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Laura & Emma
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
A tender, witty debut novel about a single mother raising her daughter among the upper crust of New York City society in the late twentieth century from a nine-time Moth StorySLAM champion. Laura hails from the Upper East Side of Manhattan, born into old money, drifting aimlessly into her early thirties. One weekend in 1981 she meets Jefferson. The two sleep together. He vanishes. And Laura realizes shes pregnant. Enter: Emma. Despite her progressive values, Laura raises Emma by herself in the same blue-blood world of private schools and summer homes she grew up in, buoyed by a host of indelible characters, including her eccentric mother, who informs her society friends and Emma herself that she was fathered by a Swedish sperm donor; her brother, whose childhood stutter reappears in the presence of their forbidding father; an exceptionally kind male pediatrician; and her overbearing best friend, whose life has followed the Park Avenue script in every way except for childbearing. Meanwhile, the apple falls far from the tree with Emma, who begins to question her environment in a way her mother never could. Told in vignettes that mine the profound from the mundane, with meditations on everything from sex and death to insomnia and the catharsis of crying on the subway, a textured portrait emerges of a woman struggling to understand herself, her daughter, and the changing landscape of New York City in the eighties and nineties. Laura & Emma is an acutely insightful exploration of class and family warfare from a new author whose offbeat sensibility, understated wit, and stylish prose celebrate the comedy and pathos that make us human.
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review
emmaturi
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
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Pickpick

This is set in New York, Laura have a one night stand and 9 months later Emma comes along. It is about her bringing up Emma, she get help from her parents too. It doesn't sound that riveting but I like it! #books

Nute I usually enjoy this type of story. Stacking! 5y
26 likes1 stack add1 comment
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emmaturi
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
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These are the books I got from my Illumicrate subscription. I haven't read any yet, I have so many books. It is hard to chose what to read! #tbr

Nute The Orphanage of Gods sounds intriguing. 5y
32 likes1 comment
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erinreads
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
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Having the worst week of my life and to top it all off, I have to be at work by 6:30 this morning. 😭 The only good thing is that I had the WiFi turned off on my Kindle, so I was surprised to see I didn‘t lose my library loan that ended three days ago.

Librarybelle I‘m so sorry about your bad week! 5y
JoScho Hoping it gets better ❤️ 5y
LMJenkins Here‘s hoping for a better day today. 🤞🏻 5y
See All 10 Comments
Kaye Sorry you‘re having such a rough week. Hope tomorrow goes better. 5y
squirrelbrain Hope your week gets better... ❤️ 5y
AmyG Hope things get better for you. Hugs 5y
cobwebmoth Hope things improve for you soon. 5y
Laura317 Hope your week gets better. 🐪 day! 5y
Leftcoastzen Hope your week improves ,hang in there. 5y
silentrequiem So sorry. Hope it gets better. Hugs. 5y
86 likes10 comments
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Redwritinghood
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
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Mehso-so

This book deals mainly with the relationships between mothers and daughters. The women in this book all come from old money in New York, so there‘s also a lot about privilege here. The writing and characters are good, but in the end I was left thinking “so what?” There wasn‘t anything at stake in the story and it seemed like the author had no idea how to end the story. 2.5⭐️ #TOB

merelybookish Did you finish Golden State? Curious what you thought. 5y
Redwritinghood @merelybookish Nope. Bailed on that one. It was just too tedious. 5y
69 likes3 comments
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Lauren.Archer
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
Mehso-so

I really really liked this book about a single mother in the 80‘s & 90‘s but gotta knock it down because of the ending....WTF?

Mamashep Hate when the ending ruins a book you‘ve been loving! 6y
69 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Lauren.Archer
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
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Hoping to end my evening on a high note.

88 likes1 stack add
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Rachelkerr
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
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One of the more exhausting aspects of getting older was having to act like an adult. Pretending to like people you couldn‘t stand, speaking for the sake of filling a silence, smiling when you felt like crying.

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BittersweetBooks
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
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One of the more exhausting aspects of getting older was having to act like an adult. Pretending to like people you couldn‘t stand, speaking for the sake of filing a silence, smiling when you felt like crying 🎀

18 likes1 stack add
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ItsAnotherJen
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
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Pickpick

Mostly this is a story about a woman named Laura. Her life in New York, growing up, growing older, having a daughter named Emma, and their relationship. Its a quiet book...introspective..simple. It's an easy read and is very enjoyable in its own way.

I read a description of it as "a literary Gilmore Girls set in the 1980s in upper east side NYC."

The abrupt ending was really odd though. I don't like what it was impying one bit. ?

emilyhaldi Sounds good!!! Nice review 👏🏻 6y
103 likes5 stack adds1 comment
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Manoshgirl51
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
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Pickpick

Belletrist April Pick

This book showed me the relationship between a mother and her daughter. What starts out as an unplanned pregnancy leads to Laura‘s adventures being a mother while trying to find out who she is. I really learned a lot about myself and how I will be when I have kids of my own.

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readherwriteher
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
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Panpan

I did not love this book. I read it and had no feeling through most of it. Laura stayed the same from beginning to end and maybe that‘s the point of the novel. I didn‘t understand what the book was trying to say, and ultimately that left me frustrated.

RaimeyGallant Good to know. 6y
readherwriteher @RaimeyGallant it was just blah, all around. The characters weren‘t compelling, it was just boring. 6y
Ruthiella Great photo though! 6y
KateFulfordAuthor If you would like richer characters and a precision engineered plot, may I be so bold as to recommend my debut? Check the link in my bio for a summary, reviews and more. /Kate 6y
86 likes5 comments
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BarefootBurk
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
This post contains spoilers
show me
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Wtf with the ending?!
Anyone?

I felt like it was 5 pages from some other book.

readherwriteher I agree. What the actual EFF?!? The whole book was terrible. Laura did nothing. The characters were blah, there was no storyline/plot that I could find... and then she‘s stuck on a roof in a snowstorm at the end. That‘s how the story ends? 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ 6y
ItsAnotherJen @readherwriteher Yes! Exactly! What was that ending???? I actually thought the book was nice. Quiet, soft, real. But the ending was really weird. Is the author saying she dies outside?? On the roof? 6y
ItsAnotherJen I was wondering if anyone else thought Laura was gay by chance? 6y
readherwriteher @JenFowler I think she was gay and flirted with the idea of acting on it, until her date turned out to be someone she knew. 6y
BarefootBurk Definitely on both. 6y
3 likes5 comments
review
ChristinaStephanieReads6
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
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Mehso-so

I enjoyed reading this book. Initially I thought the bond between Laura & Emma would be more of a friendship vs mother & daughter. I enjoyed seeing their relationship grow and also falter throughout the years. I did find that some of the years/chapters were a bit rushed and left the story a bit choppy. I would have liked to see more character development throughout the story. Thank you to @simonbooks @netgalley for the digital copy of this book.

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BornReadChicago
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
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Pickpick

Thank you @simonbooks for the #partner copy in exchange for my honest review. I was utterly absorbed by this story: the prose on the agony and ecstasy of motherhood and adolescence rings so true. Greathead‘s writing reminds me of Curtis Sittenfeld, one of my all time favorites. Full review: http://www.bornandreadinchicago.com/2018/03/laura-and-emma-by-kate-greathead.htm...

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LauraBeth
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
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@MicheleinPhilly was nice enough to ensure I had a copy of this show up to my house today - the release day for this book. Why? Because the book title features mine and my daughter‘s name. Completely special for obvious reasons. 💕

MicheleinPhilly SMOOCHES! 6y
Oryx How lovely! 6y
Dolly Awww 💕 6y
See All 11 Comments
saresmoore ♥️♥️♥️ @MicheleinPhilly, you are a beautiful human! 6y
TNbookworm So sweet💞 6y
LeahBergen That is so wonderful, @MicheleinPhilly ! 💕💕💕 6y
minkyb ❣️❣️❣️ 6y
Redwritinghood How cute! So nice of her to send to you. 6y
Cinfhen So freakin sweet @MicheleinPhilly 💜💜💜 6y
tpixie So sweet 6y
123 likes11 comments
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JenniferJR
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
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I feel like I was playing catch up through out the book but I give major prompts to Greathead for honest, to-the -point writing. A nice mother/daughter coming of age story.

18 likes1 stack add
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Lola
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
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New York in the 80s? Yes, please!!!!! Enjoying this book with a glass of Rosé and my latest favorite puffy cheese snack from Trader Joe‘s. #bookandwine #bookandsnack #nightreading

JazzFeathers Of course l'm very partial to the 1980s, thought it makes me feel funny that there start to be historical novels set in that time... 6y
Cathythoughts Lovely combo 😋. & @JazzFeathers ..... tempus fugit 😬🛫✈️🛬 6y
Lola @JazzFeathers I refuse to call anything set during a time I lived in historical fiction 😂😂 6y
Lola @Cathythoughts Ain‘t that the truth!!! 🙃 6y
46 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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LMJenkins
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
Pickpick

I gobbled up this book in one day. Laura was such a real character, someone that you wouldn‘t be able to get to know well if you met her in real life. Therefore, the access to her inner thoughts meant that much more. Emma‘s quirky character also felt authentic, not prettied up so we would like her more. The upper crust life leant intrigue, but in the end, they are just like us with all of the same questions, worries, insecurities and faults.

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LMJenkins
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
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Excited for this one!

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Cinfhen
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
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Pickpick

Thank you to my friends @SimonSchuster for providing me with an ARC of this debut novel. A quiet, thoughtful exploration about mothers and daughters, and the often complex nature of their relationships. The background of 1980s NYC lends itself to this unique and challenging landscape. Not sure I liked the ending...but still a winsome read.

Cathythoughts Great review ✨✨✨ 6y
Joanne1 Sounds great, I'll look out for it when it's published. 6y
Jerdencon I got an ARC too but haven't read it yet. Happy to hear it was good. 6y
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Cinfhen Let me know what you think when U get to it @Jerdencon (edited) 6y
emilyhaldi Cool! Love a NYC setting anytime ❤️ #stacked 6y
L_auren Ahhh dying to read this one 6y
mrp27 I've been a sucker for a NYC setting since my Judy Blume days. Stacked! 6y
Cinfhen @mrp27 Did you read this book? I really loved it 6y
Cinfhen What did you guys think of the Attenberg book @emilyhaldi @L_auren 6y
L_auren @Cinfhen I thought it was great!!! 6y
mrp27 No I haven't but it's on my tbr. The mixed reviews keep me from picking it up. 6y
Cinfhen I really enjoyed All GrownUp, more than this debut @mrp27 @L_auren it's another book that screams NY 6y
emilyhaldi I loved All Grown Up too 😄😄 @L_auren @Cinfhen (edited) 6y
mrp27 With your seal of approval, I'm going to go for All Grown Up! 6y
Reviewsbylola Stacking this! 6y
127 likes6 stack adds15 comments
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Cinfhen
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
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Up next, a complimentary ARC from Simon & Schuster
Thank you, looking forward 🙏🏻
It‘s being billed as a literary Gilmore Girls set in 1980s Upper East Side NYC

L_auren This has been on my radar!!! Can‘t wait to see what you think!!! 6y
CherryPie Intriguing! 6y
Pamwurtzler That sounds like my kind of book! 6y
See All 9 Comments
AmyG Well that sounds fun. Let us know how it is. 6y
Reviewsbylola Sounds promising! 6y
emilyesears Sounds great! 6y
emilyhaldi Fun! 6y
minkyb Oh that sounds good. 6y
DivineDiana I like that description! 6y
112 likes5 stack adds9 comments
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KikiLovesBooks
Laura & Emma | Kate Greathead
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Pickpick

I got this on Netgalley (not that I need anything new to read) and was so utterly charmed by Laura that I read it very quickly. I‘m thinking of this as an antidote to The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe, another book set in the rarified Manhattan era of the 1980s (and that I love!)—but Laura and Emma are so honest and adorable and NOT precious or spoiled. Excellent and compelling writing. Slightly unnerving, but a joy to read.