Maggie, Barbara and Elizabeth live in the same Florida town in Florida, and their children all attend middle school. Maggie is a recent widow, Barbara is the late-in-life mother of a child with Down’s Syndrome, and Elizabeth is a “super mom” with a corporate career and a daughter; forty-something Elizabeth also has a surprise pregnancy. The three women share a common bond through their daughters. In addition, Barbara is Maggie’s niece, and Maggie and her daughter are temporarily living in a cottage on Barbara’s property. Maggie needed a geographical change of scenery after her husband’s death, so she packed up and moved to her hometown in Florida.
The book centers on the mothers, their daughters, and the daily trials and tribulations in their lives. Maggie’s daughter is trying to adjust to being in a new school, and things become complicated when a “mystery blogger” begins wreaking havoc on the student body. The PTA members grapple over whether they should draw attention to the mystery blogger or if they should ignore the matter. The blogger adds an interesting mystery element to the book.
Maggie herself is trying to adjust to being back in her hometown. When Burt, Barbara’s husband, subtly starts hitting on her, things quickly become uncomfortable. The truth is that Barbara’s marriage is in shambles after having six children with Burt and many years invested in their marriage. And Elizabeth faces dealing with a baby that is just is not part of the “life plan” that she and her husband have devised with their only child being in middle school.
True Confessions of the Stratford Park PTA is not the first book Thompson book I have read; I like her heartfelt, poignant writing style with a Southern flair. Her character and their involving dilemmas keep the reader interested throughout the entire book.