(Too drastic, plus she likes her hair.)Ģ. Completely change her name and appearance. Doesn't he realize what a terrible idea that is?ġ.

It's a disaster! And as if that wasn't enough, Tom, her trivia nemesis, has turned out to be cute, funny, and deeply interested in getting to know her. They all live close by! They're all-or mostly all-excited to meet her! She'll have to Speak. When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book. The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. Meet Nina Hill: A young woman supremely confident in her own.shell. But what she’ll soon discover-with the help of a patient instructor and a quirky group of gardeners-is that into every life a little sun must shine, whether you want it to or not. Wallowing around in compost on a Saturday morning can’t be much worse than wallowing around in pajamas and self-pity.Īfter recruiting her kids and insanely supportive sister to join her, Lilian shows up at the Los Angeles botanical garden feeling out of her element. Apparently, being the chosen illustrator for a series of boutique vegetable guides means getting your hands dirty, literally. Oh, and there’s that vegetable-gardening class her boss signed her up for. The only problem is she’s becoming overwhelmed with being underwhelmed.Īt least her textbook illustrating job has some perks-like actually being called upon to draw whale genitalia. She can now get her two girls to school, show up to work, and watch TV like a pro. One mental breakdown and some random suicidal thoughts later, she’s just starting to get the hang of this widow thing.

Lilian Girvan has been a single mother for three years-ever since her husband died in a car accident.

Other People's Houses by Abbi Waxman