A review by bethreadsandnaps
The Float Test by Lynn Steger Strong

2.5

I wasn't fond of THE FLOAT TEST by Lynn Steger Strong. I did like her previous novel FLIGHT. 

This is a wealthy (although “new money”) dysfunctional family that comes together after the death of their mother. I didn’t care for any of the characters. Now I don’t always need to root for or even like characters. Gosh, I love a despicable main character! But these weren’t despicable nor likeable characters. They were all blandly problematic and navel gaze-y. 

I wasn’t sure why the perspectives didn’t completely switch. Jude, the main character, is the third oldest sibling with a solid first person perspective. But when it’s from Fred or George’s perspective, it feels like it’s a close third person perspective, but then she would say “I” (as Jude) even in situations when Jude couldn’t have been there to observe the situation. It felt odd to me, but maybe it’s a higher literary technique that goes above my head.  

There was some information (what happened between Jude and Fred) that was kept from the reader until the end, and it felt like the author was being unnecessarily coy because it didn’t land as a big reveal (maybe it wasn’t supposed to be?).  And did the death at the end need to happen?? I think that’s going to put a bad taste in the mouth of many readers due to how it happened and to whom. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an unbiased review. 

It publishes April 8, 2025.