Gillian led an exciting life as a publicist in New York City. She had her own business and was very good at what she did. Suddenly, she lost it all and now all she had was an offer to serve as a "dorm mother" at her former high school alma mater where she had been a scholarship student. With no other prospects, she packed her designer luggage with her fancy clothes and returned to California to work at a job she had no experience with. What could go wrong?
Miriam Parker brings readers a multilayered story populated with a varied cast of characters in ROOM AND BOARD. Gillian had many memories of her time at the school. Some were quite painful and followed her into adulthood. Unexpectedly, she came face to face with the person who had betrayed her. In addition to her romatic issues and dealing with a rather unique group of students, an administrative scandal erupts. The narrative takes readers through the insular world of a private school when it suddenly is thrown into the public arena.
ROOM AND BOARDby Miriam Parker is a story about personal growth and second chances. It also deals with the complexities that come with teenagers who are being educated in a boarding school. I found this book to be well written and interesting.
Gillian thought she had everything she ever wanted—as a successful publicist running her own Manhattan firm and working with a high-profile-celebrity clientele, she finally made herself at home among the elite who eluded her throughout her youth. That is, until her career implodes, leaving her jobless, friendless, and with a googleable reputation that follows her everywhere. So, when she receives an offer to become a “dorm mom” at Glen Ellen Academy, the prestigious Sonoma boarding school she attended two decades earlier on scholarship, she leaps at the opportunity for a change of scene—at least until she can figure out how to rehabilitate her career.
But Gillian is surprised to find herself enjoying her new life: her role as a mentor is unexpectedly fulfilling, she finds a community, and most surprisingly of all she runs into an old flame from her own time at school, who is just as dashing now as he was then. However, just as she begins to feel comfortable, a scandal surfaces on campus that threatens to derail everything, and Gillian must figure out how to save her job, her students, her friends, and her new romance before it’s too late.
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