Pink Glass Houses by Asha Elias

Pink Glass Houses by Asha Elias | Expected publication June 25, 2024 | 272 pages | Goodreads

REVIEW

This is a satirical novel that tells the story of some of the wealthy parents at an elite elementary school in Miami Beach, Florida. The story centers around the PTA moms and the lengths they go to to gain and maintain power within the social circle.

I found the book entertaining and engaging. The plot reveals, without giving away any spoilers, that all is not as perfect as it seems.

It is a take on the world of privilege, exposing the absurdity and hypocrisy that can sometimes exist within. I wouldn’t say I liked any characters, but that did not diminish my enjoyment. I loved reading the acknowledgments at the end; as a Miami resident, I am particularly fond of local authors, and any mention of our beloved local store, Books & Books, is duly noted and appreciated.

I enjoyed it and recommend it.

PUBLISHER’S DESCRIPTION

A seductive social satire about the wealthy PTA moms of an elite elementary school in Miami Beach, Pink Glass Houses is very Big Little Lies and Pineapple Street, but with diamonds, a tan, and a glass of rosé.

There’s a reason people call Miami Beach “a sunny place for shady people.”

Welcome to Sunset Academy, the most coveted elementary school in Miami Beach, where there are three categories of families: rich, wealthy, and ultra-wealthy.

Perfectly tanned and smiling Charlotte Giordani is Sunset Academy’s alpha mom. With a sleek blowout and relentless charm, Charlotte’s brashness serves her well. She’s up for election as the PTA president and is riding high, having just secured a massive donation from billionaire Don Walker and his socialite wife Patricia. Don and Patricia are philanthropists, media darlings, and the owners of Villa Rosé, a newly built modern glass house that everyone is talking about. (It’s either spectacular or a tacky eyesore, depending on how you feel about billionaires.)

Enter Melody Howard, a wide-eyed transplant from Wichita, Kansas. At first a skeptic about Miami Beach and its endlessly hashtaggable social scene, Melody finds herself sucked into the glossy, frenetic world of Sunset Academy moms. Melody’s easygoing manner and background in nonprofit management make her an asset to the PTA. But when she emerges as a rival for the PTA presidency, Charlotte begins to unravel. Even the most powerful players on the social scene prove to be vulnerable when an investigation into white-collar crime—triggered by another school mom, the formidable Jamaican-American Judge Carol Lawson—threatens to take down the whole institution. No amount of rosé can soothe tensions as the drama builds to a shocking crisis point.

Told in rotating first person voices, Pink Glass Houses is an irresistibly voyeuristic peek into the lives of the rich and infamous, where cocaine playdates, $100,000 kiddie birthday parties, and relentless social climbing are a way of life.

BOOK SOURCE AND FORMAT

ARC, ebook