Far and Away

The ΓÇ£absolutely hilariousΓÇ¥ (Real Simple) Amy Poeppel delights once again with a charming new novel about a house swap gone wonderfully awry. Perfect strangers Lucy and Greta have agreed to a house swapΓÇöand boy,are they going to regret it. LucyΓÇÖs hometown of Dallas has gone from home sweet home to vicious snake pit in the blink of an eye after her son makes a mistake he canΓÇÖt undo. And GretaΓÇÖs beloved flat in Berlin is suddenly up for grabs when her husband Otto takes a dream job in Texas without even telling her. In their rush to leave townLucy and Greta make a dealpack their bagsandΓÇöthanks to martinisdesperationand some very rusty GermanΓÇöhave absolutely no idea what theyΓÇÖre getting themselves into. Trading Southern charm and barbecue for European sophistication and schnitzelthe two women get a lot more than a change of scenery as they move into each otherΓÇÖs housesneighborhoodsand lives. Greta and LucyΓÇÖs husbands are no help: Otto is winning over his colleaguesswimming laps in the backyard pooland rooting for the Rangerswhile LucyΓÇÖs husband is doing a six-month stretch out westeither in a NASA biosphere or in jaildepending on who you ask. MeanwhileGretaΓÇÖs daughter Emmi and LucyΓÇÖs son Jack get tossed into each otherΓÇÖs orbitswhere they both discover secrets they canΓÇÖt ignore. When GretaΓÇÖs biggest career achievementΓÇöthe buzzworthy purchase of a Vermeer at auctionΓÇöis thrown into question and LucyΓÇÖs past with a hot Viking named Bj├╕rn invades her presentthe two women need each other in ways they never could have imagined. Through jet lagculture shocksuspiciously nice neighborsand scandals that refuse to be left behindLucy and Greta will have to decide if they can ever go home again.