Other People's Houses

February 1, 2018
A charming yet provocative look at the close-knit Los Angeles neighborhood of Larchmont, where one woman's indiscretion forces everyone to re-examine their marriages. Frances Bloom drives a carpool of children, including her own three, to school each morning. This makes her privy to more personal information than most, but she is discreet--the ideal neighbor. One morning she knocks on her friend Anne's door, then enters, and is stunned to see what Anne is doing on the living room floor...and not with her husband! Frances keeps Anne's secret, but Anne's husband eventually finds out. His wrath scorches her, and the neighbors feel the effects. They face their own doubts and worries that perhaps their own marriages could be up for a similar fall--and they all have good reason. And the kids fear the breakups of their parents' marriages. Thus ensues a series of precautionary (mis)steps meant to shore up relationships, followed by conversations that serve to create as much doubt as they are intended to allay. Waxman (The Garden of Small Beginnings, 2017) is adept at creating sympathetic, believable characters. It's primarily Frances' gentle but tongue-in-cheek presence and subtle strength--along with her unique powers of expression, rich in original similes and metaphors--that carry readers along. The "Cast of Characters" and "Frances's Map of the Neighborhood" set the stage for a great read before the first chapter begins. This is a voyeuristic (in a nice way) and humorous trip through what is usually hidden behind closed doors.Waxman is a master at purveying the wry humor that rides just below the surface of even the tough times. An immensely enjoyable read.

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 26, 2018
A spin-off of The Garden of Small Beginnings, Waxman’s fun sophomore novel stars consummate mom Frances Bloom, her family, and her neighbors—a “gaggle of middle-class white people”—and all of the comedy, drama, and quotidian details that make up their lives. Frances runs the carpool for her children and those of the Porter, Horton, and Carter-Gillespie families on her block, and is generally able to take everything in stride. But she’s knocked off her game when she enters the home of her neighbor, Anne Porter, to retrieve some forgotten craft supplies for Anne’s daughter, Kate, and discovers Anne on the floor with a man who is not her husband. The fallout provides the main dramatic push, but other threads include just where Bill Horton’s wife, Julie, has gone and whether Iris Carter will convince her wife, Sara Gillespie, to have another child. While Frances has her concerns, such as dealing with her 14-year-old daughter, Ava,
she largely provides the story’s humor. Hilarious ruminations about child-rearing, shopping, and other parents give this broad appeal that should extend beyond fans of Waxman’s first novel.

April 15, 2018

When Frances Bloom, the hoodie-wearing, slightly overweight neighborhood carpool mom/serial helper innocently walks in on her neighbor Anne in the throes of extramarital relations, she faces a predicament. Does she cover for Anne? Does she share what she knows when others inquire? How does she explain what's going on in Anne's newly fractured family to her own children, including her moody teenage daughter? And Frances and her husband haven't had sex in quite a while; could he be cheating, too? While Frances is the main protagonist in Waxman's latest novel (after The Garden of Small Beginnings), the author also tells the engaging stories of three other families in the carpool, featuring a winning cast of characters whom readers will quickly become involved with while enjoying witty musings and repartee that, fair warning, is heavily peppered with salty language. VERDICT Waxman is a gifted storyteller with an impressive talent for penning realistic dialog for adults and children: no easy feat. For fans of fast-moving contemporary humorous fiction about women and families. [See Prepub Alert, 10/22/17.]--Samantha Gust, Niagara Univ.Lib., NY

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.