It's football season in the small town of Worthy, Georgia, and all that is supposed to happen on a Friday night is for the hometown boys to score the touchdowns and the opposing team to go home with their tails between their legs. There is nothing like small-town football to bring out the best (and the worst) of both the teenagers and the adults.
But this one Friday night, one bad decision changes many lives. A new car. A drag race. And an accident that ends the lives of 3 young cheerleaders. And so many unanswered questions.
Now the town, and the families directly involved have to figure out how to move forward. There is Darcy, whose son was at the wheel of a brand-new car, a present from her estranged husband, who had recently left her for another woman. She struggles to keep her son out of jail while listening to grieving mothers cry for their daughters down the hall of the hospital.
There is also Marglyn, who opted out of seeing her daughter cheer at yet another Friday night game to take an underprivileged young woman shopping for a new outfit for her upcoming job interview. The words that her daughter yelled at her before she'd left rang in Marglyn's ears all night as she wondered if she'd done the right thing.
Ava is a substitute teacher who didn't want to move to the small town but agreed when her husband took over his parents' restaurant. She'd started sublimating her frustration by flirting with another teacher, and her secret was found out by one of the teenaged girls before the accident. Ava worries if her secret is still safe and blossoms in the attention from the town for knowing one of the girls who died.
And lastly, Leah was also a cheerleader in the high school. The 3 girls in the car were her best friends. She should have been in the car too, but she was elsewhere. And she wonders how long it is before people start asking her were she was and what she was doing at the time of the accident. How long can she keep her secret, and what will happen when the truth comes out?
As the women deal with their individual grief, the whole town finds itself dealing with visitations and funerals, sadness and curiosity. Worthy may never be the same, but the residents still have to find a way to go on.
Marybeth Mayhew Whalen brings the small town to life in When We Were Worthy. All the small-town gossip and politics, the gatherings at the churches and schools and restaurants, the secrets that divide and unite--all these come to life in this novel of choices and consequences. Well written and hearty, perfect for fall evenings, When We Were Worthy reminded me of what's important in life, the lessons of high school choices, and the power of friends and family to help with life's struggles.
Galleys for When We Were Worthy were provided by Lake Union Publishing through NetGalley,com, with many thanks.