Days of Awe — Lauren Fox

Celebrated for her irresistibly witty, strikingly intelligent examinations of friendship and marriage, Lauren Fox has written her most powerful novel to date. "Days of Awe" is the story of a woman who, in the wake of her best friend's sudden death, must face the crisis in her marriage, the fury of her almost-teenage daughter, and the possibility of opening her cantankerous heart to someone new.

Only a year ago Isabel Moore was married, was the object of adoration for her ten-year-old daughter, and thought she knew everything about her wild, extravagant, beloved best friend, Josie. But in that one short year her husband moved out and rented his own apartment; her daughter grew into a moody insomniac; and Josie impulsive, funny, secretive Josie was killed behind the wheel in a single-car accident. As the relationships that long defined Isabel -- wife, mother, daughter, best friend -- change before her eyes, Isabel must try to understand who she really is.

Teeming with longing, grief, and occasional moments of wild, unexpected joy, "Days of Awe" is a daring, dazzling book a luminous exploration of marriage, motherhood, and the often surprising shape of new love.