Briarwood

<p>How do you fight what you can’t put your finger on? This is Monica O’Reilly’s dilemma—the sort of prejudice that floats below the surface and feeds on insinuation and intolerance.<br />It is 1990. Monica is a shy unassuming probationary teacher in a French immersion school with one year left before receiving tenure. She works hard minds her own business and does her best to avoid school politics. But with the arrival of a new principal—think the Devil Wears Prada—her life is suddenly turned upside down.</p><p>Although she has received glowing reports for her teaching she now finds herself coming up short on all her evaluations. Not even a school break-in a dead body or an escaped reptile can distract her administrator from pursuing her insidious “plan.” Just when Monica is about to give up her principal has a bizarre accident and is replaced by an administrator who doesn’t share her toxic prejudices. When her principal recovers she’s like a new woman—or is she?</p><p>This is not just a novel about a dysfunctional school system. It’s about courage and perseverance in the face of sanctioned institutionalized bullying. Ultimately it’s a story about friendship love and the relationships that define us.</p>