reviewed by
Anna C. Bowling
The cyber-girlfriends of Efken's debut novel, SAHM I AM, are back for a second helping in @ Home For The Holidays, another heartfelt, real, exasperating and hilarious look at the friendships that form among an email loop for stay at home mothers.
Baby talk abounds as new member Ronnie, who became a step-SAHM in book one, announces her pregnancy in the midst of a prickly email challenge with her sister and list owner, Rosalyn. Rosalyn's perfectly snotty persona hides a home life fast going down the drain, with three maniac kids and a husband suddenly spending a lot of time away from home. Is this really the best time for her to launch her campaign to force local merchants to bring back "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays?"
Other SAHMmies, as they call themselves, have baby news of their own. Marianne is overdue to give birth to number two, and when the happy day finally arrives, falls into postnatal depression, which doesn't help dealing with her out of control toddler daughter. Zenia and her British/Zimbabwaen husband are trying to adopt a baby from Ethiopia, which parallels Brenna and her husband's adoption of frozen embryos. Dulcie and Tom, newly relocated, find their world further turned around when Tom loses his new job and Dulcie goes back to work. Will this make them a SAHD family, or just a sad one? These issues and more fly back and forth in the emails that make up the entirety of the book, and it's all too easy to forget one is reading a novel and not an actual loop. More than once I wanted to reach for the send button to offer hugs, thwaps or advice.
The relationships among the women ring true, from sisterly support to offenses real or perceived, and anyone who's been in an email loop will be able to recognize familiar sorts. Though most members share the same faith, Ms. Efken paints a varied picture of how diverse people within any given group can be--there are tears, arguments and sides even among the closest friends, but when it comes down to the important things in life, the friends are there for each other. As warm, enjoyable and refreshing as a hot cup of cocoa by the fireside, @ Home For the Holidays is a wonderful holiday treat.
