All Together Now

All Together Now by Gill Hornby, 328 pages

The town of Bridgeford is small and best known as a crossroads for people commuting to London. But the people of Bridgeford (particularly those in the Bridgeford Community Choir) are proud of their tiny town and when a developer makes plans to build a big-box supermarket in Bridgeford, its citizens and the choir come together to fight for their quaint village.

Hornby creates a cool cast of characters here, who wouldn't feel out of place in a Love, Actually-esque romantic comedy. There's the awkward man whose wife has left him, the middle-aged mom who is trying to take care of everyone else in town to make up for the empty nest at home, the city council member who thinks he's cooler than he actually is, and the single mom with a deadbeat stoner son and secret past. And all these people sing together. It makes for a light and pleasant read.