The Board

Farber (The Order of the Trees) draws on her background in education for this shrewd small-town thriller. Recently divorced mother Liv Wilcox is hoping for a fresh start after moving from Boston to the quiet suburb of Whitebridge, N.H. Liv’s daughter, Piper, enrolls in the local public school, but after Liv attends a meeting of the school board and raises concerns about Piper’s exclusion from recess so she can take third-grade placement tests, the school’s principal, who is also the district superintendent, brushes her off. She’s surprised by the cold treatment, but learns from a fellow parent that the board keeps a running list of “problem” parents they refuse to interact with. Liv grows more alarmed when she learns that Lydia Brown, a once-popular teacher at Piper’s school, was bullied by the board and forced to resign for unspecified reasons. Convinced that something untoward (and possibly criminal) is happening, Liv tries to track Lydia down. Along the way, she grows increasingly obsessed with the board, worrying on occasion that she may have lost her mind. Farber nicely captures Liv’s mounting anxiety and makes her amateur investigation feel high-stakes. It’s a sharp exploration of parental unease. (Sept.)