Books Set in Westchester

Want to get lost in a good book set right here in Westchester? Check out the following.

The Clique Series by Lisi Harrison
(Poppy, 2004)
This bestselling pre-teen series describes the trials and tribulations of middle-school girls at Westchester’s fictional Octavian Country Day School. While she may live in New York City, Harrison has the overly privileged suburban lifestyle down pat.

Home School by Charles Webb
(Thomas Dunne Books, 2008)
Charles Webb’s sequel to his bestselling 1960s novel The Graduate answers that all-important question: whatever happened to Ben and Elaine after they fled the wedding? The author, a former Hastings resident, reveals that the two have settled down right here to raise a family. The sequel opens with the couple fighting the Westchester School Board over homeschooling their sons.

In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff (Minotaur Books, 2009)
Winner of the Minotaur Books and the Mystery Writers of America’s inaugural competition, the debut novel of Hastings resident Stefanie Pintoff features a vicious homicide in Dobson (a fictional Dobbs Ferry/Hastings stand-in). The description of the Hudson River and the Palisades, the distinct neighborhoods of Hastings (its division into “hill and mill”), and other locales will be familiar to local readers.

- Advertisement -

Jane Austen in Scarsdale: Or Love, Death and the SATs by Paula Marantz Cohen (St Martin’s Press, 2007)
In a charismatic retelling of Austen’s final novel, Persuasion, Cohen adapts classic Victorian literature to life in Westchester. From the crazed college admissions process to resumé-boosting extracurriculars, Cohen, a New Jersey resident, portrays county life with uncanny accuracy.

Westchester Burning: A Portrait of a Marriage by Amine Wefali (The Dial Press, 2003)
Amine Wefali’s forthright memoir bluntly describes the collapse of her 30-year marriage. Set in her hometown of Chappaqua, Wefali’s married life features multiple mansions, private schools, fine cars, and lavish getaways, all of which may still ring a bell for some Westchester residents.

Where It Lies by K.J. Egan (Minotaur Books, 2009)
The gumshoe in this whodunit doesn’t pound the pavement looking for clues—she hits the links. The heroine, a resident of Poningo (a stand-in for Rye), is an assistant pro at the Harbor Terrace County Club (based on Rye Golf Club) who’s out to prove a groundskeeper’s death wasn’t suicide. Still a golfer, she qualifies for the U.S. Open at the Westchester Country Club, as well as visits the Greenwood Union Cemetery and Oakland Beach.