"Sobering look at friendship"

Next door neighbors in the Boston suburb Constance on the Rise, the Popes and the Maxwells have been close friends to each other seemingly forever even sharing a summer place in Maine fittingly dubbed "Popewell". Annie Pope and Teke Maxwell were college roommates while their future spouses John David "J.D." Maxwell and Sam Pope have been best buds since childhood and work as full partners at a Boston law firm whose top gun is the Maxwell patriarch John Stewart. Nothing could rip apart the loving friendships between two generations of Popewells.

However, nothing until tragedy occurs. Thirteen years old Michael Maxwell is shocked when he sees Teke and Sam making love. Stunned and feeling betrayed, Michael races outside without looking in front of a pickup truck driven by Teke's former childhood boyfriend Grady Piper. Michael remains in a coma from the accident while J.D. angrily wants to take out his frustration on everyone involved especially Grady. That is until the infidelity surfaces leading the Popewells to war with one another while Michael lingers in a comatose state.

The key that keeps this fine family drama from becoming a melodramatic emoting soap opera is the reactions of the key cast members to the tragedy as each in a restrained way feel as if they caused the accident. Thus the ensemble Popewells and Grady seem genuine while coping poorly with what happened to the youngest. Barbara Delinsky is at her best with this sobering look at friendship.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted January 16, 2006

Summary

The Maxwells and the Popes have been friends forever. The women were college roommates, their husbands are partners in the same law firm, their kids have grown up next door to each other, and the two families share both vacations and holidays. Like Wisteria Lane, the "perfect" suburban street of Desperate Housewives, all is beautiful and serene -- until an accident forces these close neighbors to look beneath the surface. And when their idyllic lives are unexpectedly shattered by a moment that can never be erased or forgotten, their faith in one another -- and in themselves -- is put to the supreme test. In this moving, unforgettable story, Barbara Delinsky exquisitely captures the depth and complexity of the human heart as few writers can.