A Life of Bright Ideas

October 31, 2011
In Kring’s long-awaited sequel to The Book of Bright Ideas, set in Vietnam-era smalltown Wisconsin and full of convoluted relationships, Winnalee Malone returns to her hometown of Dauber, and her best friend Evelyn Peters’s life, after a nine-year absence. Evelyn helps her father care for her younger brother, Boho, while pining for her friend Jesse, who is in the Army. When the sexually liberated, drug-taking Winnalee reappears, Evelyn is thrown for a loop. Soon, Winnalee’s mother, Freeda—who Winnalee for years had thought was her sister—shows up, too, bringing with her a shocking surprise for Evelyn: Winnalee’s infant daughter, whom she left with her mother to come to Dauber. Winnalee had hoped Evelyn’s mother could care for her child, not knowing that Evelyn’s mother is dead. After Winnalee and Evelyn take a trip to see Winnalee’s great-aunt Hannah, who raised her, Winnalee must confront her family history and face the responsibilities of motherhood. Though new readers will find it easy to empathize with—and even grow to love—Evelyn and Winnalee, the novel’s intricate relationships may be tough to follow.

December 15, 2011
Nine years after Winalee Malone left tiny Dauber, Wisconsin (detailed in The Book of Bright Ideas, 2006), in 1961, she rolls back into town, to the surprise and elation of her best friend, Button. Eighteen-year-old Button is grieving the loss of her mother while trying to watch after her six-year-old brother, Boohoo, who is constantly wreaking havoc. Aunt Verdella and Uncle Rudy, while acting as the loving parents Button never had, are no replacement for her father, who has become increasingly distant. Winalee has grown into a full-on free-love hippie, complete with a painted van and memories of Woodstock. The two revisit their Book of Bright Ideas but don't always follow their own advice. Shy, nervous Button narrates the story, unable to admit her own talents as a dressmaker or her appeal to Tommy Smithy, farmhand and amateur pilot. This is a novel about friendship and sisterhood (with a priceless kitchen scene involving body acceptance and a nosy neighbor), and readers who like Fannie Flagg and Adriana Trigiani will want to head up north with Kring.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)