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Library Journal Review

A coming-of-age tale whose protagonist isn't some callow youth, but a 40-ish woman who's 43-year-old orthopedist husband has just dropped dead in the Vermont town where they live. Serving as a juror in the trial of a 15-year-old girl accused of murdering her mother helps Maggie Hatch take control of her life and pulls her through her grieving. It also gives her a new friend--a farmer's wife--and a lover--a photographer who's afraid of commitment and still living down his long-ago flight to Canada during the Vietnam War. As the story, and trial, progress Maggie comes to a better understanding of her own flamboyant mother and her college-age daughter, and stands up to her intimidating mother-in-law. Some of the characters and incidents are cliched, and the plot is often predictable, but this is a refreshing change from the glitz of many contemporary novels. It should appeal to readers of women's slice-of-life fiction. Film rights have been optioned by the producer of On Golden Pond and Sophie's Choice. -- Francine Fialkoff, ``Library Journal'' (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Newly widowed Maggie Hatch struggles to escape the rigid strictures of her insular New England community, and confronts her late husband's infidelity and the complications of her own new involvements. ``Her search for redefinition and direction is believable and engrossing,'' said PW . (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Booklist Review

A fetching tale, written with exacting ease, that serves up a rich slice of small-town Vermont life. Maggie Hatch, age 40 and newly widowed, somehow must make sense of her life, which in the past had been neatly arranged by her physician husband. But her attempts at self-direction run amok: her best friend accuses Maggie of flirting with her husband; her adored but cantankerous daughter, Kristen, drops out of college and back into Maggie's household; and her self-absorbed, oft-married mother, Sybil, returns, adding to Maggie's parenting chores. Worse yet, Maggie is called to jury duty on a case involving a daughter accused of murdering her own mother, forcing Maggie to reexamine the forces shaping her own life. Bright flashes of humor and delightfully fresh characterizations enliven this touching saga of self-discovery. Film rights have been optioned by the producer of Sophie's Choice and On Golden Pond, which should add to this novel's popularity. --Mary Banas