In NEVER MEANT TO MEET YOU, coauthors and friends Alli Frank and Asha Youmans have penned a funny, heartfelt tribute to the unexpectedly beautiful things that can take root after devastating heartbreak.

Marjette Lewis is something of a busybody, but ever since a well-intentioned intervention led to a neighborhood scandal, she has minded her own business when it comes to the other folks in her Oakland neighborhood. And it's true that Marjette has plenty to keep her busy, what with caring for her 16-year-old son, Darius, using the last weeks of summer to prepare for another year of teaching kindergarten at a local private school, and stewing over the shortcomings of her ex-husband, Booker.

"Frank and Youmans pack a lot into this fun and flirty novel about friendship, family and love.... The authors include some truly hilarious scenes, including one cringe-worthy episode in a blowout bar and another involving kindergartners’ bodily fluids."

But when her new next-door neighbor, Noa Abrams, loses her husband suddenly, Marjette breaks her own rule and reaches out, bringing her tried-and-true fried chicken to the shiva for Charlie and proceeding to comfort Noa by introducing her to “The Real Housewives.” However, what might have been a single moment of connection becomes more complicated when it turns out that Noa's daughter, Esty, is in Marjette's kindergarten class --- and even more so when Noa's handsome younger brother, Max, arrives (late) to pick up Esty from school on the first day.

Soon Marjette and Noa have become a mutual support group of two (eventually including Marjette's longtime colleague as well). Noa helps advise Marjette on how to navigate the emotional minefield of Darius' first serious relationship, not to mention Booker's new-found desire to be involved in his son's life. And Marjette commiserates when Noa confides her suspicions that Charlie was having an affair before his death.

Spending time with Noa and Esty also begins to bring Marjette closer to Max. But a curvy Black kindergarten teacher like Marjette couldn't possibly be appealing to a hunky Jewish baker, could she? Certainly not when a glamorous recent divorcée like kindergarten mom Rachel has made her interest in Max all too obvious. But it turns out that Charlie's death has set all sorts of things in motion, and there's no telling what's in store for Marjette, her friends or her family during the eventful year to come.

Frank and Youmans pack a lot into this fun and flirty novel about friendship, family and love. Marjette is a sympathetic and dynamic character, and Noa's evolution through the grieving process is genuine and touching. Other secondary characters are not as thoroughly developed, including Marjette's former colleague, Judy (who has a lot of potential for depth but serves too often as either plot foil or comic relief), and Darius' girlfriend, Simone, who Marjette endlessly obsesses over, even though she barely graces the page for readers to come to their own conclusions about her.

The authors include some truly hilarious scenes, including one cringe-worthy episode in a blowout bar and another involving kindergartners’ bodily fluids. These lively moments help make up for a few tedious recaps and drawn-out revelations that bog down an otherwise energetic novel about heartbreak, self-discovery and being surprised by second chances.