This book was not the genre I normally read and it’s so good that I might even try more like it. I loved it. So well written and left me thinking about it days after I read it. I have recommended to a friend it two and thought it was superb.

This was an incredibly thought provoking read about a group of women, primarily housewives, in 1960s small town America. This is told in the main from three different viewpoints - pregnant mum of 1 and wife of an ob-gyn Lily, her married sister Rose who is a teacher and pregnant 15 year old Betsy who is currently staying with Lily as a home helper. This does a fabulous job of exploring the restrictions on women during this time as well as many different aspects of female health and pregnancy including abortions which were illegal at the time. This doesn’t lecture but the issues affecting the different women in this story does provide a lot of talking points and really shows how much has altered in the intervening years, I thought the issues raised were sensitively handled and several of the issues raised had me thinking for quite some time after.

Desperate Housewives meets Mad Men in this touching story of motherhood, girlhood, and what really happens behind closed doors in suburban America. Set in the 1960s, we meet a group of women who are struggling to bridge the divide between the perfect 50s housewife and the political tension of the 60s. An essential read.

I loved this book it was uplifting and beautifully written with characters that you engage with and root for. Any comparisons to The Help are very well founded I also got Fried Green Tomatoes vibes from it. One of the best books I've read in a while. Will be buying a copy for my mum when it is published.