Margaret Klaw’s debut novel, Every Other Weekend, achieves the very difficult, which is to offer a deliciously readable, rollicking tale that nevertheless explores the deeply tangled threads of domestic life. In her wry stew made up of over-the-hill hipsters, gossiping yoginis, polyamorous millennials, aging dogs and scared-of-the-dark kiddos, Klaw raises deep questions about love, loyalty and justice in a world where there are no pure heroes and villains.
Lise Funderburg
Author of Pig Candy and Black, White, Other
Margaret Klaw’s debut novel, Every Other Weekend, is a clever page-turning masterclass in blurred lines, moral ambiguity, and the complicated aftermath of divorce. Written from the perspective of an experienced family law attorney, Every Other Weekend tells the same story through the lens of the attorneys, friends, parties, witnesses, and children involved, with staggering results, begging the question: when relationships break apart, how can we ever get to the whole truth and nothing but?
Amy Impellizzeri
Award-winning author of In Her Defense and I Know How This Ends
Incisive, smart, and page-turning, Every Other Weekend is much more than the story of a dissolving marriage. Klaw’s keen observations, spot-on turns of phrase, and astute social commentary pepper this tale of an entangled community, half-truths, and outright lies. Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty!
Andrea J. Stein
Author of Typecast
Praise
Every Other Weekend
A neighborhood’s golden couple divorces in Every Other Weekend, a novel with keen insights into community relationships.
Foreword Reviews, 4 Stars
A kaleidoscopic story about the complexities of modern love and the possibilities of starting anew. Every Other Weekend is a fast-paced, vividly imagined, and utterly absorbing novel.
Jasmin Darznik
New York Times bestselling author of The Bohemians
Klaw’s debut novel follows a community through one couple’s divorce.The author, a family lawyer herself, writes with authority about the legal system and how the end of a marriage not only affects the members of a nuclear family but also the people around them…an engaging read.
Kirkus Reviews
So many things about Every Other Weekend blew me away. As I was reading, the characters’ dilemmas followed me everywhere — into the shower, into my dreams, busting into my train of thought when I was supposed to be working. Few books have had that effect on me. Anna Karenina comes to mind, and the scope and depth of Klaw’s novel is indeed Tolstoy-esque. Every Other Weekend smacks of intensely observed reality, made spellbinding and poignant by a very talented author. The ending will have you begging for more.
Cathryn Jakobson Ramin
New York Times bestselling author of Carved in Sand
It’s hard to believe this is attorney-in-real-life Margaret Klaw’s first novel. Every Other Weekend is written with the arms-flung-wide confidence of someone who has been paying very close attention to the always messy, sometimes funny and never boring world of divorce. This delicious dissection of a good-on-paper family torn asunder will keep you happily reading well past your bedtime.
Celia Rivenbark
New York Times bestselling author of Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank
Jake Naudain, an aging wanna-be hipster in the tight-knit enclave of Greenwood, is at his wit’s end: his wife wants a divorce, and the novel takes off on a face-paced, wildly entertaining romp that pokes fun at dog owners, yoga moms, and vegans, while digging deeper into the musings of a feminist lawyer who represents a self-absorbed, male privileged client. A refreshing read!
Dede Cummings
Author of The Meeting Place
A satiric, insightful and thoroughly enjoyable look at the evolution and dissolution of an American family and the lies and truths we tell others and ourselves, from a powerful writer with a deep understanding of the chaos of modern life.
Jon McGoran
Author of Spliced and Drift
Margaret Klaw’s debut novel, Every Other Weekend, achieves the very difficult, which is to offer a deliciously readable, rollicking tale that nevertheless explores the deeply tangled threads of domestic life. In her wry stew made up of over-the-hill hipsters, gossiping yoginis, polyamorous millennials, aging dogs and scared-of-the-dark kiddos, Klaw raises deep questions about love, loyalty and justice in a world where there are no pure heroes and villains.
Lise Funderburg
Author of Pig Candy and Black, White, Other
Margaret Klaw’s debut novel, Every Other Weekend, is a clever page-turning masterclass in blurred lines, moral ambiguity, and the complicated aftermath of divorce. Written from the perspective of an experienced family law attorney, Every Other Weekend tells the same story through the lens of the attorneys, friends, parties, witnesses, and children involved, with staggering results, begging the question: when relationships break apart, how can we ever get to the whole truth and nothing but?
Amy Impellizzeri
Award-winning author of In Her Defense and I Know How This Ends
Incisive, smart, and page-turning, Every Other Weekend is much more than the story of a dissolving marriage. Klaw’s keen observations, spot-on turns of phrase, and astute social commentary pepper this tale of an entangled community, half-truths, and outright lies. Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty!
Andrea J. Stein
Author of Typecast
Press for Other Titles
Keeping it Civil
This book shows how today’s cultural conflicts are played out in the lives of ordinary families in true-life cases that involve love, money, sex, betrayal, and power.
Lisa Scottoline
New York Times bestselling author of Eternal
An excellent, non-technical crash course on how and why lawyers do what they do…substantive yet accessible enough to appeal to both law students and clients alike, this book accomplishes an admirable goal: to foreground the humanity in the halls of justice.
Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
With wit and emotional drive, a family lawyer sensitively reveals the changing laws regarding marriage in the modern era. Forget cumbersome legal terminology and stale prose: Klaw makes law seem exciting…Klaw’s book reminds readers that nothing about law is impersonal. Instead, human emotion remains the glue of the legal system, societal norms, and family law.
Lisa Bower
ForeWord Reviews
Conversational, entertaining…informative and smart…an accessible description of an intricate field of law, examined in an open-hearted style.
Kirkus Reviews
With a lawyer’s mind and a writer’s heart, Klaw brings a deeper understanding of the way cultural attitudes about sex, money, women and relationships influence the law–and vice versa. Keeping It Civil grants access to Klaw’s most intriguing cases, exploring today’s hot button issues through the lens of ordinary people seeking counsel.
Philadelphia Tribune
Keeping It Civil offers a dishy behind-the-scenes look at family law, which takes place at “the vortex of marriage, divorce, parenthood, sex, money, love, anger, betrayal, sexual orientation, reproductive technology, and the rapidly shifting legal landscape on which it all plays out.” Interested yet? This fascinating book offers readers a front-row seat to all the drama…Klaw’s legal expertise and her warmheartedness…make this book so approachable—and her terrific prose doesn’t hurt, either. I especially recommend this for book groups, where discussions about these ethical and legal dilemmas will no doubt be spirited.
Kelly Blewett
Bookpage
If only more professionals could squirrel away moments in their work schedule to reflect and break things down into layman’s terms, perhaps we might have a clearer understanding as to what it is these people actually do. That’s a pretty tall order, and not many writers have achieved it. As for Ms. Klaw, I will never again view divorce attorneys in quite the same way.
Sandi Hansen
Reading for the Masses
Refreshing, honest, smart, accessible…You don’t have to be pre-law, contemplating divorce, trying to write a pre-nup, or fighting for custody to read, enjoy, or learn from Klaw’s Keeping it Civil. Klaw, who is also a blogger, knows how to tell a story; each is told well and perfectly paced. But perhaps more importantly, Klaw’s Keeping it Civil isn’t just about family court—it’s about family—mothers, fathers, children, spouses, partners—even pets.
Catherine Ramsdell
Popmatters
Author and Pennsylvania “Super Lawyer” Margaret Klaw shares her cases with excitement, energy, and compassion here…That makes this an easy book to jump into, one that will hold your interest throughout, and one that’s over, sadly, altogether too soon.
Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez
Keeping it Civil is about family law in all of its deliciously private and remarkable nuances.
Mary-Kate Breslin
The Philadelphia Lawyer
A good writer as well as a good lawyer, Ms. Klaw takes us into a rich variety of the cases she has worked, putting us in touch with feelings of love, loss and desperation of her clients…an interesting peek into the life-altering events that take place in courtrooms every day all over America, this is thought-provoking and insightful stuff.
Vicki Goode
The Goode Word
Klaw writes in a chatty, easy-to-read way about the legal and emotional complexity of the work, engaging the reader with her humor and insights into this particularly volatile area of the law.
Deborah Wald
California Lawyer
Green Bag Almanac & Reader 2013 Honoree for Exemplary Legal Writing
The National Women’s Political Caucus Exceptional Merit in Media Awards 2014 Nominee
Press for Other Titles
Keeping it Civil
Green Bag Almanac & Reader 2013 Honoree for Exemplary Legal Writing
The National Women’s Political Caucus Exceptional Merit in Media Awards 2014 Nominee
An excellent, non-technical crash course on how and why lawyers do what they do…substantive yet accessible enough to appeal to both law students and clients alike, this book accomplishes an admirable goal: to foreground the humanity in the halls of justice.
Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
Conversational, entertaining…informative and smart…an accessible description of an intricate field of law, examined in an open-hearted style.
Kirkus Reviews
With a lawyer’s mind and a writer’s heart, Klaw brings a deeper understanding of the way cultural attitudes about sex, money, women and relationships influence the law–and vice versa. Keeping It Civil grants access to Klaw’s most intriguing cases, exploring today’s hot button issues through the lens of ordinary people seeking counsel.
Philadelphia Tribune
Keeping It Civil offers a dishy behind-the-scenes look at family law, which takes place at “the vortex of marriage, divorce, parenthood, sex, money, love, anger, betrayal, sexual orientation, reproductive technology, and the rapidly shifting legal landscape on which it all plays out.” Interested yet? This fascinating book offers readers a front-row seat to all the drama…Klaw’s legal expertise and her warmheartedness…make this book so approachable—and her terrific prose doesn’t hurt, either. I especially recommend this for book groups, where discussions about these ethical and legal dilemmas will no doubt be spirited.
Kelly Blewett
Bookpage
This book shows how today’s cultural conflicts are played out in the lives of ordinary families in true-life cases that involve love, money, sex, betrayal, and power.
Lisa Scottoline
New York Times bestselling author of Eternal
With wit and emotional drive, a family lawyer sensitively reveals the changing laws regarding marriage in the modern era. Forget cumbersome legal terminology and stale prose: Klaw makes law seem exciting…Klaw’s book reminds readers that nothing about law is impersonal. Instead, human emotion remains the glue of the legal system, societal norms, and family law.
Lisa Bower
ForeWord Reviews
If only more professionals could squirrel away moments in their work schedule to reflect and break things down into layman’s terms, perhaps we might have a clearer understanding as to what it is these people actually do. That’s a pretty tall order, and not many writers have achieved it. As for Ms. Klaw, I will never again view divorce attorneys in quite the same way.
Sandi Hansen
Reading for the Masses
Refreshing, honest, smart, accessible…You don’t have to be pre-law, contemplating divorce, trying to write a pre-nup, or fighting for custody to read, enjoy, or learn from Klaw’s Keeping it Civil. Klaw, who is also a blogger, knows how to tell a story; each is told well and perfectly paced. But perhaps more importantly, Klaw’s Keeping it Civil isn’t just about family court—it’s about family—mothers, fathers, children, spouses, partners—even pets.
Catherine Ramsdell
Popmatters
Author and Pennsylvania “Super Lawyer” Margaret Klaw shares her cases with excitement, energy, and compassion here…That makes this an easy book to jump into, one that will hold your interest throughout, and one that’s over, sadly, altogether too soon.
Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez
Keeping it Civil is about family law in all of its deliciously private and remarkable nuances.
Mary-Kate Breslin
The Philadelphia Lawyer
A good writer as well as a good lawyer, Ms. Klaw takes us into a rich variety of the cases she has worked, putting us in touch with feelings of love, loss and desperation of her clients…an interesting peek into the life-altering events that take place in courtrooms every day all over America, this is thought-provoking and insightful stuff.
Vicki Goode
The Goode Word
Klaw writes in a chatty, easy-to-read way about the legal and emotional complexity of the work, engaging the reader with her humor and insights into this particularly volatile area of the law.
Deborah Wald
California Lawyer