The Book of Polly by Kathy Hepinstall (Blue Asylum) is a family drama that strikes a perfect balance between sorrow and rib-tickling hilarity, thanks to an unforgettable mother-daughter pair.
Willow Havens worries about her mother, Polly, almost as fiercely as she loves the margarita-swilling, chain-smoking, varmint-shooting steel magnolia. A surprise baby in Polly's late 50s, Willow was born shortly after her father died and long after her siblings, Shel and Lisa, left the nest. At 10, Willow is the only girl in her Texas school with a senior citizen for a mom, and also the only one with a mother willing to walk into said school carrying a borrowed falcon to get her daughter out of trouble for telling tall tales. School smoking prevention campaigns leave Willow terrified that Polly will get lung "Bear" (the word her mother uses to replace cancer), and the girl obsesses over her mother's past in Louisiana. Unfortunately, Willow's attempts to hide Polly's smokes fail even more spectacularly than her snooping, which leaves her with nothing but an old prison address and the name Garland. When the Bear does come for Polly, Willow is determined to save her mother and put the past to rest once and for all.
Filled with sass and vigor, Hepinstall's coming-of-age story is loosely based on life with her own mother. With a memorable supporting cast of quirky souls, including Shel's old high school buddy who worships Polly; demonic Montessori-schooled neighbor children; and a squirrel named Elmer, The Book of Polly is tailor made for mothers and daughters to enjoy together. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads