In the Good Old Summertime: Cool Women's Fiction

By Neal Wyatt -- Library Journal, 6/15/2009

With its long hot days, summer cries out for books to sink into and savor. These six women authors—variously classified as writers of chick lit, romance, and women's fiction—know how to create novels that fit the season perfectly. Their delightful tales seduce readers into setting and scene and sustain interest with characters and dialog that are always as funny as they are charming. So while the thermometer and humidity rise, retreat to whatever counts as your cool back porch and surrender to the sweetness of lives that promise to always work out in the end.

Sarah Addison Allen pens novels of pure joy backed up with dashes of magic. In the case of The Sugar Queen (Bantam. 2009. ISBN 978-0-553-38484-0. pap. $13), magic comes in the form of the color red and books that appear whenever they are needed. Allen's great sense of pace and detail is on full display as she effortlessly braids together the tale of three women: Josey, the browbeaten daughter of the town matriarch, Della Lee, the trashy no-good girl, and Chloe, the town's expert sandwich maker. The color red is magic for Josey, Chloe is followed around by books, and Della Lee finds solace in Josey's closet. As the women learn more about one another and aid in navigating their relationships with men and mothers, the hidden secrets of their lives are revealed.

Hens Dancing (Anchor: Random. 2002. ISBN 978-0-385-72182-0. pap. $13) by Raffaella Barker is the perfect summer book. Light and languid yet witty and sharply honed, the story of Venetia Summers and her charming children is pure addictive fun. Written in diary form, the book displays Venetia's haphazard but fascinating life in breezy snippets. Readers enter her diary to find that her husband, a man who has the awful taste to prefer the horrible Helena, has dumped her. Luckily, her brilliant children and David, the local carpenter, save her and bring some order to the chaos of her English cottage and garden, menagerie of pets, and her wacky mom. Once charmed by Venetia, move on to the sequel, Summertime.

Gil McNeil's The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club (Voice: Hyperion. 2009. ISBN 978-1-4013-4080-3. $23.99) is a tender and funny story, full of rich detail, quirky characters, and great dialog. Devastated after her husband leaves her and then dies in a car wreck, Jo Mackenzie needs a reason to start over. She and her two adorable kids move from London to a small town where her grandmother has a knitting shop. Taking over the store gives Jo something to do, and eventually she and her sons forge a new beginning with the help of the town, a new love, and a huge dog named Trevor.

Mixing razor-sharp dialog with a comforting and supportive sensibility, Jennifer Crusie's Bet Me (St. Martin's. 2008. ISBN 978-0-312-35708-5. pap. $4.99) is a book ready-made to wile away a summer afternoon. Minerva Dobbs overhears what she thinks is a bet between Calvin Morrisey and her ex-boyfriend about Calvin's ability to seduce Min. War is waged. As Min takes pot shots at Cal and he somehow decides she is charming, friends watch in various states of fascination. Romance fans should read this book for the ice cream and bread roll scenes alone, but all readers eager for a new version of the classic happily-ever-after will delight in Crusie's modern interpretation.

It's hard to believe that the assured and deft Good in Bed (Washington Square: S. & S. 2002. ISBN 978-0-7434-1817-1. pap. $15) was Jennifer Weiner's debut. Following up with a string of best sellers, Weiner is now a major name in women's fiction, and Cannie Shapiro's story has been extended in Certain Girls. If you missed Good in Bed when it first came out, this summer is the perfect time to rectify that. The pop culture writer for the Philadelphia Examiner, Cannie seems to have her life pretty much in hand until she reads about herself in her ex-boyfriend's new column, “Good in Bed.” At first flattened, Cannie comes to think the cad really loves her and they briefly reconnect. Alas, Cannie's first reaction was the correct one, and she soon finds herself dumped again. She also discovers she is pregnant. The story spins out as Cannie comes to terms with her new life and figures out what really matters.

Bread Alone (Harper: HarperCollins. 2002. ISBN 978-0-06-008440-0. pap. $13.95) by Judith Ryan Hendricks is noted for its detail and rich evocation of setting. Wynter Morrison finds her life crumbing around her as she faces divorce and the loss of her once enviable lifestyle. Left with little more than her alimony check, she moves to Seattle and is hired by a bakery. At first her cloister-like life is difficult, but she soon takes comfort in her tiny home and her early-morning job. As she settles into her routine, she begins to process her grief and find new connections—the other women at the bakery and Mac, a bartender and writer who manages to both challenge and comfort her. Mingled in are recipes for the bread she bakes. Fans can follow Wyn in The Baker's Apprentice.