S. J. T. (cactuspatch) reviewed on 11/11/2015 + 40 more book reviews

Have recently discovered Dorothea Benton Frank's books, and this is my favorite so far.
Love the characters, and those of you who have gone through the heart-rending empty-nest time of your teenagers growing into adulthood, will appreciate her take on how hard it is to be supportive and yet to let your children fly on their own wings, whether ready or not.
Then throw those teenagers into even greater changes as their mother plans a family move to a different part of the country, finds a new job and a new relationship for herself, and you'll see a mom who's going through a true balancing act in her life.
This book is a somewhat restful change from the fast-paced sexually-charged relationships in many of the current love stories out right now.
But there IS a love story, and it is tempered with the whole family dynamics going through major change as the mom tries to find them a new home with a promise of community, friendship and work in a totally new field for herself.
Anybody out there raising older teenagers? Anybody out there rash enough to try to relocate them at that stage in their life? Whee-uuu...
Every step the mom takes is carefully thought out (which may read as "slow" to some readers), but to me, it's comforting to read about functional family and love relationships, among characters who care about each other.
Like a good stew, the book is well-seasoned with the regionalism with which Dorothea Frank is known, so we get a good sense of the South and the area known as Lowcountry. And yes, it makes me want to go there!
Her descriptions of the countryside are a joy and her characters, funny, poignant and real. Go, Dorothea!

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