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I'll tell you now, try the audio because that's really the only way to get through this huge thing

Tucker wrote: "I'll tell you now, try the audio because that's really the only way to get through this huge thing"

I am wishing I had gotten the audio Tucker! This is taking me a long time to read.

That book sounds like quite a commitment for 3.5 stars. Thanks for the honest, well thought out review.

Rachel wrote: "That book sounds like quite a commitment for 3.5 stars. Thanks for the honest, well thought out review."
It was definitely a commitment Rachel! I almost gave up but I saw it through. It is a good book. It's just not MY kind of book.

I gave this 5 stars, but I totally see and understand why you felt this way. I just happened to be in the right mood I think.

Completely AGREE with you!!! Bored to tears at times...but then get interested again! I’m on page 353...just trying to push through and finish ASAP!! So I can start something more fulfilling...

Nice review Bern! Very timely - I have this from the library and was just considering whether or not I wanted to start it.....think I might pass.

Liz wrote: "Completely AGREE with you!!! Bored to tears at times...but then get interested again! I’m on page 353...just trying to push through and finish ASAP!! So I can start something more fulfilling..."
Liz, hope you can plow through quickly. Glad I'm not alone - this one has been wildly popular!

Dianne wrote: "Nice review Bern! Very timely - I have this from the library and was just considering whether or not I wanted to start it.....think I might pass."
Many people love this one Dianne. Maybe it wasn't the right time for me - I'm in a quick read mood this summer and this is one BIG book.

I read this the same way! I read two books while reading this one. I felt like I needed breaks and to read something different for a while. But I still wanted to finish it and I liked it

Sarah wrote: "I read this the same way! I read two books while reading this one. I felt like I needed breaks and to read something different for a while. But I still wanted to finish it and I liked it"
I was glad I finished Sarah, even if took me a while. 😉

Yikes! Sorry it wasn’t the best. Especially for a 500 page commitment! Hopefully your next read is better! I just got this one today, plan to start it after my current book.

Bern, I love family sagas so I’ll be giving this a try. Sorry it didn’t totally work for you but I appreciate your honest review. Sometimes I think these overly long books could be so much better if they were edited down. I’ll see, I guess.

Angela M wrote: "Bern, I love family sagas so I’ll be giving this a try. Sorry it didn’t totally work for you but I appreciate your honest review. Sometimes I think these overly long books could be so much better i..."
Angela if you enjoy family sagas you'll probably love this one. It was definitely interesting - just on the long side. 😍

Great review, Bern!

Jayme wrote: "Great review, Bern!"
Thank you Jayme 😘

Lovely review 💗🔰

I love family drama and have this on request from my library. Happy to see your positive review 😊

*TUDOR^QUEEN* wrote: "Lovely review 💗🔰"
Thank you! 😁

I felt the same way (and it took me FOREVER to read). It had so much potential but I just couldn't connect with it like I wanted to. I also couldn't just quit it though...I was pulled in enough to want to see it through to the end.

I’m trying to decide if I should push through- I’m listening to it on audio and it seems like it’s 20 hours of family dysfunction. Does the plot develop more or is it just the story of all of their different dysfunctional lives? I’m about a quarter of the way in and don’t see anything else yet

Glad I wasn’t looking for a plot line. This is about the intricacies and vagueness abundance in family life. intimacy. She describes it so well I feel and I find something to identify with in almost all the characters. Maybe you don’t have the time right now, but give it a try later.

I totally agree. I enjoyed the book enough to stick with it, but felt like I was waiting for something to happen.

It took me 3 weeks to get through. At times I found the characters annoying and almost stopped reading it. What redeemed the book for me was the relationship between Jonah and his grandparents.

All comments above had merit, but felt the need to see it through also. What part couldn’t happen in real life. Plot was great. Dialogue funny and liked the truth later out..

I’m having that problem now. There are good parts but also very wordy, descriptive sections. I’ll push through though.

You summed up this book perfectly. It also took me forever to finish it. I too put it down for long periods off time. One min it was engaging and the next it was boring. I also had to pushed myself to see it through to the end. I'm not sure it needed to be a 500 page book.

I am with you - a few times I thought I would give it up, but then became interested again - 3 1/2 stars

I feel the same way. I still have not gotten through it.

Perfect review. I felt exactly the same.

3.5 for me. Love family sagas and this certainly filled that bill and then some. It did get a bit tedious but liked the character development of all the Sorensen’s and that kept me reading, plus, having three daughters, can appreciate that eventho raised by the same parents, same childhood, they are all so different and it can be messy/hilarious at times.

Exactly. Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Ditto on all here. 500+ pages of reading, about 200 pages of plot. Made it a personal mission to plow through. I’m leaning to towards Wendy as my center of gravity here.

I’m glad to read this. I thought maybe I was the only one.

THIS EXACTLY!!!

I finally finished this book. Didn’t want to give up on it, but skimmed a lot. Ready to move on to a really good read. 1 star

This is how I’m feeling. I am having such a hard time getting through this. However I am interested enough to keep going. I may start and finish a different book first tho.

I just wanted to punch the mom about 5 times. And violet made me violent. But I still gobbled it up in a week. Go figure

I agree with some of this—the parents in love so much yeah, ugh. It’s a lot. I like family sagas that are long, where i can settle in and get to know them. Think Last Chairlift by John Irving, for example. Weird lovable family. However it doesn’t necessarily work with this fam because they’re mostly so selfish and cruel and despicable. I am not one who thinks characters need to be likable necessarily (and FWIW some of the offensive things said and done I took as being characters �� be it the narrator or actual family member �� not the author herself) but for this genre and length they need to be less want-to-punch-your-face-able for my enjoyment. All said I am still formulating my final opinion ��

So true! 200 pages in I wondered why I was reading it yet somehow felt compelled to continue. I *think* I’m glad I finished it�� I actually think I’ll miss them all.

Perfectly stated. This book is so wordy, has absolutely NO intrigue and such a dull plot about a mundane family with typical issues. SO BORING, yet I continue to (torturously) read it. I’m not one to waste time on poorly written books, which this is one is just that. Yet, I continue. There is no reason for this to be over 600 pages, or 300 for that matter. I am taking your lead and setting this aside…it has wasted too many summer days of reading for me, MAYBE I will pick it back up during a blizzard this winter. I thought this was going to be good and fun, sadly disappointed…and annoyed with the time I wasted reading what I have so far. 1 star from me.

Agree fully with your review! I really enjoyed reading and getting to know the characters. Felt connected to them and I really understood them as different people. So many interesting storylines and I cared what happened to them�� but I felt it was left unfinished? Almost like there should be a Part 2?

I listened to this on audio. 20 hours! Not easy to skim when you are listening to it. I thought it would never end. Continued to plug through it because I had several hours invested in it already. The only redeeming character in the whole book was Jonah. Usually a story will have some semblance of coming together at the end, but these four sisters were all so selfish and Nasty it was hard to like any of them. Who needed to know about the parents and all the sex they were having? Would not recommend.

There are times myself I put the book down or skim through some pages in particularly the parent’s story lines .However I am pretty intrigued on how Joshua’s character plays out 🤪. Chapter 10 and moving forward.

Yes! I feel the same! Soooo boring at times, I feel like I keep reading and reading and it won’t end. But yes, curious enough to keep going.

So, reviewers, is it worth finishing? I’m struggling. It’s like Reddit “Am I the A***ole��. So far ESH (everybody sucks here) except poor Jonah!

I’m not liking the characters as they lack integrity and continually undermine each other’s happiness. Narcissistic Wendy, Self serving Violet, Lisa is flighty and living in denial, Grace is spoiled and deceitful. The parent’s intimate relationship is overbearingly as a central theme. The victim is Jonah in the whole plot and his character is under developed and vaguely understood. Overall, Too much dependence on sexual exploits and not enough plot and depth for me.