MOTHERS OF INVENTION
The skewering of Upper East Side moms makes for delicious reading
It's easy to poke fun at Manhattan moms, particularly those on the Upper East Side. As an Upper East Side (UES) mom, I'm both amused and sometimes mildly offended by the stereotypes. We don't all carry Birkin bags and do Pilates.
Sure, a small subset of entitled, out-of-touch, painfully insecure moms with social status envy and excess money seem to colour the way the rest of us are perceived. But it's actually possible to have good values despite being wealthy, to forgo Chanel in favour of T.J. Maxx.
If you want to indulge in the pseudo-reality of the New York jet set, check out these books; they make for perfect summer reads. One was so on-the-nose it was banned from an Upper East Side book club.
Momzillas by Jill Kargman (2008)
Jill Kargman is the ultimate insider. Hilarious and potty-mouthed, this Yalie and daughter of the Chanel head honcho wears all black and pokes fun at the New York mom set in her first novel and beyond, including her hit Bravo TV show, Odd Mom Out.
The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe (1987)
The classic 1980s UES bible, a depiction of the excess of wealth and the disparity between where you live and where your car breaks down.
Good Apple: Tales of a Southern Evangelical in New York
by Elizabeth Passarella (2021)
This memoir by magazine veteran Elizabeth Passarella reads as if she's talking to her bestie in the Midwest, explaining exactly how it's more than possible to raise kids in the Big Apple.
Southern Lady Code by Helen Ellis (2019)
Alabama transplant Helen Ellis regales us with tales of her adventures in New York, including accidentally stealing someone else's (nicer) Burberry coat at the coat check and the moral dilemma of whether to give it back.
Sex in the City (1997) and Is There Still Sex in the City?
by Candace Bushnell (2019)
The book that inspired the hit TV show continues to resonate with those in the know.
How Could She
by Lauren Mechling (2019)
A story of friendship and media-world striving, Mechling's novel explores what happens when someone comes to see exactly how the other half lives.
That’s What Frenemies Are For
by Sophie Littlefield and Lauren Gershell (2019)
The ultimate look into the world of the spinning scene in NYC, that underground cult of women and moms racing sideby-side to nowhere.
Primates of Park Avenue: A Memoir
by Wednesday Martin (2015)
Martin puts her background in anthropology to use in this sometimes vicious study of the women of the UES in this highly flammable read.
Gossip Girl (2002-2011) and Cobble Hill (2020)
by Cecily von Ziegesar
The author whose books inspired the addictive TV series Gossip Girl also has an equally juicy tale set over the bridge in Brooklyn.
Fleishman Is in Trouble
Taffy Brodesser-akner (2020)
A dad copes with his wife's disappearance and what to do with his two kids in the city when the nanny also decides to quit.
Good Company
by Cynthia D’aprix Sweeney (2021)
A couple starts out raising their daughter on the Upper West Side. When they move to L.A., things unravel and quickly become not what they seemed.
Friends and Strangers
by J. Courtney Sullivan (2020)
A city expat living upstate longs for her urban life and instead befriends her nanny. This is a true Manhattan mom-adjacent story.
Happy and You Know It by Laura Hankin (2020)
A children's musician gets enmeshed in an Upper East Side mommy group, uncovering some devastating secrets.
What Is Missing by Michael Frank (2019)
The UES widow of an illustrious novelist goes to Italy and meets a father and son. The decision on whether to pursue having children courses throughout this underrated literary gem.
It’s Hot in the Hamptons
by Holly Peterson (2019)
Decamp for the Hamptons for a scandalous summer of affairs, horseback riding, betrayal and Botox in this novel by Holly Peterson, daughter of the late business icon Pete Peterson.
Yoga Pant Nation: Class Mom Book 3
by Laurie Gelman (2021)
Upper West Side mom Laurie Gelman, wife of a producer for Live with Kelly and Ryan, took inspiration from her own Manhattan mama drama and pretended some of it took place in Kansas City in the Class Mom series.
The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy (2018)
A mommy group in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, reels when one of their newborns vanishes in this twisty thriller.
Mrs. by Caitlin Macy (2018)
An Upper East Side preschool is rocked when one mom uncovers a secret about the most buzzed-about Queen Bee mama, married to a prominent investment banker.
The Paper Palace
by Miranda Cowley Heller (2021)
Although this smash summer hit is mostly set in idyllic Cape Cod, action takes place up and down Fifth Avenue near Elle's childhood home on the UES, including mad dashes to the hospital up Fifth Avenue, and close calls with skeevy men in the '80s off Madison.
Eliza Starts a Rumor by Jane L. Rosen (2020)
In this zippy novel, many characters' lives intersect in a small Hudson Valley town thanks to a message board started by a city transplant. There are only two paragraphs about the UES in here, but it was enough to have this book banned from a UES Mamas Facebook group, so ...