Book Description
Meet the Bird family. They live in a honey-colored house in a picture-perfect Cotswolds village, with rambling, unkempt gardens stretching beyond. Pragmatic Meg, dreamy Beth, and tow-headed twins Rory and Rhys all attend the village school and eat home-cooked meals together every night. Their father is a sweet gangly man named Colin, who still looks like a teenager with floppy hair and owlish, round-framed glasses. Their mother is a beautiful hippy named Lorelei, who exists entirely in the moment. And she makes every moment sparkle in her children's lives.
Then one Easter weekend, tragedy comes to call. The event is so devastating that, almost imperceptibly, it begins to tear the family apart. Years pass as the children become adults, find new relationships, and develop their own separate lives. Soon it seems as though they've never been a family at all. But then something happens that calls them back to the house they grew up in -- and to what really happened that Easter weekend so many years ago.
Told in gorgeous, insightful prose that delves deeply into the hearts and minds of its characters, The House We Grew Up In is the captivating story of one family's desire to restore long-forgotten peace and to unearth the many secrets hidden within the nooks and crannies of home.
Then one Easter weekend, tragedy comes to call. The event is so devastating that, almost imperceptibly, it begins to tear the family apart. Years pass as the children become adults, find new relationships, and develop their own separate lives. Soon it seems as though they've never been a family at all. But then something happens that calls them back to the house they grew up in -- and to what really happened that Easter weekend so many years ago.
Told in gorgeous, insightful prose that delves deeply into the hearts and minds of its characters, The House We Grew Up In is the captivating story of one family's desire to restore long-forgotten peace and to unearth the many secrets hidden within the nooks and crannies of home.
Review
I received an eARC copy of this book from the publisher. Here is my honest review.
I received an eARC copy of this book from the publisher. Here is my honest review.
I did not want to put this book down. I would read until the wee hours of the morning. The story had my attention - but I was tired, so I forced myself to put it aside. I didn't want to finish it with only half my brain working. The sacrifice was worth it; finding out how the Bird family becomes so fractured was compelling.
The story is told through a series of flashbacks and from different family members point of view, in third person. Despite this, the story was not confusing at all.
Jewell did a masterful job of creating sympathy for each of the characters - flaws (and oh, they have them) and all.
I did not want to put this book down. I would read until the wee hours of the morning. The story had my attention - but I was tired, so I forced myself to put it aside. I didn't want to finish it with only half my brain working. The sacrifice was worth it; finding out how the Bird family becomes so fractured was compelling.
The story is told through a series of flashbacks and from different family members point of view, in third person. Despite this, the story was not confusing at all.
Jewell did a masterful job of creating sympathy for each of the characters - flaws (and oh, they have them) and all.
I gave this book: ★★★★★
★ = I did not like it ★★ = It was okay ★★★ = I liked it
★★★★ = I really liked it ★★★★★ = I loved it
1 comment:
This sounds wonderful in a heartbreaking kind of way. I'll definitely be looking for this one. Thanks for sharing!
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