Christmas in July

This is the book club selection for this month. I need to re-read some of it. There were some points that made me think but I continued reading and didn't stop to ponder.

The book is written in first person switching between the two main characters. While it flowed fine, I didn't like this initially. The book is about relationships, primarily friend/friend, however, it also covered husband/wife and parent/child. The two main characters are Anne and Olivia (Libby).

Anne - a young woman in her 20's just moving to Brewster, introduced as being outgoing and bubbly in her greetings. Her husband works in insurance and they are expecting their first baby. Anne tries to get to know Olivia (Libby) and her attempts are futile. At some point, Libby's daughter wants to take piano lessons and Anne is her teacher. Through various happenings, Anne and Libby end up being friends. Anne discovers a lump on her breast, learns it is cancer and ends up with surgery and chemo only to learn a couple of months later that it is in the other breast. She has her baby and very soon after another surgery, chemo & radiation.

Libby - married to a banker, has a pre-teen daughter and a teenage son. She seems reserved and guarded through most of the book. Her marriage is cordial at best, their son is involved with drugs, huffing specifically, has an experience that really affects him and their family. Libby ends up evaluating herself, thoughts, relationships, etc. throughout the book. At one point she feels Anne is controlling her and severs the relationship for a while. They end up friends again and she grows for the experience - both with relationships in her life and in a spiritual way.