THE SWEET SPOT
“The Sweet Spot is smart, sparkling and very very funny. Don’t let it slip past you unread.” - The Washington Post
“Delightful chaos... there’s plenty of fun to be had in this chronicle of misunderstandings and new beginnings. Readers are in for a treat.” - Publishers Weekly
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!
The Sweet Spot Book Trailer!
“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, author of The Good Left Undone
“Vivid, funny and total escapist joy. Amy Poeppel writes so beautifully, that it's a whole four-dimensional world; one I loved getting lost in.” - Lia Louis, author of Dear Emmie Blue and Eight Perfect Hours.
“Amy Poeppel is an auto-buy author for me and The Sweet Spot perfectly illustrates why: open-hearted storytelling with characters I wish I knew in real life, and a New York City rich with everyday magic and commonplace heroes. Funny, surprising, and utterly satisfying—a must read.” - Kelly Harms, bestselling author of Wherever The Wind Takes Us
"Absolutely hilarious . . . THE SWEET SPOT is a celebration of the ways we find community when we need it most." - Real Simple
“Smart, compassionate and ingenious, with a wicked sense of humor, Poeppel's latest novel hits the sweet spot from start to finish.” - Shelf Awareness
“Quirky characters breathe life into this lighthearted family farce that will appeal to readers who enjoy the novels of Curtis Sittenfeld, Cathleen Schine, and Eleanor Brown.” —Library Journal
"“[A] lovely story and a perfect conclusion. When you turn the last page, your heart will feel a bit fuller.” - Book Reporter
“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, author of Better Luck Next Time and Be Frank With Me
“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, author of Happy & You Know It and A Special Place For Women.
“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, author of Nora Goes Off Script
“Poeppel manages the intersecting stories so deftly that the connections between the characters seem not only natural but inevitable. This character-driven novel about a disparate group of people bound into an unusual, sprawling family will appeal to fans of Emma Straub and Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney.” —Booklist (starred review)
Bookseller Praise for The Sweet Spot:
"I had such a good time reading The Sweet Spot. I can’t remember the last time I had so many laugh out loud moments in reading a book. What a wonderful cast of characters." Fran Keilty (Hickory Stick Bookshop)
"Amy Poeppel's latest is a brilliant slapstick comedy-of-errors set in Greenwich Village. A group of relative strangers end up bonding together to take care of a baby and all their lives are turned upside down as a result. Funny and tender, Amy is a master at capturing human frailties and dysfunction as well as the things that connect us and make us whole. An absolute delight." Carolyn Hutton (Mrs. Dalloway’s)
“Sometimes you just want to grab the characters in a book and throw your arms around them! The Sweet Spot is that book! Enter a cast of characters that you will have you fuming, crying and laughing out loud. What could be better? An absolutely great read!!! So wickedly good!” Mary Hembree (House of Books)
“This is a comic masterpiece. It is fabulous to see older women like Melinda portrayed in such an authentic - and hilarious - way. The arc of her character development is sheer brilliance on the page. I went from laughing over her diabolical revenge plans to cheering her on as she finds empathy, community, and love.” Pamela Klinger-Horn (Valley Bookseller)
