Pretty Little World

This collaborative endeavor from author LaBan (The Restaurant Critic's Wife) and former schoolteacher/first-time novelist DePino takes three neighboring young families who are extremely close—so close that they are like a big family—and subjects them to an interesting experiment. When Celia and Mark realize they may have to leave their house for a bigger one, the other couples, Stephanie and Chris and Hope and Leo, entertain the idea of tearing down the walls to the other two homes and all living together under one roof. Everyone believes there are only pros to this arrangement and that they can create a quasiutopian environment in which to live, or a "pretty little world." But each couple has to face their own realities and expectations they may have otherwise hidden from the others. In these close quarters, where the boundaries are blurred and more is on display for all to see, some things are just not as perfect or "pretty" as they seem or how we want others to see them.