Giving Up on Ordinary

Megs Williams, the single mother heroine of Brit author Dewar’s pleasant latest, is in a miserable spot: she’s wracked with grief over the recent accidental death of one of her three children, she’s pregnant and, having lost her job, now works as a housekeeper. Though she has a less than endearing tendency to lack self-control, readers will be able to relate as she and her best friend Lorraine dream of escaping their respective ruts. Things start looking up for Megs after Gilbert, the stuffy professor whose house she cleans, tunes into her beautiful singing voice. As Gilbert and Megs catch each other’s interest, more is revealed about Gilbert’s tics and aspirations (including his shame at how he met Megs). Refreshingly, Dewar (Secrets of a Family Album ) shies away from easy solutions, and the conclusion is entirely believable and not at all what’s expected. Though some of the comedy—particularly that involving Megs’s mother—can verge on camp, the novel serves up a realistic, often moving portrait of a not-quite-conventional single mother. (Oct.)