A Million Little Things by Susan Mallery

cover of bookI just finished Susan Mallery’s A Million Little Things, and found it to be a very appropriate read over the Mother’s Day weekend. This story surrounds three women’s personal stories of grief, family, romance and difficult choices. The story starts off with Zoe who gets trapped in an attic and begins to think of the choices she made in her life, such as changing her career to satisfy someone she thought she loved. Zoe’s best friend, Jen, is struggling as a first-time mom hovering over her toddler son and constantly worrying that he hasn’t spoken a word yet. Finally, Jen’s mom and Zoe’s friend, Pam, cannot seem to move on from her late husband and rejects any idea of falling in love again. These women’s stories intertwine with each other’s as they all have a kind of relationship with one another. Because of these intertwined stories, I was never left wondering what was happening to any character at a particular time.

I find that Mallery was very clever in having these three women go through their ups and downs at different times throughout the story. Therefore, not all of the three women were depressed or going through a crisis at the same time. So, while Jen was fretting over her child not speaking, Jen and Pam were clear-headed and problem-free and were able to provide Jen some guidance and assistance.

After reading Mallery’s A Million Little Things, I learned that it is actually the third book of the Mischief Bay series, and fortunately, I didn’t need to read the first two books before uncovering this gem. Even so, I am planning on reading the other books in the series, and luckily, one of them is available is at VPL!