TIME FLIES

The latest novel from Cook (Wallflower in Bloom, 2012, etc.).

When Melanie’s husband, Kurt, surprises her by packing up their family, including two young sons, to move from Boston to Atlanta, she copes by throwing herself into metal sculpture, an idea inspired by the garage full of welding equipment left by the previous owners of their new home. When Kurt later leaves her for another woman, the artwork saves her sanity and attracts the attention of the charming restaurateur Ted Brody. By this time, the two boys are grown and gone and maintain no contact with their father, but they check in on their mom regularly. In the midst of these events, her best friend from high school, B.J., is nagging her to come North for the upcoming high school reunion. Melanie doesn’t want to, until she starts getting emails from a former boyfriend, now divorced, who is hoping to see her there. Melanie flies to Boston, where she sees old friends and her sister for the first time in many years. While there, she shares driving duties with B.J, which requires confronting her crippling fear of highways. When Kurt turns up at the reunion (sans other woman), Melanie considers her options, which now include the possibility of a relationship with Ted, who has a laugh she comes to love. After accompanying Melanie and B.J on their hysterical road trip, readers will feel like they’ve made friends for life.

Women will like this book.