May is a 40 year old university plant gardener with a degree in landscape design who still lives in her childhood home with her dad and is somewhat of a recluse. She wins an award from the university which involves paid time off so she goes on four separate trips to visit old friends and stay with them. They don't do anything earth shattering; she just fits into their normal everyday lives. I liked May but the book kind of meanders for the most part and is introspective. Thoughts about leading a quiet life, friends, and what it means to have friends. Interspersed with lots of talk about plants and trees. Lots of allusions to things with a deeper meaning. About 3/4 of the way through the book she comes out with "I'm exploring friends because I'm avoiding exploring my family." There were lots of earlier references to her mom but nothing settling. Then we learn that her mother died after she fell down the stairs. But before then she had been ill and bedridden for many years from a hernia and depression. It is not clear which came first. May is trying to build a life with friends because her mom did not get to have a life. May also realizes that although she has been travelling to see her small circle of friends, she has also developed a romance back home and that this grounds her and keeps her solid and settled. She even throws a small party at the end. She creates a life of love and friends and ends the book with "May you settle and find good friends." I liked the ending. I liked that she was finding her friends and making connections. It gets only 3 1/2 stars only because it was meandering for a good chunk of the book without an active story line.

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