THE FRIENDSHIP BREAKUP

Brenda Scott Wlazlo captures a pivotal time in Fallon Monroe's life. As she turns 40, she hits early menopause, undergoes a shift in her friend group, and aspires to shift from suburban housewife to boutique chocolatier. Suddenly, her best friend, Beatrice, along with other housewives she knows, stop inviting Fallon and her 7-year-old daughter to social gatherings, and Fallon is clueless as to why. Wlazlo captures the rather vapid and often frazzled voice of Fallon as she methodically makes lists in her head and considers her social interactions. But the generic voices Wlazlo assigns to the infrequent men and children in the story fail to provide them with recognizable vocal personalities. S.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2023]