Spring Break in Napa: And Other Stories

Five short stories. In "Spring Break in Napa," Kathleen indulges in Spring Break therapy in California with her friend Samantha and Samantha's brother and their friend Jim following betrayal by her boyfriend at school back in Boston. What is it with high school girlfriends, anyway? In "A Picnic with April," the narrator recalls his high school romance and his self-created delusions about the continuing romance. It takes a reunion that goes badly to make him realize the truth about himself and about her. "A New Life for Julie" is a tongue-in-cheek treatment of a pre-Easter weekend Julie spends with her family at their lake cottage. She discovers a side of her parents and brother she didn't know about, but when her mother explains Julie decides she's ready to join them. Curvy girls are desirable, she discovers, to her delight. In "Cocksucking," Jane takes us through buildup, climax and resolution, and brings us along through sight, sound, taste, touch and smell, as does "Plucking Debbie."