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Tag Archives: dysfunctional families

Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur

27 Wednesday Dec 2023

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction, United States

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Cape Cod Bay (MAss), dysfunctional families, family secrets, people with bipolar disorder, siblings

Author of her own family story, Wild Game : My Mother, Her Secret, and Me, Brodeur is no stranger to family secrets.  This is her debut novel and I found it absorbing.  She knows Cape Cod nature so intimately that it is absolutely a character in the book –  a soothing backdrop to the events.

“A juicy portrait of a wealthy family on the brink of disaster. . . Little Monsters simmers with tension as secrets explode out into the open. . . Tensely constructed and absorbing. . . A consummate summer read, which somehow evokes smooth beach glass and hot pink sunsets with nary a mention of either.” —The Washington Post

“[An] engaging and neatly plotted novel. . . Little Monsters is so alluring, with its sense of looming familial implosion within a cultural implosion. . . Brodeur is very deliberately examining a small family horror story within a larger political context.” —The New York Times

“Shimmering. . . With this intricate story, Brodeur distinguishes herself as a novelist of the first rank.” —Publishers Weekly, *Starred Review*

“This smart, page-flipping novel has more secrets than you could successfully hide from your Sunday school teacher. . . [with] shades of Succession. . . Little Monsters offers the pleasures of a smart, absorbing debut novel.” —The Boston Globe

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Sam: a novel by Allegra Goodman

16 Friday Jun 2023

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction

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bildungsromans, dysfunctional families, girls, journey, self-confidence, self-discovery

This novel, about a young woman’s transition from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, felt so real I would swear it’s written about someone I know. It was hard to put down because I was cheering for Sam to stay strong in spite of all of the challenges that girls and young women face. Very well done.

“Sam is about as perfect of a coming-of-age story I have ever read. It explores what happens when one girl loses the wonder of childhood—the innocence of her early years only to reclaim her power and hope. I fell into this novel and read it in one sitting.”—Jenna Bush Hager, Today

“It’s impressive how much emotional power is packed into this . . . contained story.”—Publishers Weekly

“Sam is one of the most evocative and tender examinations of youth that I’ve ever read . . . One of the best writers around, Goodman has made something truly beautiful, evoking a feeling that is hard to name but stirs inside us with every line.”—Kevin Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Nothing to See Here

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The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

28 Monday Oct 2019

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction, Historical Fiction

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brothers and sisters, dysfunctional families, families, inheritance and succession, life changing events, Philadelphia (PA), poverty, stepmothers

Can a house/a childhood home dominate the grown-up lives of a brother and sister who grew up with a father and caring staff in a fairy-tale huge house in Pennsylvania? A quiet read, a re-examining of childhood loss and forgiveness, but two indelible characters you won’t forget long after the book is finished.

“Patchett’s splendid novel is a thoughtful, compassionate exploration of obsession and forgiveness, what people acquire, keep, lose or give away, and what they leave behind.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review))

“…you won’t want to put down this engrossing, warmhearted book even after you’ve read the last page.” (NPR)

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Odd Child Out by Gilly MacMillan

06 Wednesday Dec 2017

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in England, Fiction, mystery

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boys' friendship, chronic illness, dysfunctional families, England, Secrecy, suspense

This is a new writer for me.  Best friends Noah Sadler and Abdi Mahad have always been inseparable.  But when Noah is found floating unconscious in Bristol’s Feeder Canal, Abdi can’t–or won’t–tell anyone what happened.  Noah is British.  Abdi is a Somali refugee.   And social tensions have been rising rapidly in Bristol, England. The writer keeps the tension at high pitch, a real page turner. Against this background of fear and fury two families fight for their sons and for the truth. The writer’s empathy for her characters is spot-on. (Includes reading discussion questions.)

“Macmillan captivates readers with a story just as addictive as her first… [and] shines when exploring the intricacies of relationships… Fans of Tana French, Ruth Ware, and Gillian Flynn will become completely entrenched in the unfolding details.” (BookPage)

“With lovely prose, depth of character and an intelligent narrative, Macmillan lifts the level of suspense with stiletto-like precision: a tiny graze here, a shallow cut there and, eventually, a thrust into the heart. At once profoundly unsettling and richly rewarding.” (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

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The Wild Truth by Carine McCandless

20 Friday Feb 2015

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Biography, Non-fiction

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abused children, adventurers, brothers and sisters, Chistopher Johnson McCandless, dysfunctional families

9780062325143_p0_v1_s114x166

Carine McCandless, the sister of Chris McCandless whose life was so eloquently portrayed by Jon Krakauer in INTO THE WILD, has now written her own poignant and heartfelt story.  Krakauer’s book moved thousands of readers, each of whom had his/her own idea about why Chris McCandless left the world behind and went into the wilds of Alaska.  His sister, however, explains that he was running away from his troubled and abusive family.  As Leo Tolstoy said in Anna Karenina, “All happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

“The Wild Truth is an important book on two fronts: It sets the record straight about a story that has touched thousands of readers, and it opens up a conversation about hideous domestic violence hidden behind a mask of prosperity and propriety.”–NPR.org

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