More Than Enough by Anna Quindlen
Polly teaches English at a private girls' school. She is married to veterinarian Mark. They are desperately trying to have a baby. One day, the women in her book group give her a genetic testing kit as a surprise. But the big surprise is the result--she has a close relative, who turns out to be a black teenager, whose mother was from Ghana. Polly is very puzzled by this turn of events since her only brother never had kids. That is one plot line. Another is the fertility struggle. A third is Polly watching one of her dearest friends fading away from health issues. A fourth is her father with dementia. A fifth is her bad relationship with her mother. There is a lot--some might say a little too much--crammed into this not particularly long novel. Anna Quindlen is a good writer, but I have to say this book was kind of meandering, for lack of a better word. I preferred some of her earlier books such as Black & Blue and Miller's Valley.