At the heart of Friends and Strangersis the complex dynamic that's familiar to anyone who has been on either the providing or receiving end of professional child care. But drawn by Sullivan's deft hand, the relationship feels authentic and richly textured…Friends and Strangers is a big novel with big ideas. Sullivan sets out to cover a lot of terrain, from systemic inequality and the true definition of privilege to the bizarre social doctrine of dorm life and the politics of suburban book clubs. But where this novel shines brightest is in her patchwork of spot on minutiae, her honest rendering of what happens behind closed doors.