Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy

The residents of St. Jarlath's Crescent in Dublin are like family. When Noel Lynch finds out he's going to be a father, his friends rally around him. Noel, who has a problem with alcohol, knows he must sober up and become responsible, since Stella, the mother-to-be, has cancer and knows she won't live beyond the baby's birth. She asks Noel to raise the baby himself. With the help of Emily (Noel's cousin from America), his parents (Josie and Charles), friends Declan, Fiona, Lisa, Dr. Hat, and Muttie and Lizzie (friends of his parents), he hopes to turn his life around and be a good father to his daughter, Frankie--if only Moira, the nosy social worker, wouldn't always be expecting him to fail. Minding Frankie recounts the lives of all these characters as they interact and support each other. Regular Binchy readers will be delighted to revisit some of the people that have appeared in her most recent novels. A heartwarming delight.