Publishers Weekly
02/07/2022
Sorell (Mothers and Other Strangers) returns with a layered story of New York City’s gentrifying outer boroughs and an advice columnist who tries to help her two grown daughters. Wendy Wise’s younger daughter, Clementine, learns her husband lied about purchasing the house they’ve been renting, and that he put her money into a beverage start-up. Shocked, she sends him packing, but soon faces eviction, which she worries will uproot their anxious six-year-old son. Her older sister, Barb, an architect who’s fought to add an art space to a luxury condo building in Brooklyn, worries her girlfriend might be cheating on her. Meanwhile, Wendy hasn’t told her daughters she’s been let go from her magazine, nor that she’s remarried and moved from Manhattan to a Florida retirement community. But sensing she’s needed, Wendy returns to help her daughters, hoping the gesture will help alleviate their long-held resentments of her for remarrying (and divorcing) so soon after the death of their father. Spurred on by a somewhat contrived set of coincidences, they try to figure where Clementine’s husband went and how to get the money back. Sorell does a fine job describing neighborhood tensions and the city’s real estate scene, though the story wraps up a bit too neatly. This gets the job done, but its pleasures are fleeting. Agent: Mollie Glick, CAA. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
"Witty and wise." — People, "The Best New Books"
"Fast-paced and charming." — Good Morning America, Buzz Pick
"Cheerful and full of heart." — Washington Post, "13 Feel-Good Books to Brighten Your Summer"
"Gina Sorell’s very entertaining new novel, The Wise Women, does something even better, letting us into the not-so-perfect private life of one of those all-knowing advice columnists. . . . Real-life issues are dealt with here—infidelity, gentrification, regret, affordable housing, aging—but because of the bright prose and offbeat cast, I was never too worried. . . . I was always happy to return to The Wise Women, safely amused by the witty dialogue and disasters, confident that things would work out in the end." — New York Times Book Review
“If this winsome novel were a movie, it would be by the late Nora Ephron." — Zoomer magazine
"I laughed and shook my head in recognition as the three Wise women crashed through love relationships, terrible advice, and delightful moments of connection. The Wise Women is a smart and tender novel about how hard—and vital—it is to find the place where we belong." — Amanda Eyre Ward, New York Times bestselling author of The Jetsetters and the upcoming The Lifeguards
"This charming page turner about a big old knot of family ties that only the Wise women can unravel is so smart about family dynamics, so warm, so heartfelt, I want to marry into the Wise family, myself." — Courtney Maum, author of Touch and Costalegre
“Gina Sorell’s The Wise Women is about the exorbitant price of city real estate, yes, but it’s also about the high cost of family, love, personal and professional growth—and the rich rewards of all of the above. This tale of the three Wise women making their way in the world is so warm, witty, and, well, wise, that I found myself wanting to pick it back up immediately each time I set it down. I won’t forget these ladies and the colorful cast of characters accompanying them on their journeys any time soon.” — Meg Mitchell Moore, author of The Islanders and Two Truths and a Lie
"All hail the Wise Women! The Wise Women hums along with a lively tale of New York real estate, the powers of marketing and the non-stop stress of making it in the big city. But the heart of the story is the complicated relationship between the three Wise women, filled with old resentments, new realities, good and bad advice and genuine love." — Lian Dolan, author of The Sweeney Sisters
"A witty and heartfelt examination of the multi-layered love triangle that is the mother-daughter-sister relationship. The three Wise women will keep you guessing, laughing and turning pages as they navigate all that is thrown their way." — Jane L. Rosen, author of Eliza Starts a Rumor
"Gorgeous, witty and so alive that you’ll swear the pages are breathing, Sorell’s The Wise Women sets two extraordinary grown sisters and their controlling mother on a collision course when the bottom falls out for them personally and professionally. About the price of real estate, the power of aging, class, parenting, family and, of course, love, The Wise Women is at heart about finding your personal True North. I'd follow these three women anywhere." — Caroline Leavitt, author of With or Without You
“A witty novel. . . . a breezy, fun read with just enough heft.” — Booklist
“Lots of human complexity and daily-life detail. . . . The characters are warm and quirky in an enjoyably familiar way. . . . a fine addition to the collection.” — Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Mothers and Other Strangers: "Sorell reveals herself as an author to watch... Left me wanting to read whatever Sorell writes next." — The Globe and Mail
"Riveting." — Good Housekeeping
“A fascinating look at a unique and fractured parent-child relationship . . . engaging and tense.” — Kirkus Reviews
"A memorable first novel, a delightfully twisty gothic with the strange and eerie urgency of a fable or a dream." — Dan Chaon, National Book Award nominee and author of Ill Will
“A stunning debut, Mothers and Other Strangers grips from page one. It’s a perfect weave of suspense and of insight about how people love and hurt one another, and sometimes heal, and sometimes cannot. I highly recommend this novel and look forward—impatiently—to Gina Sorell’s future work.” — Robin Black, author of Life Drawing
Courtney Maum
"This charming page turner about a big old knot of family ties that only the Wise women can unravel is so smart about family dynamics, so warm, so heartfelt, I want to marry into the Wise family, myself."
Zoomer magazine
If this winsome novel were a movie, it would be by the late Nora Ephron."
"The Best New Books" People
"Witty and wise."
Caroline Leavitt
"Gorgeous, witty and so alive that you’ll swear the pages are breathing, Sorell’s The Wise Women sets two extraordinary grown sisters and their controlling mother on a collision course when the bottom falls out for them personally and professionally. About the price of real estate, the power of aging, class, parenting, family and, of course, love, The Wise Women is at heart about finding your personal True North. I'd follow these three women anywhere."
Amanda Eyre Ward
"I laughed and shook my head in recognition as the three Wise women crashed through love relationships, terrible advice, and delightful moments of connection. The Wise Women is a smart and tender novel about how hard—and vital—it is to find the place where we belong."
Good Morning America
"Fast-paced and charming."
New York Times Book Review
"Gina Sorell’s very entertaining new novel, The Wise Women, does something even better, letting us into the not-so-perfect private life of one of those all-knowing advice columnists. . . . Real-life issues are dealt with here—infidelity, gentrification, regret, affordable housing, aging—but because of the bright prose and offbeat cast, I was never too worried. . . . I was always happy to return to The Wise Women, safely amused by the witty dialogue and disasters, confident that things would work out in the end."
Jane L. Rosen
"A witty and heartfelt examination of the multi-layered love triangle that is the mother-daughter-sister relationship. The three Wise women will keep you guessing, laughing and turning pages as they navigate all that is thrown their way."
Meg Mitchell Moore
Gina Sorell’s The Wise Women is about the exorbitant price of city real estate, yes, but it’s also about the high cost of family, love, personal and professional growth—and the rich rewards of all of the above. This tale of the three Wise women making their way in the world is so warm, witty, and, well, wise, that I found myself wanting to pick it back up immediately each time I set it down. I won’t forget these ladies and the colorful cast of characters accompanying them on their journeys any time soon.
Lian Dolan
"All hail the Wise Women! The Wise Women hums along with a lively tale of New York real estate, the powers of marketing and the non-stop stress of making it in the big city. But the heart of the story is the complicated relationship between the three Wise women, filled with old resentments, new realities, good and bad advice and genuine love."
Booklist
A witty novel. . . . a breezy, fun read with just enough heft.
Good Housekeeping
"Riveting."
The Globe and Mail
Praise for Mothers and Other Strangers: "Sorell reveals herself as an author to watch... Left me wanting to read whatever Sorell writes next."
Booklist
A witty novel. . . . a breezy, fun read with just enough heft.
Dan Chaon
"A memorable first novel, a delightfully twisty gothic with the strange and eerie urgency of a fable or a dream."
Robin Black
A stunning debut, Mothers and Other Strangers grips from page one. It’s a perfect weave of suspense and of insight about how people love and hurt one another, and sometimes heal, and sometimes cannot. I highly recommend this novel and look forward—impatiently—to Gina Sorell’s future work.
Caroline Leavitt
"Gorgeous, witty and so alive that you’ll swear the pages are breathing, Sorell’s The Wise Women sets two extraordinary grown sisters and their controlling mother on a collision course when the bottom falls out for them personally and professionally. About the price of real estate, the power of aging, class, parenting, family and, of course, love, The Wise Women is at heart about finding your personal True North. I'd follow these three women anywhere."
Library Journal - Audio
06/01/2022
Wendy Wise is a former advice columnist, now living in Florida. Her adult daughters are Barb and Clementine. Barb is an architect, struggling against the gentrification of New York City neighborhoods. Clementine is a working mother of a gifted six-year-old. One day Clementine discovers that her husband Steve rented, rather than bought, the house they occupy, using her down payment money to fund a start-up. Barb loaned her sister a big part of the funding and she has overextended her finances in other real estate renovations. When Steve goes AWOL with their joint credit card, Clementine assumes the worst. Wendy swoops in from retirement to "fix" her daughters' lives, to be met with Barb's resentment and the realization that Clementine has made her life decisions based on her own (bad) advice column. Earphones winner Stacey Glemboski skillfully brings out the personalities of the Wise women and their friends. VERDICT With humor and insight, Sorell (Mothers and Other Strangers) addresses issues such as affordable housing, sustainable living, child rearing, parenting, and the difficulties women face.—Joanna M. Burkhardt
Library Journal
08/01/2021
In the No. 1 New York Times best-selling Chamberlain's The Last House on the Street, Kayla Carter is mourning the husband who died building their dream house in a North Carolina community as warnings from not one but two older women not to move into the house eventually lead to a story of prejudice and violence that rocked the community a half-century earlier (150,000-copy first printing). A librarian like her creator, debut novelist Jurczyk, Liesl Weiss is shocked to discover that a valuable manuscript has gone missing from The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections but is told not to raise a ruckus—but she starts investigating when a colleague goes missing as well. Getting readied for television by the BBC, May's debut novel, Wahala ("trouble"), features three British Nigerian women whose close friendship is blown to bits when a glamorous and ultimately venomous outsider insinuates herself into the group. In No. 1 New York Times best-selling Mitchard's The Good Son, Thea Demetriou must find a way to support her son emotionally when he returns home from prison after having committed a heinous crime. Patterson and Lupica join forces with The Horsewoman, the story of a mother and daughter who are both champion riders—and are up against each other in competitons leading to the Paris Olympics. In Shalvis's series starter, The Family You Make, Jane is dangerously stranded on a ski lift with Levi Cutler, who impulsively tells his parents by cellphone that she is his girlfriend—a charade she agrees to keep up when she finds herself falling for him and his warm, embracing family. Sorell follows up her well-rendered small-press debut, Mothers and Other Strangers, with Three Wise Women: an officious advice columnist and her two troubled adult daughters. In Steel's latest, a young woman who survived a neglectful childhood by hunkering down can remain Invisible no longer when her dream of becoming a film director unexpectedly puts her in front of the camera. Revisiting Perdita Street, the setting of Wiggs's beloved The Lost and Found Bookstore, Sugar and Salt makes love bloom between San Francisco baker Jerome "Sugar" Barnes and barbecue master Molly Salton, trying to forget an unhappy past in Texas.
Kirkus Reviews
2022-03-02
When misfortune finds the three women of the Wise family, they are forced to wise up to their historic dysfunction.
It begins with the dissolution of Clementine Wise’s marriage, which comes with a heap of debt and threatens the careful life she’s built for her 6-year-old son. Clementine’s being in trouble is a call to action for her older sister, Barb, though Barb has overleveraged herself financially as well as in the volume of support she is able to give her loved ones and business associates. Swooping in to rescue them both is their mother, Wendy, a storied advice columnist recently edged out of her magazine gig and fresh into her third marriage. Though she initially seems like a narcissist bent on making up for past neglect, Wendy proves to be startlingly open-minded and humorously unpredictable in her meddling (one iffy but pivotal plot thread has her bonding with an Instagram influencer). The questions are: Will Barb forgive her mother for leaving her to largely raise Clementine in the wake of their father’s untimely death? Will Clementine develop a backbone and pave her own way rather than doing what the other Wise women think is best for her? The answers are unsurprising. While the novel begins with lots of human complexity and daily-life detail, characters are soon giving honest, heartfelt speeches about changing their lifelong attitudes, and everyone is taking the sage advice of everyone else. The characters are warm and quirky in an enjoyably familiar way, and the settings—mostly a couple of lower-key White neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens—are nicely detailed.
With tidy resolutions, this novel doesn’t pack the punch of some of its peers, but it's a fine addition to the collection.
