Fiction.
Literature.
Humor (Fiction.)
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Finalist for the Minnesota Book Award
Tall, trusted Tandy Caide, CPA, is a long-time patron of the arts in her town, which is why you will find her sitting in the front row of the high school's annual musical production. This year is an Annie yearâ??and it would be no different than other years were it not for the high school's hiring of a new vocational agriculture (Vo-Ag) teacher. With his beguiling ponytail and decorative beaded belt, Kenny catches Tandy's eye immediately. Ignoring the fact of her slovenly husbandâ??who takes most of his meals in their hot tubâ??Tandy decides to entertain Kenny's advances.
Trusted community pillar that she is, Tandy's affair has instant repercussions. People are talking and her husband's subsequent breakdown and check-in to a mental institution doesn't help. At her regular meeting with the Order of the Pessimistsâ??comprised of her deceased father's disgruntled and drunken best friendsâ??she is asked to step down as treasurer. Not only that, but her old lover is keeping a secret somehow connected to the Vo-Ag teacher. And meth labsâ??fueled by the abundance of fertilizer present in the regionâ??keep blowing up. Somehow, it is all connected to Tandy's ex-bestfriend's daughterâ??the star of this year's Annie. As Tandy pieces together the puzzle that has become her life, it becomes clear she must embark on a journey of self-discovery that might even include lea
I have to say, I never really quite clicked with this book. It's not that it's bad, but it feels to me as if it's trying just a little too hard to be quirky and offbeat, although not in the fun, charming, Northern Exposure kind of way. I did at least like it better as it went along, though, and the main character did eventually grow on me. ( )