Elizabeth Mosier

The Playgroup

Sarah Holloway is a frustrated painter, sketching on the backs of shopping lists and sharing her studio with a washer and dryer. Abandoned by her mother, she has tried to hide her childhood wounds by healing others through art therapy. During her daughter’s first two years, she has faked her way through motherhood with the help of women in her neighborhood playgroup. She hopes she has gotten the hang of it when she learns she is expecting another child. Then, a routine test reveals a mysterious mass in her unborn baby’s abdomen. The sonogram awakens an old fear that her children have inherited her damage—and uncovers a secret that could end her marriage.

My Life As a Girl

It’s the long, hot summer between high school and college, and Jaime Cody is working a double shift. Days at a greasy spoon called Franklin’s All-American Diner; night at the Phoenix, a restaurant at a glitzy resort. She’s hoping to earn the college money her father stole from her — and leave herself no time to think.

A whole country lies between where Jaime is — Arizona — and where she wants to be — Bryn Mawr, a college for women in Pennsylvania. The jobs mean the difference between making a life for herself and being duped by a man, the way her mother was.

The plan is perfect — until a boy named Buddy appears, reminding her of a character in the romantic stories her mother still loves to tell.

No one has to know about Buddy.
He’s Jaime’s secret.
Just for the summer.