What I'm Saying

You’ll Want to Dig Your Teeth into This Story

Do you…work in the dental industry? Go to the dentist? Have teeth?

If you answered, “Yes,” to any of those questions, you must read A Week of Warm Weather (Sparks Press) by Lee Bukowski. I promise not to give any spoilers, but it’s so hard not to when I’m so very excited about a book.

This multi-layered novel addresses the AAAs—addiction, abandonment, abuse. Without a doubt, most of us have experienced one of these traumas within our families during our lifetimes. And that’s what makes A Week of Warm Weather so relatable. Yet, even though Bukowski tackles serious issues that could make a reader shift uncomfortably, this is not a depressing story. In fact, it’s a page-turner because you’re rooting for the characters. Well, at least a few of them.

Bukowski invites us into the young home of Tessa and Ken Cordelia, who’ve settled comfortably in a suburb near Philadelphia. And they’re growing a family while Ken builds his dental practice. From the outside looking in, the Cordelia’s could be your typical Leave It To Beaver family. But wait. Pull back the curtain, and we find all is not sunshine and roses as Tessa and Ken’s marriage is being severely tested, as each has their individual demons to confront and overcome.

With alcoholism prevalent in Tessa’s family history, she struggles with how to help the husband she loves who is spiraling out of control with his own addiction. Though she’s surrounded by a large extended family who could help her if she’d let them, Tessa chooses to frequently lie on Ken’s behalf and to cover for his absences and increasingly strange and abusive behavior. To further complicate the situation, she confides in an older woman she’s recently met and befriended, but even that relationship falls far short of providing the solace she’s looking for.

The importance of family is central to this story. While Tessa is determined to keep hers together, there comes a time when she must make a life-changing decision. One that will redefine family in her mind forever.

Bukowski’s debut novel is a complex, moving, and realistic family drama. Her characters are vivid, as are her descriptions of life’s challenges. I recommend you take a deep breath and inhale completely as you read A Week of Warm Weather.

I received an advanced reader copy of this novel. This review is my honest, personal opinion.

A Week of Warm Weather is available in paperback and as an eBook wherever you buy books. Here’s just one link: https://amzn.to/3MrCibg