The Opposite of Maybe

January 20, 2014
Rosie’s grandmother, Soapie, is hardly your average 88-year-old: she chain-smokes, cheats at Scrabble, gets speeding tickets, and regularly entertains a gentleman caller. She’s also the only family Rosie’s ever known, and as exasperating as Soapie can be, Rosie feels a duty to look after her, as old age begins to slow her down. But the tables are turned when a sprained ankle and an explosive fight with her boyfriend send Rosie, 44, to Soapie’s for a few months. Rosie plans to help prepare the house to be sold and help Soapie find a home healthcare aide or an assisted-living facility, but Soapie bristles, claiming the only assistance she needs is from Tony Cavaletti, a sarcastic, rough-around-the-edges, aspiring landscaper who’s taken up residence in her guest room. When Rosie discovers she’s pregnant, she questions her ability to provide a stable environment for her baby, but as she bonds with Tony, who’s in the midst of his own bitter custody battle, Rosie realizes that the collection of oddballs that has gravitated around Soapie is the best family anybody could ever want. Though the plot doesn’t exactly have any earth-shattering moments, Dawson’s charmingly eccentric cast of characters is at turns lovable and infuriating, ensuring a quick read helmed by a memorable, complex heroine. Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary Agency.

February 1, 2014
Dawson's second novel (The Stuff That Never Happened, 2010) is a delightfully witty story of a 44-year-old first-time mother-to-be. Rosie and Jonathan are beloved by their friends, although they dance to their own awkward beat. They've stayed unmarried for 15 years, have escaped the stickiness of children and remind themselves they like things just the way they are--until Jonathan gets an offer to help open a museum dedicated to teacups. Jonathan, whose favorite word is "no," is now saying yes to San Diego and to something that sounds like an adventure. But Rosie likes Connecticut, her friends and teaching ESL; furthermore, she can't imagine building a life around the star power of porcelain. And then there's Soapie, Rosie's 88-year-old grandmother, who raised her and has recently been forgetting things. However, Soapie insists she doesn't need a nurse since, surprise, she has Tony and George to help. Tony is a nice young man who has moved in to mix cocktails, garden and pick Soapie up off the floor, and George is Soapie's geriatric lover. Rosie plans for the move to San Diego (Jonathan is going with or without her) but at the last minute decides not to go: She's had enough of Jonathan's myopic selfishness. He drops her off at Soapie's on his way out, and two weeks later, Rosie discovers she is pregnant. Everything seems impossible to handle (including Jonathan, who insists on an abortion), and Rosie would implode if not for Tony, who is kind, goofy and the most sweetly optimistic person Rosie has ever met. Tony has his own problems--his wife left him for her best friend, and now the two mommies won't let him have shared custody of his son, Milo--but he is still by Rosie's side. Tony may be just the guy for her. Then Jonathan calls from San Diego, begging her to join him so they can be a real family. A messy, funny, surprising story of second chances.

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March 1, 2014

Fortysomething Rosie and Jonathan's relationship is meandering along--they've been together for ages, and while the couple may enjoy their married friends with kids, they have no plans for their own marriage or children: Jonathan collects his teacups and Rosie worries about her grandmother Soapie, who raised her after Rosie's mother died. When a once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity comes along, Jonathan decides to take it and asks Rosie along as his wife. The happy-ever-after fails to materialize when it becomes clear that Jonathan's priorities don't match Rosie's; she decides to stay behind and look after Soapie, despite her grandmother's protests. And then Rosie learns she's pregnant. Reconciling her feelings about her future with the new truth she's learned about her mother's past, Rosie has to decide what motherhood will be like, on her own terms. VERDICT Dawson's chatty, third-person, present-tense narration blends her protagonists' backstories when really, this is Rosie's tale. The big reveal about Rosie's mom also comes very late, and there are no surprises in the end. Women's fiction for the perimenopause set, but, alas, no hot flashes.--Amy Brozio-Andrews, Albany P.L., NY

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