Other People's Houses by Abbi Waxman

I really enjoyed Abbi Waxman's The Garden of Small Beginnings so when I saw that she had another book coming out, I was very excited to read it. Other People's Houses did not disappoint. In this book, Frances is the dependable neighbor who drives carpool, volunteers at the three different schools her children attend, and takes care of anyone and everyone she meets. One day while stopping by her neighbor's home to pick up something one of the carpool children has forgotten, Frances inadvertently witnesses the lady of the house shagging someone in the middle of the living room floor. Someone not her husband. Oh, dear- neighborhood drama.

This book is hilarious and so wryly written, full of sarcastic asides and such an accurate picture of a the life of a stay-at-home/ volunteer mom and wife you will wonder if Waxman has been peeking in your windows. Or maybe it's just me and I've accidentally just given you too much information about myself. Oh, well.

For instance, this tidbit seemed quite on the button:

Marriage had so little to do with the bedroom, and so much to do with every other room in the house.

And this about the problem with school volunteer positions:

Like childbirth, volunteering to organize a school event was way more painful that you expected it to be, but the minute the event was over you forgot how awful it was. It's the only possible explanation for why those lovely but exhausted women of it every year.

If you don't know what she means by that you haven't spent enough time decorating a school gym to look like a tropical getaway or wrangling a dozen of other people's children on a day-long field trip.

Really, this book was wonderful, though I was a tiny bit disappointed in the last little couple of chapters as it felt almost rushed to finish. Something about it didn't quite fit with the rest of the story, but I can let it go for such a fun book. I will give you the warning that the author does not shy away from the use of most swear words and she is particularly fond of the f-word.

Other than that, it was just delightful.