6/01/01

Conny Bryceland's Accidental Rewards captures the spirit of friendship in its exploration of the relationship between two very different women. Bianca Fuentes and Annabelle Delancey first notice each other at the airport. Both women fly out of Albuquerque to Los Angeles on the weekends, and as we learn about both of these women, we also see them wonder about one another and create scenarios of the wonderful times the other woman must be having.

Bianca, raising her son alone after the death of Alex, the boy's father, just scrapes by and relies heavily on her sister Flo, a stay-at-home mom for childcare and emotional support. Bianca does the best she can, but with only a high school diploma, her employment options are more limited. Bianca has no contact with Alex's family, since they disowned him for several reasons, including becoming a police officer instead of entering the family business and having a relationship with a Mexican-American woman. She and Alex never married, so although Alex died in the line of duty, there is no pension for Bianca. Bianca flies to L.A. in order to see her widowed father, who has some health concerns. Annabelle, on the other hand, is single, well-educated, the daughter of a privileged upbringing. She doesn't like her job in public relations and dreams of being a writer. Her reason for flying to LA is to visit her boyfriend, the emotionally abusive Del. Del had to relocate due to his job, and along with berating her endlessly, is constantly pressuring her to move to L.A.

One Friday evening, the plane makes an unscheduled landing in Phoenix due to a problem in L.A., and the two women have the chance to get acquainted. Both women are delighted to make this contact and they share a good deal of information, although Annabelle is more forthcoming than Bianca. During this trip, several major changes take place for both women: Bianca's father announces his plan to remarry and Annabelle breaks up with Del. Upon her return, Annabelle is mugged in the airport parking garage and calls upon Bianca to help her at home while she recovers. The two women become close and as we learn more about them, the reader sees how their lives are going to intertwine even further due to certain circumstances. As the novel progresses, both women become involved in new relationships and new jobs. Through a contact with Annabelle, Bianca is able to connect with Alex's family members, who have seen the error of their ways in shutting out their son and his family.

Readers who enjoy romance novels will certainly like this novel, although those who aren't necessarily romance fans may also want to give this a try. There are many moments of humor and insight, and the characters are well-developed. Bryceland also touches on issues of race and class, as well as some examination of sexuality. The dialogue features a preponderance of exclamation points, and Bianca and Annabelle both have an exceedingly happy ending, but Accidental Rewards succeeds in depicting the growth of friendship in its portrayal of two very different, interesting, strong women and their struggles and successes.

Conny Bryceland. Accidental Rewards. Baltimore: AmErica House, 2000.