Other People’s Houses

Other People’s Houses by Abbi Waxman

Frances Bloom is the neighborhood carpool mom, and fits seven kids in her van every weekday morning. Then she has a couple of hours before picking up two preschoolers, usually spent running errands or doing laundry. Michael and Frances have three kids, ages 4 to 14, along with two dogs and a cat, and don’t get much alone time. Retrieving craft supplies for first-grader Kate, she learns that her neighbor Anne is having an affair. Anne ends the affair, but her husband finds out and causes a scene that has the whole neighborhood on edge. Different points of view introduce the neighbors, and even Ava, at 14 the oldest kid on the block, gets her turn, as does her brother Milo. Witty dialogue and some humor, especially at soccer games, make for a quick read, but I found this book not quite as enjoyable as her first book, The Garden of Small Beginnings.

Brenda