Shelley
and David are a couple of almost-empty-nesters preparing to embark on the next
stage of their lives. They just ordered white furniture and planned the
vacation they’ve waited their entire lives to take when Alexandra, seventeen
and pregnant, shows up on their doorstep and announces that she’s the daughter
they never knew they had!
I
have a love/hate relationship with books that keep me up all night
reading. Or was it the caffeine I
consumed at my granddaughter’s birthday party?
I didn’t even finish the book because I had to be at the Captain James
A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center early the next day. I had two
appointments scheduled before my volunteer shift, and I overslept and missed the first
one. Oh, and then I was a bit
preoccupied with my clients because I was so close to the end and I wanted to
see how the book turned out, but I was having a busy day helping veterans sign
up for the My Health eVet program. Thanks,
Ms. Fogarsi.
By
the way, this was the granddaughter who had a baby at seventeen, not long after
my daughter got engaged to her father. I
have to say how proud we are of our “baby-mama.” She finished school from home while caring
for her daughter, found a job right after graduation that worked with everyone
else’s schedule and night-time feedings, and now Sydney is entering the
terrible twos at fifteen months because she’s extremely bright and terribly
spoiled by the whole family. She tried
honey mustard with her chicken fingers and French fries. She kept dipping the same fry and licking it
until it fell apart. She offered some to
grandma, grandpa, and one of her aunts who was sitting close by. We were all laughing so hard, she knew she’d
done something cute so she applauded herself, and laughed with us.
 |
| Can't you just see the Intelligence and mischief in those eyes? |
Needless
to say, Unexpecting struck somewhat close to home. However, Alexandra was not only got pregnant,
she soon got into drugs—crystal meth. And
that stuff puts a whole other kind of strain on a familyand a marriage. The product of a fling David had between
marriages, Alexandra’s mother never told him about her. She told Alexandra that her father was a good
man who would want to be involved in her life if he knew about her, but since neither
of them had feelings for the other, she didn’t want to burden him. She promised to give Alex info about him when
she turned eighteen. But she died of
cancer before then, leaving a pregnant Alexandra with nothing more than her
clothing and a big, shaggy, slobbery dog named Tiny.
Again,
this book was engaging, keeping me up all night reading. It sucked me in on the first page when the
doorbell rang, and I devoured the book, which is mainly told from Shelley’s
point of view with occasional forages into Alexandra’s and David’s heads. Listening to the teenagers’ dialog in this
book, I often thought I was at my daughter’s house. My sixteen year old granddaughter uses the word “fine-uh”
all the time. Ms. Fogarsi has
definitely done time in a house full of teens and recently, at that!
And
then there were Tiny and Frick. Who
couldn’t love a big, slobbery dog who bonds with an elderly cat and tries to
groom him? Of course dog slobber isn’t
quite as efficient as one cat grooming another, but Frick doesn’t seem to
mind. That big ole tongue works pretty
well on gunky babies, too. One swipe and
half of Patrick is “clean.” Tiny always seems
to know when he’s needed. Or is it just that
he’s always under foot? About as
much as a dog the size of a pony who thinks he’s a lap dog can be under
anything.
This
book will take you through a gamut of emotions.
You’ll laugh, cry, and wonder what’s happening next. Definitely have the tissues close by. It’s a must-read.
Length: 272 Pages
Prices:
Paperback: $14.99
E-Book: TBA
Thanks
for visiting. RIW
