Mad Girls in Love by Michael Lee West (HarperCollins, $24.95)
The name "Bitsy" fits this book's main character, a firecracker of a new mom living in Crystal Falls, Tennessee. Escaping an abusive relationship with an adulterous husband, Bitsy is on the run in search of a new life.
Author Michael Lee West tells of a family of women who, in some ways, deserve their reputations as "crazy." Mad Girls in Love shows us how circumstances out of our control sometimes lead us to make drastic decisions.
Bitsy's life spins so out of whack that, at one point, she mistakenly leaves her baby daughter on the roof of the car she's driving. Never fear; the situation ends well, as does the story itself. Allison Barnes
