The Room Mothers

Rich with humor, as well as psychological and social insight, The Room Mothers by Suzanne Frank has at its center the haunting question of how much we really know about each other-whether it is another student, parent or teacher. What secrets are we hiding? The story takes place in the small complacent world of a parochial school where parents thought the only danger to their children was from the outside secular world. The students' near tragedy in the hands of a doomsday cult is marvelously chronicled by their teacher Alice Wonder and the fourteen year old class scribe, Elaine Shoop. The story provides insight into the adolescent struggles of fitting in; fighting off a common bully, or pretending to be someone you are not and hoping no one notices. It is a story about corruption and redemption and the power of love in the face of evil and intolerance. Just keep telling yourself it's fiction.