Wife-in-Law

July 18, 2011
Republican wife bonds with left-leaning hippie in this engaging Southern-fried saga of friendship, family, and survival from the saleswoman-turned-author of Waking Up in Dixie. Betsy and Kat meet in the Atlanta suburbs in the mid-'70s, forge an unlikely friendship across a cultural and political chasm, raise their kids together, and almost lose each other when widowed Kat falls into the arms of Betsy's philandering hubby. There's never a doubt the sassy gals will outlive and outsmart all the one-dimensional men in their lives, who either move away or die. But the sharp-eyed portrait of a Southern suburb in a turbulent political era, and of fragile Betsyâwho suffers from her husband's mysterious betrayal and the nagging need of her mostly missing parentsâis both touching and fresh. Smith offers the requisite Southern charm and wit with these big-hearted characters, but she also jumps the Mason-Dixon line with an achingly real portrait of a middle-aged single mom who longs for a bridge from the family she never had to the one disappearing before her very eyes. It's easy to root for these Dixie belles.

August 1, 2011
Back in 1974, Betsy had no idea that Kat, the freckled hippie chick who just moved next door with her hirsute husband, Zach, would soon become her best friend. After all, they had nothing in common, from their party politics to their personal philosophies. But time and proximity, along with a few minor crises and many major laughs, can bring even the most stalwart opponents together. Fast-forward 30 years, however, and the relationship is in tatters. Having your ex-husband marry your best friend will do that to you. Bouncing back and forth in time, Smith engagingly reconstructs the rise and fall of Betsy's and Kat's friendship as it weathers nearly all of life's toughest storms, until the day Betsy learns that the two people she devoted the best years of her life to are about to betray her in the most unimaginable way. Smith (Waking up in Dixie, 2010) once again proves herself a devoted champion of middle-aged women who confront and overcome devastating domestic situations.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)