Single mom Mele is raising her 2-year-old daughter in San Francisco. She has a pack of funny, irreverent friends and a flexible blogging gig that allows her to hang out with said friends and their kids.
The only hiccup in her otherwise great life? The father of her child is marrying someone else: a gorgeous woman who makes cheese in Petaluma.
“When he first told me about her I envisioned a country woman milking goats, her jeans pulled up to her nipples, but she isn’t like that at all,” says Mele. “She has a perfect ponytail, big teeth, and high cheekbones—that alien look of models. She knows how to sail, make cheese, ride horses, and she’s marrying the man I thought I’d be with for the rest of my life.”
Hemmings, who first made her mark with 2007’s The Descendants, is a superbly confident and inventive writer. Much of Mele’s story is told through her application for a cookbook-writing contest, a surprisingly effective construct through which she tells stories about her friends and comes up with recipes inspired by their tales. The fact that the contest is sponsored by the San Francisco Mothers’ Club also allows for plenty of humor in Mele’s no-holds-barred responses.
Does your husband cook? reads one question. How do you divvy up the responsibilities?
“Way to rub it in my face, you sick, kitten-heel wearing bitches,” Mele replies.
When her baby daddy invites her to his wedding, Mele asks her friend Henry, a stay-at-home dad, to be her date. Henry’s marriage is failing, and Mele suspects her innocent invitation has the potential to turn into something much more. But is she ready to move on from the one she thought was The One?
How to Party with an Infant is hilarious. Hemmings is brutally honest about the pain and pleasure of parenting in the 21st century, when analyzing other parents’ choices—from schools to snacks—has become a favorite pastime. She also reinforces the universal truth that non-judgmental, imperfect, supportive and slightly boozy friends are the best antidote to the parenting wars.
This article was originally published in the August 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.
