Amy Poeppel brings her signature “big-hearted, charming” (The Washington Post) style to this wise and joyful novel that celebrates love, hate, and all of the glorious absurdity in between.
In the heart of Greenwich Village, three women form an accidental sorority when a baby—belonging to exactly none of them—lands on their collective doorstep.
Lauren and her family—lucky bastards—have been granted the use of a spectacular brownstone, teeming with history and dizzyingly unattractive 70s wallpaper. Adding to the home’s bohemian, grungy splendor is the bar occupying the basement, a (mostly) beloved dive called The Sweet Spot. Within days of moving in, Lauren discovers that she has already made an enemy in the neighborhood by inadvertently sparking the divorce of a couple she has never actually met.
Melinda’s husband of thirty years has dumped her for a young celebrity entrepreneur named Felicity, and, to Melinda’s horror, the lovebirds are soon to become parents. In her incandescent rage, Melinda wreaks havoc wherever she can, including in Felicity’s Soho boutique, where she has a fit of epic proportions, which happens to be caught on film.
Olivia—the industrious twenty-something behind the counter, who has big dreams and bigger debt—gets caught in the crossfire. In an effort to diffuse Melinda’s temper, Olivia has a tantrum of her own and gets unceremoniously canned, thanks to TikTok.
When Melinda’s ex follows his lover across the country, leaving their squalling baby behind, the three women rise to the occasion in order to forgive, to forget, to Ferberize, and to track down the wayward parents. But can their little village find a way toward the happily ever afters they all desire? Welcome to The Sweet Spot.
Genre: General Fiction
In the heart of Greenwich Village, three women form an accidental sorority when a baby—belonging to exactly none of them—lands on their collective doorstep.
Lauren and her family—lucky bastards—have been granted the use of a spectacular brownstone, teeming with history and dizzyingly unattractive 70s wallpaper. Adding to the home’s bohemian, grungy splendor is the bar occupying the basement, a (mostly) beloved dive called The Sweet Spot. Within days of moving in, Lauren discovers that she has already made an enemy in the neighborhood by inadvertently sparking the divorce of a couple she has never actually met.
Melinda’s husband of thirty years has dumped her for a young celebrity entrepreneur named Felicity, and, to Melinda’s horror, the lovebirds are soon to become parents. In her incandescent rage, Melinda wreaks havoc wherever she can, including in Felicity’s Soho boutique, where she has a fit of epic proportions, which happens to be caught on film.
Olivia—the industrious twenty-something behind the counter, who has big dreams and bigger debt—gets caught in the crossfire. In an effort to diffuse Melinda’s temper, Olivia has a tantrum of her own and gets unceremoniously canned, thanks to TikTok.
When Melinda’s ex follows his lover across the country, leaving their squalling baby behind, the three women rise to the occasion in order to forgive, to forget, to Ferberize, and to track down the wayward parents. But can their little village find a way toward the happily ever afters they all desire? Welcome to The Sweet Spot.
Genre: General Fiction
Praise for this book
"Amy Poeppel has written a generous, funny, big-hearted book, and she's pulled off a miracle while doing it: she's brought us characters that feel absolutely real, with their flaws, their pesky human foibles, and their undying need for each other. THE SWEET SPOT is a story of love and family, filled with complications, twists and turns, brilliant art, delightful children, fantastic old people, and Greenwich Village. I couldn't put this book down, even for sleep. Even for tea! And now I want to read it all over again." - Maddie Dawson
"THE SWEET SPOT is an absolute delight. With its quirky characters, humor, and lovely writing, it is my favorite book of late. Amy Poeppel has the freshest, funniest voice around." - Jane Green
"THE SWEET SPOT sparkles with Amy Poeppel's signature wit and warmth. This genuinely uproarious novel celebrates families - born and made - in all their messy glory. It's so much fun, you'll wish you could pull up a chair at the kitchen table and stay forever. (Though you might need to remove a feral gerbil from that chair first.)" - Laura Hankin
"What a big-hearted charmer this delightful book is! What a refuge the brilliant and talented Aston family and their circle of eccentric friends have created! THE SWEET SPOT is exactly the kind of novel I love the best and am always on the lookout for. Pure joy!" - Julia Claiborne Johnson
"With sly humor and sharp understanding, Amy Poeppel hits The Sweet Spot in this funny, twisty, goodhearted novel about families lost, found, and made." - Virginia Kantra
"If Leo Tolstoy and David Sedaris ever had a chance to get together to write a novel, they might have come up with THE SWEET SPOT. It is at once intricate and laugh-out-loud funny, with characters who are drawn with such attention to detail that they feel like old friends. Filled with hope and redemption, I think it's safe to say that THE SWEET SPOT is a masterpiece." - Annabel Monaghan
"The versatile and gifted Amy Poeppel has written a love letter to family, friendship and Greenwich Village. When baby Horatio arrives unexpectedly, Lauren, Melinda and Olivia who have little in common, unite to care for him, redefining the notion of community and the meaning of family. The twists and turns will delight readers. A smart, crisp, funny page turner. Book clubs will rejoice!" - Adriana Trigiani
"THE SWEET SPOT is warm, witty, and big-hearted.I loved spending time in a Waverly Place brownstone with Lauren, a ceramic artist, and the women and men in her orbit as they each wrestled with work, family, and the price of love." - Amanda Eyre Ward
"THE SWEET SPOT is an absolute delight. With its quirky characters, humor, and lovely writing, it is my favorite book of late. Amy Poeppel has the freshest, funniest voice around." - Jane Green
"THE SWEET SPOT sparkles with Amy Poeppel's signature wit and warmth. This genuinely uproarious novel celebrates families - born and made - in all their messy glory. It's so much fun, you'll wish you could pull up a chair at the kitchen table and stay forever. (Though you might need to remove a feral gerbil from that chair first.)" - Laura Hankin
"What a big-hearted charmer this delightful book is! What a refuge the brilliant and talented Aston family and their circle of eccentric friends have created! THE SWEET SPOT is exactly the kind of novel I love the best and am always on the lookout for. Pure joy!" - Julia Claiborne Johnson
"With sly humor and sharp understanding, Amy Poeppel hits The Sweet Spot in this funny, twisty, goodhearted novel about families lost, found, and made." - Virginia Kantra
"If Leo Tolstoy and David Sedaris ever had a chance to get together to write a novel, they might have come up with THE SWEET SPOT. It is at once intricate and laugh-out-loud funny, with characters who are drawn with such attention to detail that they feel like old friends. Filled with hope and redemption, I think it's safe to say that THE SWEET SPOT is a masterpiece." - Annabel Monaghan
"The versatile and gifted Amy Poeppel has written a love letter to family, friendship and Greenwich Village. When baby Horatio arrives unexpectedly, Lauren, Melinda and Olivia who have little in common, unite to care for him, redefining the notion of community and the meaning of family. The twists and turns will delight readers. A smart, crisp, funny page turner. Book clubs will rejoice!" - Adriana Trigiani
"THE SWEET SPOT is warm, witty, and big-hearted.I loved spending time in a Waverly Place brownstone with Lauren, a ceramic artist, and the women and men in her orbit as they each wrestled with work, family, and the price of love." - Amanda Eyre Ward
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