Playing House

A stunning debut from the newest author to join the ranks in Avon Trade Fiction, award-winning journalist Patricia Pearson

Frannie MacKenzie, a 30-something New Yorker, suspects she is pregnant when a rather unexpected bout of morning sickness occurs directly upon a sweater display at The Gap.

With nothing else to do but gestate, Frannie decides to deal with father- (but-not-husband-) to-be Calvin, an “experimental” musician. Frannie and Calvin embark on a very wild ride that involves tuna helper, maternity bra shopping, flying Barbies, and more than a few spoon-playing musicians. Oh, and along the way, they have a baby and fall in love.

“A love story for real people—people who understand that “happily ever after” must be taken one day at a time.” - Elin Hilderbrand, author of The Beach Club and Nantucket Nights

“Hilarious. Pearson’s sophisticated storytelling is not only satirical but side-splitting.” - Toronto Sun

“Playing House plays the perils of parenthood like a Canuck road movie. It’s a trip.” - Toronto Star

“This premise, despite its serious nature, provides lots of laughs and poignancy in the hands of an author who’s obviously very experienced with babies. . . . Throughout the fast-paced fiction, the characters adapt to their sudden, surprise self-imposed family life in a realistic way. However, the plot never loses its sense of humour, even during the more dramatic moments.” - Winnipeg Free Press

“Playing House scores twice; it tickles the funny bone and hits a nerve about our introspective modern life. Told in Frannie’s self-deprecating voice, Patricia Pearson’s Playing House is a witty, laugh-out-loud account of, well, angst at the entanglement of commitments that come with an Impending Infant and with the arrival itself.” - Globe and Mail (Toronto)

“A deft new comic novel by Canadian author Patricia Pearson. Frannie seems to be wedged in the literary crawl space between Bridget Jones (single woman, bad habits, looking for love) and Kate Reddy (married, harried working mother of two in the smash British novel I Don’t Know How She Does It).” - Maclean's