Helen Schulman

This Beautiful Life Helen Schulman

When the Bergamots move from suburban Ithaca to Upper West Side New York, they are not sure how well they will adapt, but soon Richard is consumed by his executive role at a university, and Liz is hectically ferrying six-year-old Coco around. Fifteen-year-old Jake is gratefully taken in by a group of friends at Wildwood, an elite private school. But their upper-class cocoon is ripped apart when Jake wakes up after a party to an email from an eighth grade admirer. Attached is a sexually explicit video she has made. Shocked, stunned, maybe a little proud, and scared, he forwards the video to a friend—and the video goes viral. Within hours, its all over the city—all over the internet. Now Jake is suspended, Lizs status among the Wildwood moms is challenged, and Richards job is at risk. How they choose to react places everything they hold dear in jeopardy.