The Nine by Jeanne Blasberg

Hannah Webber fears she will never be a mother, but her prayers are finally answered when she gives birth to a son. In an era of high-stakes parenting, nurturing Sam’s intellect becomes Hannah’s life purpose. She invests body and soul into his development, much to the detriment of her marriage. She convinces herself, however, that Sam’s acceptance at age fourteen to the most prestigious of New England boarding schools overseen by an illustrious headmaster, justifies her choices. When he arrives at Dunning, Sam is glad to be out from under his mother’s close watch. And he enjoys his newfound freedom―until, late one night, he stumbles upon evidence of sexual misconduct at the school and is unable to shake the discovery. Both a coming-of-age novel and a portrait of an evolving mother-son relationship, The Nine is the story of a young man who chooses to expose a corrupt world operating under its own set of rules―even if it means jeopardizing his mother’s hopes and dreams. 2020 National Indie Excellence Juror's Choice Award 2020 National Indie Excellence Award-Winner in Contemporary Novel 2020 National Indie Excellence Award Finalist in Regional Fiction: Northeast 2020 Readers' Favorite Book Awards Finalist in Fiction: General 2020 International Book Awards Finalist in Fiction: Literary 2020 Best Book Awards Finalist in Fiction: Literary 2019/20 Reader Views Literary Awards 2nd Place Winner in General Fiction 2019 Foreword INDIES Gold Winner for Thriller & Suspense 2019 Beverly Hills Book Awards Winner in Literary Fiction, General Fiction, & Regional Fiction: Northeast "The Nine is one of those suspenseful, highly addictive novels that keep you saying, "just one more chapter" until suddenly you've stayed up all night to finish it." —Christopher Castellani, author of Leading Men "Blasberg delves with unflinching precision into the chasms between parents and children, a novel revelatory for the author’s willingness to scrutinize both mother and son and their stifling bond." —Randy Susan Meyers, bestselling author of The Widow of Wall Street and Waisted. "a complex and beautifully wrought tale [that] will surely be catnip for book groups--Dead Poets Society crossed with a conspiracy thriller, with a helicopter mom's midlife crisis thrown in for good measure--and it'll keep the reader turning pages as fast as she can." —Holly LeCraw, author of The Half Brother "...A poignant mother-son drama....In fluid prose, Blasberg combines two tales through two alternating voices." —Kirkus Reviews “a tightly plotted tale that taps the vein of secret terror every first-time parent harbors when sending a child on their own into the world. With devastating precision... A painful, beautiful book.” ―Barbara Stark-Nemon, author of Hard Cider “I felt this book in my soul… one of the best descriptions in literature of a mother’s changing relationship with her husband, her son, and herself.” —THE NERD DAILY “Blasberg has a knack for pulling readers in…” —BOOK TRIB