Gilles Seidel has a Ph.D. in English literature from Johns Hopkins and lives in Virginia with her husband and two daughters.

About this edition

• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0312333277
• ISBN 13: 9780312333270
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320