This month on BookTrib, we are celebrating Women’s Fiction titles that showcase blended families. Some come together through marriage, through adoption, as unlikely housemates, for long-term or short-term periods, under one roof by choice, thrown together by tragedy or disaster, in a hilarious gallop, in poetic human symphony, in a bumpy ride that feels un-survivable but is … whatever the reasons, these stories highlight the learning and growth, sometimes forced on us, that being part of a blended family gifts us with.
The Natural Order of Things by Judy Mollen Walters | Self-Published, 2018
When 22-year-old Elizabeth Brenner lands in New Jersey with her 15-month-old daughter, Lotty, she doesn’t know a soul. And she prefers it that way. She’s struggling with her own demons — her family in Utah, who essentially threw her out, her ex-boyfriend Evan and father of her baby, and just enough money so that she won’t have to work for a little while. Three-and-a-half years later, Elizabeth is running out of money and needs a job. But what can she do without an education or any real work experience?
When a job opening for a Bookmobile driver at her local library appears, she applies and gets the job. Now, she begins to make friends: Estelle, a 95-year-old woman with a 70-year-old secret; Harper, a 16-year-old high school drop-out who isn’t homeless but might as well be; and Sabrina, a pregnant mother whose secret is so big that she won’t even tell her husband. As Elizabeth juggles all of her new friends’ needs, she meets her neighbor Jeff, and then she finds herself doing something she swore she would never do again.
Barbarians at the PTA by Stephanie Newman | Skyhorse, 2020
Victoria Bryant is starting over. After a rage-inducing scandal and the realization that her dreamy fiancé is faker than a faux Fendi purse, she moves her psychology practice and 10-year-old daughter, Rachel, to Mayfair Close, an idyllic Westchester, NY, suburb known for its manicured lawns and excellent schools. The transition is initially seamless; several PTA moms befriend Victoria, her already busy practice booms, and Rachel finds a group of friends. But before anyone can say “helicopter mom,” in walks Lee DeVry. Wealthy, glamorous and perfectly toned, the PTA president is everything Victoria is not.
Vic tries to fit in with Lee and the other SUV driving, athleisure-wearing mothers, while managing to balance the demands of her practice, single parenthood and her budding romance with Jim, a handsome school administrator. All seems well until Rachel is suddenly targeted by the girls at school, and then by an anonymous cyberbully. Rachel becomes isolated, plays hooky and exhibits signs of depression and an eating disorder, and Victoria vows to find out who has been messing with her daughter.
After she learns a secret that will help her rescue her child, Vic faces the ultimate dilemma: should she expose the bully publicly despite the potential consequences to her professional reputation and relationships with Rachel and Jim?
He Gets That From Me by Jacqueline Friedland | Spark Press, 2021
As a young mother with a toddler and a live-in boyfriend, Maggie Fisher’s job at a checkout counter in downtown Phoenix doesn’t afford her much financial flexibility. She dreams of going to college and becoming a teacher, options she squandered when she fled her family home as a teenager. When Maggie stumbles onto an ad offering thousands of dollars to women who are willing to gestate other people’s babies, she finds the concept laughable at first. Before long, however, she’s been seduced by all the ways the extra money could improve her life. Once she decides to go for it, it’s only a matter of months before she’s chosen as a gestational carrier by Chip and Donovan Rigsdale, a married couple from New York.
After delivering twin babies and proudly handing them to the Rigsdales, Maggie finally gets her life on a positive trajectory: she earns her degree, lands a great job and builds a family of her own. She can’t fathom why, ten years after the fact, the fertility clinic is calling to ask for a follow-up DNA test.
He Gets That from Me explores modern families and third-party-assisted reproduction, and reveals how parents cannot always control every aspect of their fertility stories. Even so, sometimes surprises can lead to a more fulfilling life and lessons on what it really means to be part of a family.
Unbroken Bonds by D.W. Hogan | Woodhall Press, 2021
In 1956, the worst thing a teenage girl could do was become pregnant. Joanna, Prissy, Jessie and Mary become lifelong friends when they are incarcerated in the Frances Weston Home for Unwed Mothers in Knoxville, TN. Together, they endure the culture of shame and soul-crushing tactics dispensed by the Catholic Nuns who coerce the teenagers into relinquishing their illegitimate babies.
The four young women’s vow of friendship bonds them as they rebuild their lives in the Deep South during the turbulent 1960s, while the roles of women and single mothers evolve in the decades that follow. Two of the young women will become roommates once they are released, while another will adopt a baby boy from the Frances Weston home for unwed mothers. When tragedy strikes, they must decide whether to keep their pasts secret or discover the fates of the children they were forced to give away.
The Limits of Limelight by Margaret Porter | Gallica Press, 2021
Oklahoma teenager Helen Nichols accepts an invitation from her cousin, rising actress Ginger Rogers, and her Aunt Lela to try her luck in motion pictures. Her relatives, convinced that her looks and personality will ensure success, provide her with a new name and help her land a contract with RKO. As Phyllis Fraser, she is supported personally and professionally by her maternal aunt, powerhouse mother-manager to Ginger Rogers, and Ginger herself. Separated from her blood relatives by distance and, to some extent, disinterest, Phyllis develops a close and meaningful bond with the Rogers women, but Phyllis discovers that Depression-era Hollywood’s surface glamour and glitter obscure the ceaseless struggle of the hopeful starlet.
While Ginger soars to the heights of stardom in musicals with Fred Astaire, Phyllis is tempted by a career more fulfilling than the one she was thrust into. Should she continue working in films, or devote herself to the profession she’s dreamed about since childhood? Which choice might lead her to the lasting love that seems so elusive?
My Heart Went Walking by Sally Hanan | Fire Drinkers Publishing, 2022
Una Gallaher is in love with her best friend, Cullen, but she’s terrified that the fallout from her recent poor decisions will destroy their friendship. Her first thought is about making sure he never knows, and she runs from her Irish country town to the “big smoke” to start over.
“I can’t bear to keep walking. But you can’t keep a secret in this town unless you leave with it.” Second-guessing her decision frequently, Una finally decides to face her fears and tell him everything, but her dreams are dashed when she discovers Cullen has fallen for her younger sister, Ellie.
Una commits to leaving her past behind forever and never letting love destroy her again. But Una’s fragile new life is threatened when Cullen sends out a heartfelt plea on Ireland’s main radio station — Ellie is fighting for her life and needs her older sister by her side. With time running out for Ellie, Una must decide if she’s willing to hurt the people she loves most with the truth, and if running from love has numbed her from ever loving again.
The Natural Order of Things by Judy Mollen Walters
When 22-year-old Elizabeth Brenner lands in New Jersey with her 15-month-old daughter, Lotty, she doesn’t know a soul. And she prefers it that way. She’s struggling with her own demons — her family in Utah, who essentially threw her out, her ex-boyfriend Evan and father of her baby, and just enough money so that she won’t have to work for a little while. Three-and-a-half years later, Elizabeth is running out of money and needs a job. But what can she do without an education or any real work experience?
When a job opening for a Bookmobile driver at her local library appears, she applies and gets the job. Now, she begins to make friends: Estelle, a 95-year-old woman with a 70-year-old secret; Harper, a 16-year-old high school drop-out who isn’t homeless but might as well be; and Sabrina, a pregnant mother whose secret is so big that she won’t even tell her husband. As Elizabeth juggles all of her new friends’ needs, she meets her neighbor Jeff, and then she finds herself doing something she swore she would never do again.
Barbarians at the PTA by Stephanie Newman
Victoria Bryant is starting over. After a rage-inducing scandal and the realization that her dreamy fiancé is faker than a faux Fendi purse, she moves her psychology practice and 10-year-old daughter, Rachel, to Mayfair Close, an idyllic Westchester, NY, suburb known for its manicured lawns and excellent schools. The transition is initially seamless; several PTA moms befriend Victoria, her already busy practice booms, and Rachel finds a group of friends. But before anyone can say “helicopter mom,” in walks Lee DeVry. Wealthy, glamorous and perfectly toned, the PTA president is everything Victoria is not.
Vic tries to fit in with Lee and the other SUV driving, athleisure-wearing mothers, while managing to balance the demands of her practice, single parenthood and her budding romance with Jim, a handsome school administrator. All seems well until Rachel is suddenly targeted by the girls at school, and then by an anonymous cyberbully. Rachel becomes isolated, plays hooky and exhibits signs of depression and an eating disorder, and Victoria vows to find out who has been messing with her daughter.
After she learns a secret that will help her rescue her child, Vic faces the ultimate dilemma: should she expose the bully publicly despite the potential consequences to her professional reputation and relationships with Rachel and Jim?
He Gets That From Me by Jacqueline Friedland
As a young mother with a toddler and a live-in boyfriend, Maggie Fisher’s job at a checkout counter in downtown Phoenix doesn’t afford her much financial flexibility. She dreams of going to college and becoming a teacher, options she squandered when she fled her family home as a teenager. When Maggie stumbles onto an ad offering thousands of dollars to women who are willing to gestate other people’s babies, she finds the concept laughable at first. Before long, however, she’s been seduced by all the ways the extra money could improve her life. Once she decides to go for it, it’s only a matter of months before she’s chosen as a gestational carrier by Chip and Donovan Rigsdale, a married couple from New York.
After delivering twin babies and proudly handing them to the Rigsdales, Maggie finally gets her life on a positive trajectory: she earns her degree, lands a great job and builds a family of her own. She can’t fathom why, ten years after the fact, the fertility clinic is calling to ask for a follow-up DNA test.
He Gets That from Me explores modern families and third-party-assisted reproduction, and reveals how parents cannot always control every aspect of their fertility stories. Even so, sometimes surprises can lead to a more fulfilling life and lessons on what it really means to be part of a family.
Unbroken Bonds by D.W. Hogan
In 1956, the worst thing a teenage girl could do was become pregnant. Joanna, Prissy, Jessie and Mary become lifelong friends when they are incarcerated in the Frances Weston Home for Unwed Mothers in Knoxville, TN. Together, they endure the culture of shame and soul-crushing tactics dispensed by the Catholic Nuns who coerce the teenagers into relinquishing their illegitimate babies.
The four young women’s vow of friendship bonds them as they rebuild their lives in the Deep South during the turbulent 1960s, while the roles of women and single mothers evolve in the decades that follow. Two of the young women will become roommates once they are released, while another will adopt a baby boy from the Frances Weston home for unwed mothers. When tragedy strikes, they must decide whether to keep their pasts secret or discover the fates of the children they were forced to give away.
The Limits of Limelight by Margaret Porter
Oklahoma teenager Helen Nichols accepts an invitation from her cousin, rising actress Ginger Rogers, and her Aunt Lela to try her luck in motion pictures. Her relatives, convinced that her looks and personality will ensure success, provide her with a new name and help her land a contract with RKO. As Phyllis Fraser, she is supported personally and professionally by her maternal aunt, powerhouse mother-manager to Ginger Rogers, and Ginger herself. Separated from her blood relatives by distance and, to some extent, disinterest, Phyllis develops a close and meaningful bond with the Rogers women, but Phyllis discovers that Depression-era Hollywood’s surface glamour and glitter obscure the ceaseless struggle of the hopeful starlet.
While Ginger soars to the heights of stardom in musicals with Fred Astaire, Phyllis is tempted by a career more fulfilling than the one she was thrust into. Should she continue working in films, or devote herself to the profession she’s dreamed about since childhood? Which choice might lead her to the lasting love that seems so elusive?
My Heart Went Walking by Sally Hanan
Una Gallaher is in love with her best friend, Cullen, but she’s terrified that the fallout from her recent poor decisions will destroy their friendship. Her first thought is about making sure he never knows, and she runs from her Irish country town to the “big smoke” to start over.
“I can’t bear to keep walking. But you can’t keep a secret in this town unless you leave with it.” Second-guessing her decision frequently, Una finally decides to face her fears and tell him everything, but her dreams are dashed when she discovers Cullen has fallen for her younger sister, Ellie.
Una commits to leaving her past behind forever and never letting love destroy her again. But Una’s fragile new life is threatened when Cullen sends out a heartfelt plea on Ireland’s main radio station — Ellie is fighting for her life and needs her older sister by her side. With time running out for Ellie, Una must decide if she’s willing to hurt the people she loves most with the truth, and if running from love has numbed her from ever loving again.
