Her Turn by Katherine Ashenburg (Sofie & Cecilia) is a playful yet insightful look at a journalist as she attempts finally to face the fault lines in her emotional life. Liz seems to have all the hallmarks of an enviable existence: a full social calendar, a loving relationship with her college-aged son and a career as the editor of the newspaper's My Turn column. But beneath the surface, Liz is still struggling with the emotional fallout of her husband leaving her for another woman years ago. When Nicole, the woman for whom Liz's husband left her, writes into My Turn with a story about her marriage, Liz begins a questionable correspondence with her, never letting on that she's the columnist.
Equal parts hilarious and emotionally astute, Her Turn offers both commercial appeal and intelligent social commentary. Liz, her current lover, her ex-husband and Nicole all appear as complex and sympathetic figures, suggesting that even in the stereotypical scenario of a husband leaving his wife for another woman, no one is the clear villain. And while Liz's emotional journey is the central plot, the novel takes entertaining diversions into the world of contemporary female "empowerment" that Liz finds herself beholden to. From making her "hair look deliberate rather than wayward" to reading forgiveness how-to books that advocate for "twenty minutes of meditation, followed by five minutes [of focusing] on the wrong that had been done to her," Liz's life is filled with everyday moments that poke fun at what it means to perform ideal womanhood. --Alice Martin, freelance writer and editor