Abbi Waxman

Abbi Waxman's debut novel, “The Garden of Small Beginnings”, is a sweet and funny tale of starting over and the persistence of small growing things. (And she followed it up with three more unrelated but equally delightful books, so yay Abbi!)

Lilian Girvan is still trying to deal with the sudden death of her husband, three years previously, while bringing up her two daughters and sidestepping a toxic relationship with her self-centered, alcoholic mother. A job assignment that involves show more illustrating a gardening textbook leads her to take a back-yard-gardening class, which sets up the rest of the plot.

The romance thread pops its head up rather quickly (sorry; it’s going to be hard to write this review without tossing in gardening puns), but it’s a grown-up romance between grown-up people, and it ripens nicely (there we go again) as the book progresses through the side-salad plot lines of family relationships, new friendships, and uncertainty on the job front.

As always, Waxman’s quirky observations of her own life and the idiosyncrasies of the people around her make for delightful reading. (Example – while cleaning out her desk at work, Lilian makes the following observation: “If I find myself with a piece of paper in my hand, and I’m unsure where to put it, I lay it down on the nearest surface and hope it folds itself into a paper plane and flies wherever it’s supposed to go.”) The characters – particularly the children – are believable and consistent, the situations, while not your normal garden-variety, aren’t totally out in left field, and the internal descriptions of a woman struggling to break free of years of guilt and grief are touching and heartfelt.

Put this one on your summer reading list. And if you have a shady spot with a hammock in it near your garden, so much the better. show less

The Garden of Small Beginnings is one of my favorite books so far this year. Lili finds herself a widow in a life rut four years after the trauma occurs when suddenly change is thrown at her from every direction. A work required gardening class begins gently shifting her perspective and altering her path from surviving to thriving.
Waxman crafts wonderfully complex characters on an unexpected journey. The realistic kid characters are some of my favorites, because they’re just so authentic- show more from cute to lethal in half a second! Lili’s mothering struggles are realistically portrayed, which is incredibly refreshing. Additional prior family drama adds to the pressure. This cast of likeable characters made the book impossible to put down, and is one of the reasons I’m sad it’s over. The other reason is the witty and quirky voice of the protagonist narrator. She is incredibly funny, insightful, irreverent and genuine. She’s one of the most realistic characters I’ve read, and I can see myself re-reading this gem. show less

Jessica Burnstein, 45, is a successful partner in an LA law firm in spite of the challenges of being the single mom of 16-year-old Emily. The two are embarking on a seven-day trip to visit colleges organized by Excelsior Educational Excursions, or E3, a college admissions consulting company. As Jessica explains, “One of the selling points of E3 is that they take care of everything on the tour; you just have to pay a ridiculous sum of money.”

They are both leaving behind situations that show more have each of them on edge. Jessica has threatened to quit her job if her boss John doesn’t promote her mentee, Valentina. John is opposed for largely sexist reasons, and Jessica is outraged over it.

Emily did something at school that has her upset, but she won’t share what is going on with her mom (or the readers).

The narration alternates between Jessica and Emily, and both are amusing and interesting in different ways. Jessica is appalled over the whole competition to get into college situation, which, as she notes, “is part political campaign, part American Ninja Warrior competition.” Emily, who is adorable, witty, and delightful, albeit still a snarky teenager, is much more attuned to her mother than her mother knows. Emily, like her mother, is feeling stress over the college selection process, although for very different reasons.

This passage by Waxman shows in a nutshell what Emily is like. Emily and her mom find out that a schoolmate, Alice Ackerman, and her mother Dani are also on the E3 tour. Alice and Emily were friends when Alice first transferred to her school, and Emily explains why they aren’t friends anymore:

“. . . after a few golden weeks of total focus, she shut down on me like an eclipse, and for the last two years she’s left me alone, out here in the penumbra (see, I did pay attention in Physics). But that’s what she’s like. She spins at the center of the high school universe and her gravity pulls people in, but she spins so fast that most of them get flung back into the outer rings. (Dude, I am killing this out space metaphor; Mr. Libicki would be stoked.)”

Although Jessica hopes the trip will be about “reconnection and bonding” in addition to finding a suitable school, Emily actually has absolutely no interest in going to college. She feels that doing her best is never enough for her mom, who seems oblivious to what Emily would like for her own life instead of what Jessica would like for Emily’s life.

As for Jessica, she laments that the “golden years” of Emily’s childhood passed around the time Emily turned thirteen:

“She woke up a teenager, and all the skills I’d learned were useless, and all the time I’d fought to have with her was spent waiting for her to come home from hanging out with friends she’d much rather talk to than me.”

Furthermore, Jessica bemoans, “Somewhere she has a list of my buttons, I swear. There’s probably an app for it.”

But the two have a great deal of love and respect for one another, and as the trip progresses, they do in fact get to know each other better, and “reconnect and bond” just as Jessica had hoped. Along the way, there is plenty of Waxman’s trademark humor and snappy dialogue to keep us engaged.

Evaluation: Both mothers and daughters will be able to relate to the two points of view presented in this very pleasant, entertaining story. There are some side plots to spice up the action of a college tour trip, and rewarding growth on the part of the protagonists. show less

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: A cranky former actress teams up with her Gen Z sobriety sponsor to solve the murder that threatens to send her back to prison in this dazzling new mystery novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.

When Julia Mann, a bad-tempered ex-actress and professional thorn in the side of authority, runs into Natasha Mason at an AA meeting, it’s anything but a meet-cute. Julia just found a dead body in her swimming pool, and show more the cops say she did it (she already went to jail for murder once, so now they think she’s making a habit of it). Mason is eager to clear Julia’s name and help keep her sober, but all Julia wants is for Mason to leave her alone.

As their investigation ranges from the Hollywood Hills to the world of burlesque to the country clubs of Palm Springs, this unconventional team realizes their shared love of sarcasm and poor life choices are proving to be a powerful combination. Will secrets from their past trip them up, or will their team of showgirls, cat burglars, and Hollywood agents help them stay one step ahead? Are dead piranhas, false noses, and a giant martini glass important clues or simply your typical day in Los Angeles? And will they manage to solve the crime before they kill each other, or worse, fall off the wagon? Trying to keep it simple and take it easy is one thing—trying to find a murderer before they kill again is a whole other program.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Fun, funny buddy comedy set on the outskirts of that glam hotspot, Hollywood's movie industry. There's bad behavior from entitled jerks, there's a high-speed golf cart chase, there's a distinctly sapphic undertone to the leads' chemistry...there's a lot to enjoy, in other words.

Youthful impulsivity (Natasha quitting law school was the kind of stupid thing I'd've yelled at her for) and the darker side of alcohol abuse (blackouts are not new to Julia) are facets of this story. Adjusting to aging, launching a career, re-launching a career...all bantered over and really dealt with as Natasha and Julia are traipsing from pillar to post to figure out how the hell Tony, Julia's nasty ex-lover, ended up dead in her pool. Most of all, though, I was there to see how Julia would stay sober in a super high-stress world like moviemaking. Author Waxman dealt with Julia's very new sobriety and the underknown challenges the sobriety seeker faces staying on the wagon (low blood sugar is one of the most common traps for the unwary) honestly and forthrightly without didacticism.

This contrasts to the, um, shall we say heightened, tone and nature of the crime these women are united to solve. Everything about it is absurd. It's meant to be. This is the movie industry we're skewering. I'm not inclined to seek out these areas of comedy that often. I'm glad I did this time because, well, I needed a laugh that was more substantial than a romcom, had service to Ma'at and the Rightness of the world, and felt grounded enough in reality...you do not get more real that seeking sobriety...to give me a place to stand while I was craning my neck to follow the story's breakneck action.

I'm not even whelmed, still less overwhelmed, by the storytelling voice. It felt...flat...to me because it tried so hard. I'm a tough room, especially for comedy, because it is so difficult to convince me you mean it when you're being funny. This story fell only slightly short in my eyes, largely due to Natasha's dramatic unsuitability to the role of sponsor. Not that Julia would ever be someone to take real advantage of that relationship. She's not really built to listen to critique, only to hear criticism. Many an actor falls into that habit of hearing.

All that said, I'm impressed by the story's honest and unusually detailed dealings with alcohol addiction. I give it four stars for that, and for managing to make even cynical old mystery-reader me pay attention to the sleuths' frenetic chasing after fairly obvious clues.

Author Waxman will get more of my dwindling supply of eyeblinks in future. show less