This was a much needed read for me after some heavy ones lately! This story is about a neighborhood in Los Angeles that goes through some drama, with Frances Bloom being the central character, mostly by intent. Abbi Waxman is a great writer, and I was laughing so much throughout this book. I am a huge fan of Bravo TV, so when I read the synopsis, this book was right up my alley, and did not disappoint! Frances was completely relatable to me, and I enjoyed the situations she found herself in, mostly of her own doing, but also how she and her husband Michael were the main constant in their family as well as the neighborhood given the chaos going on all around them. Each of the families had their own distinct issues, and I enjoyed the buildup of the problems and my favorite scene was definitely how they all came to a head. I did wish we had a little more insight into Ava sooner regarding what was distressing her. I understand she was a teenager, and that is how they are at 14, but the author was so open with everyone else, it just bothered me a bit (or maybe I had no patience). Other than that, this was a fabulous read and I enjoyed every minute of this L.A. drama!

Other People’s Houses looks behind the curtain into all of the relationships in a block of houses in the Larchmount neighborhood of Los Angeles. Frances Bloom, as the volunteer driver of all of the neighbors children, she gets an eyeful into the lives of her next door neighbor that makes everyone take a second look into their own marriage.

Although the point of view changes from character to character I mostly identified with Frances, the mother of four, slightly overweight stay at home wife who spends her days making other peoples lives easier. Not to say that I make people’s lives easy, but she was more the “everyman” character in this book, so seeing through her eyes was easier and her point of view was very clear. When she catches one of her neighbors in infidelity she keeps her mouth shut, but her knowing creates a cause and effect that builds into a tsunami that breaks over that neighborhood, changing the lives of not only the adults but all of the children as well.

I LOVED Abbi Waxman’s first novel The Garden of Small Beginnings. It too dealt with a difficult subject as the main character, widower and mother of two, Lili, was still trying to get over the death of her husband. It was a story of letting go and moving forward told through humor. The infidelity in Other People’s Houses was also hard to read, but more so because of how it affected all of the children. There was still a bit of humor but I cried more than I laughed in this book. The funny commentary between mothers and children were present but it was almost bittersweet because of the lesson they were all learning from someone else’s mistake.

Other People’s Houses needs to stand on it’s own and not be compared to The Garden of Small Beginnings, and I think I did it a disservice at first for being so eager to look for a laugh. I was disappointed when I didn’t get it until further into the book. Abbi Waxman still did an amazing job creating credible, real, emotional characters. I really liked these people so was able to get involved in their stories, but it did take me a little bit to understand that this was not going down the road I had wanted to take and my journey was going to be a lot more emotional. If you enjoy reading books about heartbreaking relationships with an occasional laugh then you will really like this book. If you read The Garden of Small Beginnings, be warned, you are not getting the same uplifting novel with Other People’s Houses, but you will still be enthralled with the story. ❤❤❤❤
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

There are some good sides to this book, including some hilarious moments and insights into the typical life of a harried mother (Francis) and the goings on in her suburban LA neighborhood. But suffused throughout were endless descriptions of the minutiae of everyday life, which is precisely NOT what I want to read about. I live the carpool life every day - give me escapism please! This, coupled with the terrible behavior of Francis's daughter and the way a couple on the verge of divorce treat each other, make it really hard to read in places. I'll try to remember the laughs instead.

Other People’s Houses is such a realistic story. Maybe not all the storylines would be happening at the same time, but it is the idea that closed doors every family has their own world happening. As the neighbors look on, there are things that should be kept private yet in a neighborhood where everyone knows everyone it is close to impossible. Many times the happenings behind closed doors become more drama than they have to be just because of other’s opinions, “help”, or just plain nosiness.

Frances was the know all in her neighborhood. Probably due to the fact that she was the stay at home mom that everyone turned to when they needed help. She was given an inside look, through the kids especially, behind the walls of her neighbors. She tried to help everyone, she had her nose in everyone’s household, but she was not the gossip. She knew what was happening, she was willing to help, and she didn’t spread their gossip around.

The other characters all tell their story but Frances is the main narrator. I liked being able to hear firsthand what has happening in their lives and getting an inside look at their lives. Some of the problems were heavy, some were not so heavy, but all were realistic to the real lives in US. I laughed, I blushed, and I felt compassion for most of the characters. I am recommending this book to anyone who enjoys getting an inside look at the lives of others.

Hollywood should make this book into a movie! Other People's Houses is a saga of a small family-oriented neighborhood and the interrelationships between persons. Abbi Waxman writes both a humorous and thoughtful story (I really loved her characterization of Frances and her hilarious wit). This book deals with the real life issues of rearing children from 4 to 14, infidelity and coping during family crises. Although the author uses humor to tone down some of the intensity, she reveals a brutal honesty of complicated relationships between spouses, parents, siblings and friends. This book is enjoyable and thought-provoking, a rare combination.

I loved Ms Waxman's The Garden of Small Beginnings, with its focus on a widow and her family dealing with grief. This one is a bit different in its whole host of characters in an LA neighborhood and the wild repercussions on all of them after one of the wives cheats on her husband. There are a few characters in focus with Frances, Anne and Iris and I was so drawn into their lives that I feel a bit of a loss upon ending this book. The bonds between spouses and parents & children are all explored and poinantly and humorously mined for comedic gold (farts are never not funny!) However, I think if I was a mother, it might have affected me at an even deeper level.

I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would! It's a quirky, humorous and insightful take on suburban family life, including the carpool, Saturday morning soccer, the neighborhood gossip vine, and why it's always a pizza delivery guy in porn films.

“Fuck you again, I say, thought Frances, calmly placing mugs upside down in the glass-fronted cabinet. Fuck you very much for ruining my carefully constructed life in which all my friends are just as happy as I am. Where we are going to do it better than our parents did, are going to be happy and raise our kids without ambivalence and frustration. Fuck you for peeling the lid off the can of worms, you selfish, selfish cow.”


The main plot revolves around Frances, called St. Frances by some of the moms at school, stay-at-home mom of two and carpool driver, and the suburban LA neighborhood she lives in, including her cousin Iris and her wife Sara, Bill and his missing wife Julie, Anne and Charles, and Anne's twenty-something paramour... It's Frances, always helpful Frances, who walks in on Anne and her boyfriend while retrieving forgotten craft supplies, and the revelation of the affair leads to everyone in the neighborhood re-evaluating what they really know about their families and their neighbors.

“It was remarkable how much you could tell about someone’s state of mind purely by looking at the way they put down their bag at the end of the day, or by the sound of a door closing, or even by how long it took for them to walk into the house after you heard the beep of the car alarming itself. You become an anthropologist studying a tribe of one, and then if you have kids, you start studying them, too; but they’re harder because the little bastards are studying you right back, and changing and growing in a frustrating step function of leaps, bounds, and backward stumbles.”


I think my favorite part of this book was how relatably honest and brutally insightful it is - from the day-in, day-out drudgery of loading the dishwasher, doing laundry, cleaning up pet accidents, checking homework to the sweet and silly moments that remind you why you're raising these little hellions or why you married this person. I identified most with Frances - I, too, struggle with being the overly helpful SAHM - but there were aspects of Anne's character that I got. Anne is deeply depressed, and from her POV we find out that she kept the affair going just to feel something, even if it was only a deep self-loathing. While there's a table at the front of the book with a list of characters, I found I didn't really have to refer to it as all of the characters, even the little kids, were well-defined, from sulky teen Ava to anxious Theo to silly Lally.

“All these families, all struggling against one thing or another, doing their best, or maybe just pretending to be interested, or maybe actively trying to destroy each other, who knows. All of them united momentarily around fucking peewee soccer, brought together by the twin desires for healthy children and something to do on a Saturday. Inwardly Frances shrugged, because it doubtless meant something significant and deep, but all she could think was that the whole thing was incredibly tiring and she needed more coffee. Sometimes life is just what it is, and the best you can hope for is ice cream.”


Does anything particularly important happen? In the grand scheme of things, no. I mean, the big denouement happens at a birthday party complete with bouncy house! But it's a fascinating exploration of the little things that combine together to form friendships, relationships, families, and neighborhoods, and that we can never truly guess what's going on in other people's houses.

Overall, this was a hilariously honest look at suburban life, and I enjoyed every minute. Highly recommended!

“'Do you ever feel like running away?' Ava asked her.
Frances shook her head. 'Where would I go? Everything I love is here.'”

4.5 Wonderful and Snarky stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5

From the minute I picked up this book I was sucked into the lives of these characters.... Abbi Waxman did a phenomenal job of bringing to life these characters..... they were so real, so relatable, so compelling.... as a mother of three living in Southern California, who live through the PTA,AYSO, and a teenage daughter.... I found so much of this book so relevant and laughably true.... The scene in this book at the PTA meeting where they were debating Cotillion lessons had me in tears... The struggle is real!

Francis is the glue that holds this book together as well as the neighborhood.... she drives all the neighborhood kids to school, is always there for everybody when they need her, and is always putting everybody else before herself.... she also had a sense of humor about herself, her family, her life, and the world in general, I always love that in a character.... if Francis and I were to live on the same block we would absolutely be friends and she would never find me on my living room floor in a compromising position.... promise..... however this did happen when she went to retrieve toilet paper rolls from Ann’s house.... imagine this you drop your neighbors kid off at school and she is devastated because she forgot to bring toilet paper rolls needed for craft time (and as anybody knows who has had a child of elementary school age those are always a big must when it comes to craft time).... so you decide to do the (neice) thing and go back and retrieve those lovely toilet paper rolls from your neighbors house and then you walk in on your neighbor/friend Ann in an extremely compromising position and not with her husband.... soon enough everybody finds out what Ann is up to and the entire neighborhood goes sideways.... especially Charlie, Ann’s husband.... i’ll stop there with anything about the plot, I want you to read this for yourself and enjoy the journey... it is a fabulous one!

This is a book about love, pain, family, friends, children, and everything else that makes up a life.... told very realistically with a huge dose of humor.... this book is going to make me look at my neighbors in a whole new way.... what is really going on behind that front door? Who really are the people in your neighborhood?

Strongly recommend to anybody who enjoys a character driven book with tons of laugh out loud moments and an extremely relatable plot....

PS: AYSO stands for American Youth Soccer Organization ⚽️

*** thank you so much to the publisher and Net Galley for a copy of this book ***

I know what you're thinking... another neighborhood book?!

No.. ladies and gents what a deliciously addictive novel about a suburban neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles focusing on four families.

What more can you want from a novel?! Gossip, lies, secrets and humor ALL in one!

Let's meet our main character Frances Bloom. She is the "carpool" mom that takes all the kids to school. One morning, she accidentally walks in on one of her neighbors having an affair. Of course, the word travels like lightning and boy does it spread!!! All of the neighbors start questioning their own lives, families, and children.

What I really enjoyed about this novel was how Abbi beautifully balances the right amount of humor and seriousness throughout this story.

Can I also say.... I cuss like a sailor (well haha maybe I should work on this.... ) but the language worked perfectly in this one.

Abbi had me laughing out loud the majority of this novel. Characterization is a definite strong point!!

This one is definitely one to put on your radar! I enjoyed this overall and look foward to more from Abbi Waxman.

Huge thank you to Elisha, Berkley Publishing Group, and Netgalley for the advanced arc in exchange for my honest review.

I read this as part of our traveling sister group. Always such a fun time with you ladies and love hearing all the thoughts! Please see their blog for the full sister review: https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com/

4 stars
Publication date: 4/3/18
Published to GR: 4/2/18.

This book is exactly what the title implies. Every house on the street has a story to tell with unique dramas that come together only when one person steps outside of the role that they were playing for everyone else. Slightly pudgy and sweatshirt loving Frances Bloom takes her job as neighborhood carpool mom seriously. To the point of returning to one house when art project supplies are forgotten only to find Anne is a compromising position with a man that is not her husband. Thus begins the downward spiral of Larchmont resulting in each family questioning their own relationships and watching the children involved question their place in their parents’ lives.

In an ‘imperfect, fractured, and embarrassingly glorious’ Southern California neighborhood, Abbi Waxman has her readers laughing aloud as she winds through homes and relationships. There are also tears as realities are faced when their secrets are revealed and how a small child, who does not yet know that his world is crashing down, offers out a hand in support and in doing so, teaches the adults around him a lesson in kindness.

Combining all the ugly truths and humor of raising children, keeping a home running with its never-ending loads of dishes and laundry, and keeping a marriages together, ‘Other People’s Houses’ reveals the truths that the perfect people do not want you to see. The little battles and larger wars that must be endured each day, whether they are behind door, out on soccer fields, or in the middle of the street, Abbi Waxman takes you on an intimate journey through the everyday in a way that only she can.

I quite enjoyed this visit into the homes and lives of Frances Bloom and her neighbours. For some reason (and don’t ask me why) I pictured comedian Miranda Hart as Frances and that made me love her character all the more.

“That’s what I thought,” said Frances, walking by and farting silently as she went. She was opposed to chemical warfare on principle, but sometimes you just had to go with what you had at hand.”


Other People’s Houses started off with Frances accidentally walking in on her neighbour, Anne, in a very compromising position. From there, I settled in and got to know the neighbours that featured prominently in the story - France and her husband and kids, Frances’ cousin and her partner and child, Anne and her husband and kids and finally the mysterious Bill and his “missing” wife and child.

Frances, ever the people pleaser, felt the need to meddle in everyone’s lives and was quite good at it. Out of all the characters, I think I connected with her the most. I really got a sense of what made her tick.

Each of the stories was well rounded and enjoyable, when paired with Frances diving in and out and around as she worked through ever changing life with her family.

There was one scene in particular that cracked me up. Without giving away any spoilers, I will just say that I couldn’t believe the chaos that happened as a result of an innocent battle that Frances’s husband chose not to fight with their young child. Pure comedy genius!

“But I want to be a toilet.”
Milo was waiting to get out of the car. “Dad, just let her be a toilet, what does it matter? She’s not applying for toilet college, is she?”
Michael saw the wisdom of this. Frances was good at this, letting the small stuff slide over her, he would be like Frances. “OK, whatever. Sure honey, you can be a toilet.”

Really liked this one!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Plus this was also my March BOTM book.

This was touted as laugh out loud funny. While wouldn’t say the book was completely that, I did laugh at some points. Plus, the stories of the main families were somewhat realistic up until almost the end of the book.

See the novel revolves around 4 core families that live not he same block. The main family of Frances and Michael’s portrayed a family of 5 that showed the ups and downs in a mostly realistic marriage after being married with children quite a few years time.

Next up was Anne and Charlie’s family of 4, which showcased the destruction what appeared to be the perfect marriage to the outside world due to Anne’s extra-marital affair. Her affair, first come to light, when Frances stumbles upon Anne and her lover in an uncompromising position. Frances struggles with how to handle her newfound discovery. But ultimately Anne’s deception comes to light in a very dramatic and public way. This leaves her family situation in peril and all the world she knows hanging by a thread.

We also are given a glimpse into Frances’ cousin’s (Iris) marriage to her wife Sara, as well as their son Wyatt. Iris is a stay at home mom to Wyatt and longs to have another baby. But Sara is more not he fence with this. Plus she is a pretty well-known actress, who is up for a lead role that films in China.

Last, but not least is Bill and Julie and their son, Lucas. It seems these two have a secret of their own. Many speculate that Julie has left Bill as she is no longer living with Bill and pretty much disappeared. But once again all is not how it appears and the reason for Julie’s abrupt departure comes to light, but not until it is practically dragged out of Bill in the most unflattering of moments.

While I truly enjoyed the drama from here neighborhood families through most of the book, my one complaint comes towards the end of the novel. I don’t want to give away the ending. However, I will just say that how it wraps up, as well as some of the characters at the end are dismissed left me wishing for a more realistic ending to say the least. But still an easy, light read for vacation or beach time.

In Other People's Houses, Abbi Waxman displays what happens in a neighborhood where the niceties have somewhat vanished and everyone is a little too involved in each other's business- though, as the title suggests, you may never really know what's going on in someone else's house. It was an overall really enjoyable experience, with Frances, at the center of the story, being the kind of honest, flawed, endearing and loyal friend or neighbor anyone would be lucky to have. The only thing I found off-putting were the random inclusion of some super British sounding phrases. If you've read Waxman's debut, The Garden of Small Beginnings, there may be a special treat inside this story for you, too.

Whew!! This was a fun read! I absolutely loved the Frances’ character! She is down to earth and I could totally relate to her. After seeing a neighbor in flagrante delicto, all hell breaks loose in an otherwise quiet neighborhood. Frances is almost like the glue holding everyone and everything together.

I would love to find a neighborhood just like this for my child to grow up in. To me, not having ever lived any place like this, is the epitome of perfect suburban neighborhood living. Yes, there’s drama but there’s more quiet companionship/friendship and that really appeals to me.

I highlighted tons of snarky comments I, myself, have thought/said on many occasions. Frances helped me feel normal with some of the more macabre thoughts I have from time to time.

Want a fun down to earth read? Grab this book!! You won’t be disappointed!!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Berkley, and Abbi Waxman for the opportunity to read and review her latest book - loved it! I was a huge fan of Garden of Small Beginnings and this one definitely didn't disappoint. I'm actually quite surprised that the ratings aren't higher for this one!

This is one of those stories that takes a look into people's lives and shows that we never really do know what goes on in other people's houses - or even our own sometimes. Frances is the glue in her neighborhood - she's in charge of the carpool that takes all the kids to their various schools, back home again, even watching others at her house. When she inadvertently catches her neighbor having an affair, it opens up issues for the entire neighborhood.

Waxman's writing is just so spot on that I couldn't wait to dive back into this book. She had me laughing, cringing, and relating to so many of the characters and happenings. Multiple points of view are expressed from the different characters in a unique way that really lets you get into their thoughts. And did I mention it's hilarious?

Great book!!

At any given moment in other people’s houses, you can find…repressed hopes and dreams…moments of unexpected joy…someone making love on the floor to a man who is most definitely not her husband…

As the longtime local carpool mom, Frances Bloom is sometimes an unwilling witness to her neighbors’ private lives. She knows her cousin is hiding her desire for another baby from her spouse, Bill Horton’s wife is mysteriously missing, and now this…

After the shock of seeing Anne Porter in all her extramarital glory, Frances vows to stay in her own lane. But that’s a notion easier said than done when Anne’s husband throws her out a couple of days later. The repercussions of the affair reverberate through the four carpool families–and Frances finds herself navigating a moral minefield that could make or break a marriage.

My Thoughts: In this bold peek behind closed doors, Other People’s Houses reveals the flaws, the foibles, and the moral failings in an LA area neighborhood.

Frances Bloom is the main voice, although we are offered multiple narrators. She is the good mom, the patient one who carpools all the neighborhood kids. But is she truly good, or is she making up for her own failings?

Anne Porter’s faux pas turns the neighborhood from a cozy little enclave to a clash of temperaments and values within the other houses, as each of them has to figure out whose side they’re on.

I liked how the kids were not cardboard versions but were fleshed out in a way that allowed us to connect with them. Ava, the fourteen-year-old, was not just an annoying, eye-rolling caricature, but had ideas of her own that showed her developing personhood. She could also be helpful and thoughtful, just like a real girl who has grown up with structure and love, finding her own true self.

As more and more of the closely guarded secrets are revealed, I especially loved the dialogue, the banter, and even the sometimes coarse language that left me feeling as if these were people I knew. An irreverent, hilarious, and often sad tale of how life can go so wrong, this book also showed us characters who pulled themselves together despite their problems. They were an example for the others, just like real people can be leaders of the pack. In the final moments, after the crises within some of the families settled down, there was a Christmas get-together. I liked this quote: “The neighborhood would be together again, in all its imperfect, fractured, embarrassing glory.” 5 stars.***My e-ARC came from the publisher via NetGalley.

Behind every closed door is an open secret ...
The Bloom, Porter, Horton and the Carter-Gillespie families are all in on it, but it's affecting them in quite different ways. In OTHER PEOPLE’S HOUSES (BerkleyTrade), Abbi Waxmann, captures the hilarious havoc one affair wreaks on an upper middle-class LA neighborhood. We have the dog hating French lady, cranky old woman who scares the kids, the house that the cops once showed up at and a brilliantly cast of  humorous characters.

"Seven children, the genetic arsenal of four families. One big crash and the entire neighborhood would have had funeral scheduling problems."

For Frances Bloom, driver-in-residence of her local carpool crew, school drop-off is a chaotic, if not predictable affair. Until one of Frances’s steely-eyed kindergarten charges sends her to retrieve forgotten school supplies. That’s when Frances stumbles on her friend Anne Porter— perfect Anne—having a 9:00 am quickie with a younger man who is definitely not her husband.

The affair exposes, to comedic effect, dormant insecurities, neuroses, and strife in the
neighborhood. As the carpool line-up unravels one gossip session at a time, the novel alternates between the perspectives of the four families involved: the down-to-earth, level-headed Blooms; the seemingly perfect Porters; the eccentric lesbian couple Sara and Iris; and the mysterious Hortons, hiding a sad secret.

Pitch-perfect, rapid-fire dialogue, capturing how the chaotic aftermath of the affair plays out across the block behind closed doors, in scenarios alternately tender and completely preposterous. It all leads up to the return of Anne’s boyfriend, in a final plot turn that tests the carpool crew and forces their reliance on each other.

Prepare to laugh your head off and perhaps, pee your panties. I loved the biting British satire of OTHER PEOPLE'S HOUSES. You know there's always something going on in your neighborhood that everyone is talking about. Let's face it, they're probably laughing, too. There's a little bit of voyeur in all of us!

*****



Abbi Waxman was born in England in 1970, the oldest child of two copywriters who never should have been together in the first place. Once her father ran off to buy cigarettes and never came back, her mother began a highly successful career writing crime fiction. She encouraged Abbi and her sister Emily to read anything and everything they could pull down from the shelves, and they did. Naturally lazy and disinclined to dress up, Abbi went into advertising, working as a copywriter and then a creative director at various advertising agencies in London and New York. Clients ranged from big and traditional, (AT&T, Chase Manhattan Bank, IBM, American Express, Unilever, Mercedes-Benz) to big and morally corrupt (R. J. Reynolds) to big and larcenous (Enron). Eventually she quit advertising, had three kids and started writing books, TV shows and screenplays, largely in order to get a moment’s peace.

Abbi lives in Los Angeles with her husband, three kids, three dogs, three cats, a gecko, two mice and six chickens. Every one of these additions made sense at the time, it’s only in retrospect that it seems foolhardy.

Feel free to drop her a line, she readily welcomes any excuse to stop working and do something else.

www.abbiwaxman.com

Thanks to Berkley Trade, we have one copy of OTHER PEOPLE'S HOUSES to giveaway. Just tell us about some gossipy news happening in your neighborhood.

We'll announce a winner soon. Good luck!

I think we’ve all wondered what goes on inside our neighbor’s houses, and as the long-time car pool mother for her block, Frances Bloom knows and sees a lot of her neighbor’s secrets (sometimes much more than she wants!) Abbi Waxman’s new novel, “Other People’s Houses” takes us inside these houses and relationships, primarily through the viewpoint of Frances. She’s a wise and witty woman who frequently finds herself getting more involved with these families than she would like. Abbi Waxman knows how to write humor and snark, but she’s also a keen and insightful observer of the joys and difficulties of family life. This is a charming and realistic story with believable characters and situations I think will resonate with many readers. It’s also very, very funny!

My review was posted on Goodreads on 3/26/18.

Other People’s Houses is a humorous take on a classic tale of daily suburban life, parenthood, and marriage.

The women on who live on Frances Bloom’s street individually lament how suburbia and children have affected their career, body, and personal grace. While they all have the life they thought they wanted, none seem to be happy, just busy and tired. When one woman’s illicit affair is exposed, it sets off an epidemic of malaise as if infidelity and divorce are a communicable disease. Ms. Waxman's wry take on suburban life is as wickedly good and addicting as any night-time television melodrama.

The trials and tribulations of daily life in the Larchmont suburb of Los Angeles are presented lightheartedly as the characters experience what growing old together genuinely means. Author Abbi Waxman clearly shows her readers that regular/normal families are often less humdrum than presumed behind their closed door.

For more reading recommendations, visit Book Junkie Reviews at https://abookjunkiereviews.wordpress.com.

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Appealing, insightful, and well writren book about marriages, children, and neighbors.