Back of the book: Doug Parker is a widower at age twenty-nine, and in his quiet town that makes him something of a minor celebrity – and the object of sympathy, curiosity, and, in some cases, even unbridled desire. But Doug has more urgent things on his mind, such as his sixteen-year-old stepson, Russ, a once-sweet kid who now is getting into increasingly serious trouble on a daily basis. As Doug starts dipping his toes into the shark-infested waters of the second-time-around dating scene, it isn’t long before his new life is spinning hopelessly out of control, cutting a harrowing and often hilarious swath of sexual missteps and escalating chaos across a suburban landscape.
I wasn’t surprised to read that this book has been optioned for a movie. It read like an entertaining script full of colorful characters such as Doug’s potty-mouthed twin sister who just happens to be separated from her husband and expecting their first child. She moves in with Doug and his stepson. She manages to start Doug on the road to living again. I thought the author did a good job portraying the grief felt by a young husband and son when the wife/mother dies so unexpectedly. This is NOT a tear-filled Terms of Endearment kind of book. There are laugh out loud moments as well as astonishingly poignant ones. I hope the movie comes close to the book.
Bookfan 