available 8/20/19

ABOUT:

Hannah Webber fears she will never be a mother, but her prayers are finally answered when she gives birth to a son. In an era of high-stakes parenting, nurturing Sam’s intellect becomes Hannah’s life purpose. She invests body and soul into his development, much to the detriment of her marriage. She convinces herself, however, that Sam’s acceptance at age fourteen to the most prestigious of New England boarding schools overseen by an illustrious headmaster, justifies her choices.

When he arrives at Dunning, Sam is glad to be out from under his mother’s close watch. And he enjoys his newfound freedom—until, late one night, he stumbles upon evidence of sexual misconduct at the school and is unable to shake the discovery.

Both a coming-of-age novel and a portrait of an evolving mother-son relationship, The Nine is the story of young man who chooses to expose a corrupt world operating under its own set of rules—even if it means jeopardizing his mother’s hopes and dreams.

PURCHASE here.

PRAISE:

“A poignant mother-son drama… In fluid prose, Blasberg combines two tales through two alternating voices… A helicopter mom turns out to be no match for a well-funded conspiracy; engaging, with a likable young protagonist.” —KIRKUS

“Dunning is a well-drawn setting where even the smallest dramas are magnified tenfold, and by the end, everyone has grown up more than a little bit. A good choice for fans of thoughtful coming-of-age dramas.” —Booklist

Blasberg is a wonderful storyteller… Watching misunderstandings happen between mother and son is like being unable to look way from a car crash. …the reader feels each character’s hurt as vividly as if they were in the story themselves.” —Online Book Club

— The Nine… delivers a tightly plotted tale that taps the vein of secret terror every first-time parent harbors when sending a child on their own into the world. With devastating precision, Blasberg mines the insecurity, the denial, the projected hope and ambition of a mother singularly devoted to her only child played against revelations of dark doings at an elite prep school. …the reader ratchets back and forth between sympathy and antipathy toward Hannah’s fierce love, blinding wishfulness, and searing heartache… A painful, beautiful book.” —Barbara Stark-Nemon, author of Even in Darkness and Hard Cider

AUTHOR VISITS:

Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg is available to visit with book clubs (virtual and in-person) via NovelNetwork.com. View her calendar and schedule your visit here.