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A review by erebus53
A Very Typical Family by Sierra Godfrey
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I picked up this one as a Big Library Read book. Libby sets things up so there are unlimited library eCopies of the book to download digitally (including Audiobook versions). Looking at the cover I presumed it might be pretty corny, but I was pleasantly surprised.
I was surprised to find myself as the target audience. The main character is a woman who has been settling for much of her life and has never chased up on her passion projects. She has allowed her partner to belittle her efforts and has fallen into a rut where it is normal for him to be the controlling partner in her life. When 2 life changing influences coincidentally shake her life up, she is given the headspace to reassess what she is doing with her life.
The main character is someone who is interested in drawing biological specimens. I vibed with her whole habit of finding cool minibeasts or bits of broken animal and wanting to keep records of them. FOR SCIENCE! I deeply identified with the feeling of having others disgusted by the objects of your fascination, wanting to get pictures of dead birds' feet, and also the problem of having baby mantises accidentally hatch in your bedroom.. or.. all over your bedroom.
This is also a story of family reconciliation. Getting an estranged family back together again as part of a family bequest makes this an inheritance story with some cool twists. It's got a lot more trauma than I was expecting. The sister is a kick-ass goth who is a trained mortician. I think I can see a theme in the way this family works.
Didn't really expect it to be so focused on romance though. I found the development of friendships and relationships in the story so captivating that I forgot to stop the book.. and then found I had oopsed a 1-day-read. Uhm.. yes I quite liked this one.
I was surprised to find myself as the target audience. The main character is a woman who has been settling for much of her life and has never chased up on her passion projects. She has allowed her partner to belittle her efforts and has fallen into a rut where it is normal for him to be the controlling partner in her life. When 2 life changing influences coincidentally shake her life up, she is given the headspace to reassess what she is doing with her life.
The main character is someone who is interested in drawing biological specimens. I vibed with her whole habit of finding cool minibeasts or bits of broken animal and wanting to keep records of them. FOR SCIENCE! I deeply identified with the feeling of having others disgusted by the objects of your fascination, wanting to get pictures of dead birds' feet, and also the problem of having baby mantises accidentally hatch in your bedroom.. or.. all over your bedroom.
This is also a story of family reconciliation. Getting an estranged family back together again as part of a family bequest makes this an inheritance story with some cool twists. It's got a lot more trauma than I was expecting. The sister is a kick-ass goth who is a trained mortician. I think I can see a theme in the way this family works.
Didn't really expect it to be so focused on romance though. I found the development of friendships and relationships in the story so captivating that I forgot to stop the book.. and then found I had oopsed a 1-day-read. Uhm.. yes I quite liked this one.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Vomit