Volunteering at her daughter's school so that she can keep an eye on a bully, Susan faces a difficult choice when her daughter is tormented at the same time an explosion occurs in the cafeteria, a situation that causes Susan to be blamed for the bully's injuries.

Small, perfect towns often hold the deepest secrets. Such is the case for Essie and her family. When a new woman moves next door to Essie, she is an immediate object of curiosity in this neighbourhood. As the two women grow closer and Essie's friends disapprove, it starts to become clear that Isabelle's choice of neighbourhood was no accident. And that her presence might bring even more secrets to light.

"When I was younger, thinking about whether I wanted to have children, I always came back to this formula: If no one had told me anything about the world, I would have invented boyfriends. I would have invented sex, friendships, art. I would not have invented child-rearing. Motherhood treats the most universal and consequential decision of early adulthood--whether to have children--with the candour, originality and wit that have won Sheila Heti international...