Wife-in-Law

Republican wife bonds with left-leaning hippie in this engaging Southern-fried saga of friendship, family, and survival from the saleswoman-turned-author of Waking Up in Dixie. Betsy and Kat meet in the Atlanta suburbs in the mid-'70s, forge an unlikely friendship across a cultural and political chasm, raise their kids together, and almost lose each other when widowed Kat falls into the arms of Betsy's philandering hubby. There's never a doubt the sassy gals will outlive and outsmart all the one-dimensional men in their lives, who either move away or die. But the sharp-eyed portrait of a Southern suburb in a turbulent political era, and of fragile Betsy%E2%80%94who suffers from her husband's mysterious betrayal and the nagging need of her mostly missing parents%E2%80%94is both touching and fresh. Smith offers the requisite Southern charm and wit with these big-hearted characters, but she also jumps the Mason-Dixon line with an achingly real portrait of a middle-aged single mom who longs for a bridge from the family she never had to the one disappearing before her very eyes. It's easy to root for these Dixie belles. (Sept.)