The Sunday Potluck Club

Storm (Home Sweet Home) explores the healing power of friendship in this pleasant tale and series launch set in Anchorage, Alaska. Second-grade teacher Amy Shannon and her friends Hazel, Bridget, and Nichole have all dealt with their parents’ cancer (Nichole’s father is the only one to survive). After bonding in the hospital cafeteria, the quartet becomes the Sunday Potluck Club. This installment focuses on Amy, who, while driving home one night, is rear-ended by Trent Holt, one of the most attractive men she’s ever met. Widower Trent’s daughter, Olivia, turns out to be a student in Amy’s class, and when Amy discovers that shy Olivia is tongue-tied after losing her mother, she understands why Olivia had struggled in her classroom and longs to bond with the little girl, who then sets her mind to matchmaking. While the book opens with a funeral, Storm’s sprightly story is anything but glum. She keenly portrays the characters’ myriad ways of grieving, while giving them opportunities to seize the day and make the most of life. This has plenty of verve and will easily capture the hearts of readers. (Apr.)