Friday 5ive- May 1, 2020

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a blog post about five things that caught my attention this week. Happy May Day to all. I wish it felt like May here, it's been pretty cold all week, but I think tomorrow it may warm up to 60 degrees.

1)  While walking by our neighborhood branch of the New York Public Library (which is also the home to the Book Cellar, the used bookstore where I volunteer), I saw that someone posted a sign that reads "We Miss You." I echo that thought, we sure do miss our library friends.

2)  My new hobby is checking out the books in the background of people being interviewed on TV from their homes. Nonfiction seems to be popular, and a lot of people have Robert Moses' The Power Broker, Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals and Ron Chernow's Grant.
My favorite though is Seth Meyers, host of NBC's Late Night.  Meyers always has just a few book stacked behind them, and they are mostly novels. I love that he has always had novelists on his show, most late night talk shows only have writers of political or self-help books. Meyers will change the books from segment to segment during the same show, maybe just to make sure we're paying attention. One night, he had four different editions of Colleen McCullough's The Thorn Birds, one of my all-time favorites. We have similiar tastes in books, and I would love to sit down and discuss books with him. The photos below are from the episode that aired on Thursday, April 30th.

3)  One of our friends stopped by with her two basset hounds, Wilbur and Cindy Lou, so that we could say hello to them through the car window. They were on their way to get the nails clipped. They are such sweet doggies!

4)  I watched My Darling Vivian, a documentary on the life of Johnny Cash's first wife, Vivian Liberto Cash. It was so interesting and heartbreaking too, and it gave us a look at a woman few people know much about. Their four daughters, including musician Roseane Cash, talked about their mom, and her complicated life with Cash. It's on Amazon Prime for a limited time. Don't miss it.

5) I did a lot of reading last, reviewing four books here on the blog, starting with My Summer Villa By Melissa Hill, about three young women who meet at a summer rental in Positano, Italy. (Click on the book titles to see my reviews.)

The Secrets of Love Story Bridge by Phaedra Patrick, is about a widower who saves a young woman after she falls from a bridge, and then gets involved with the woman's family.

Wendy Francis' Best Behavior, is about a soon-to-be empty nester at her twins' college graduation weekend, dealing with her ex-husband and his new young wife.

And my favorite read of the week, Lian Dolan's The Sweeney Sisters, is about three sisters planning a funeral for their father and discovering that there is a fourth sister- their former neighbor.

I hope you all have a good week- stay safe, healthy and home. We'll get through this together.

Best Behavior by Wendy Francis

Best Behavior by Wendy Francis
Published by Graydon House ISBN 9781525804625
Trade paperback, $17.99, 336 pages

Five years ago I read Wendy Francis' Summer of Good Intentions, about three sisters dealing with the death of their father, and loved it so much that it made my list of the Most Compelling Books of 2015. (My review here)

So I was happy to hear that she has a new book out this week, Best Behavior. Set over a long college graduation weekend, Meredith has to deal with preparing to be an empty nester as her twins, Dawn and Cody, are graduating from her alma mater, Bolton College in Boston.

Meredith is a NICU nurse married to her second husband Joel, a high school guidance counselor. Joel couldn't be more different from her first husband Roger, a highly sucessful Boston lawyer who cheated on his wife and left Meredith when the children were youngsters. Joel is steady, kind and a wonderful stepfather.

Roger is remarried  to Lily, a gorgeous Instagram enhancer (not be confused with an influencer) not much older than his children. They live in a huge oceanside mansion where the kids' graduation party is being held.

Change is hard for Meredith. She is sad that this part of her life is over, and her children are setting out on their own lives now. Dawn will be moving to Chicago with her boyfriend, working at a marketing job. Cody is going to North Dakota to teach at a Native American high school.

Dawn feels deeply, is stubborn and was a ballerina until high school. She and her mother had the typical mother/daughter stresses in high school , even moving in with her father in Boston for a year, which upset Meredith greatly.

Cody is the golden boy. He is rock solid, smart, and a football hero. She never had to worry about Cody, although something is bubbling up about him over this graduation weekend that could possibly spoil the celebration.

Trying to be on her best behavior, Meredith decides that she will be as graceful as Jackie Onassis this weekend. She is tested when Roger shows up uninvited to a pre-graduation dinner hosted by the college. Following the ceremony, Roger hosts a graduation at his second wife's favorite restaurant and much to Meredith's chagrin, Lily is there too.

The story culminates at the graduation party where things all come to a head. Can Meredith remain on her best behavior? Anyone who has had to deal with exes, and manuever family gatherings with gritted teeth, will recognize the issues that Meredith must face.

I enjoyed finding a new slang word here- "dosey", which means a person someone can take in small doses. I have a feeling I will be using this word in the future.

Best Behavior took me back to the days of my sons' college graduations and the mixed emotions that I felt. It's a time of reflection, pride, joy and wistfulness. Wendy Francis excels at writing about families at the turning points of life, and she makes you feel a less lonely as you relate to her characters. I recommend Best Behavior.

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on their Summer Reads Blog Tour.