cover image Magnolia Wednesdays

Magnolia Wednesdays

Wendy Wax, . . Berkley, $15 (437pp) ISBN 978-0-425-23235-4

Life in Atlanta’s suburbs becomes a hot topic for a mom-to-be who knows more about news than diapers in Wax’s bittersweet potboiler. After investigative TV reporter Vivien Armstrong Gray gets shot in the butt while chasing a story, she becomes an overnight sensation, but that doesn’t keep the newsroom from adding attractive new talent to her department. Seeing the writing on the wall, Vivien quits, but soon learns that finding a job isn’t so easy for a newly pregnant 41-year old. She relocates to suburban Atlanta and lands a column writing about suburbia from an outsider perspective. She finds plenty of fodder in her family, but her questions about the death of her sister’s husband may have serious consequences. Vivien’s an easy protagonist to love; she’s plucky, resourceful, and witty—the perfect outsider’s guide to the SUV and bake sale zoo. (Mar.)