Just Jennifer

When It Happens to You by Molly Ringwald (IT Books, September 2012)

In a series of interconnected stories with the marriage of Phillip and Greta, first time novelist Ringwald explores the intricacies of family life:  of relationships between husband and wife, father and daughter, mother and daughter as child, mother and adult daughter.  She also lets the reader see what happens when things start to fall apart, as inevitably they will, and how the people closest to the situation react to it and how others in their lives react to things as they learn what is below the surface.  Ringwald introduces and brings to the forefront the stories of characters that might otherwise have been relegated to the background.  In “My Olivia” the mother of one of Charlotte’s (Phillip and Greta’s daughter) classmates, struggles with her young’s son convictions that he is really a girl and wishes to dress and act the part.  In “The Little One”, readers get an insider’s glimpse of the elderly woman who lives next door to, now only Greta and Charlotte.  These stores are emotionally detailed and slowly wind their way around, slipping in and out of each other with a silent grace.  While there is much sadness and regret throughout these stories, in the end, there is also a great deal of hope for the future.