Claire needs a new gig. Literally. As the former singer for Vagabond, she now needs a new source of income. She also needs a distraction, as the new singer, Marlena, has taken the band to new heights. A hot album. A beloved single. The cover of Rolling Stone. So Claire needs something new. And when she’s offered the chance to play the music for an infant playgroup, she has a choice—singing for a bunch of rich babies, or homelessness.
Whitney is the perfect mother, as her Instagram photos show. The host to the infant playgroup, Whitney welcomes the 5 other mothers and infants into her perfect New York City apartment twice a week so the babies can play together, the mothers can drink together, and the infants’ brains can develop through music.
At first Claire is not sure this is the right thing for her. She’s never been an Upper East Side sort of person herself, but as she lets her guard down and gets to know some of the mothers, she finds herself fitting in more than she expected. A glass of wine here, a secret shared there, and an extra ticket to a spa retreat, and Claire is starting to think that this lifestyle has just what she’s been needing. Maybe she should find herself a rich husband and have a baby too.
As Whitney’s Instagram profile takes off, and companies send her products to test and post about, she shares them with the other mothers. There is one mom who refuses to put photos of her child online (and who can blame her?), but the rest of the group are happy to be included on Whitney’s feed, letting the world see them as strong, healthy women who love their families. But as her popularity grows, so does the number of those who call her out for being fake or out-of-touch. There are no trolls like internet trolls, and Whitney’s perfect-seeming Insta life attracts them.
Claire’s friendship with the women grows closer, until she stumbles on a secret that could tear the group apart, and potentially ruin the lives of the mothers. Claire finds herself pulling back, trying to figure out if she had been lied to, if she bought the fantasy that Whitney was selling on social media, or if there is something else going on. Are these women her friends, or are they fooling the world? Will Claire ever find a place where she can belong, or will she keep getting betrayed by those she comes to care about?
Laura Hankin’s debut novel Happy and You Know It is a wonderful tale of friendship and family, with more a little dark humor like what you might find with some Real Housewives. It’s fun, funny, honest, and with a real bite towards the whole social media culture. With some mouth-watering secrets and head-spinning twists, Happy and You Know It is the perfect way to spend a weekend when you need a break from binging reality television. I loved this book, and I hope you love it too.
A copy of Happy and You Know It was provided by Berkley through a Goodreads giveaway, with many thanks!
