Friendship Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
In her third novel on the topic of friendship, Higgins (The Proper Care and Maintenance of Friendship, 2011) invites her readers to experience Europe along with protagonists Monique, Becky, and Judy, a trio of New Jersey suburbanites in crisis. Monique wrote a bucket list with her husband, Lenny, intended for the two of them to complete once he conquered cancer. Four years after his death, the money he set aside for her to complete the list on her own is still in savings. When her friends both start their own downward spirals, Monique invites them along on the trip her husband planned. Their first days abroad are scheduled down to the minute, but eventually the women find themselves deviating from not only Monique’s list but also their own expectations about themselves and each other. Higgins does a nice job of balancing the characters’ voices, and with each woman at a different stage in her life, diverse readers will find something to connect to. A natural for group discussions. --Amber Peckham