Play Book Tag discussion

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
5 stars + ♥

I loved this book! It was totally in my wheelhouse focusing on multiple generations of a family and their family dynamic. It is like reading a book version of This Is Us. The Most Fun We Ever Had will easily be in my Top 10 of 2019.

The Sorenson family lives outside Chicago: David and Marilyn fell in love and got married in the 70s, diving right into starting a family by having Wendy and Violet a mere 13 months apart. Five years after that, they added Liza. And then nine years after that they added Grace. Now, in the present (or near present? I think the "present" is like 2016 or 2017) each of their extremely different daughters is dealing with marriage, kids, love, and loss. Basically, they are dealing with life.

The story jumps back and forth between seminal moments in David and Merilyn's lives as they raised their daughters, and what each daughter is experiencing now. The past was largely told through the parents' eyes and the present through the daughters', but not exclusively.

Nothing earth-shattering happens in this book, though some pretty good family secrets are revealed. Some of the characters are downright borderline unlikable, Wendy was unbelievably horrible to her mom and Violet was extremely self-centered, but they were unlikable in a likable way. For me, Wendy was the best character. She was rude to her mom and undeniably too blunt, but she also had the most hurt she was trying to deal with and conceal.

For those that know me, you are not surprised by my love of this book. Many of the reviews say that, at over 500 pages, this book was too long. But I disagree. I thought it was very near perfect and was sad to leave the Sorensons. I listened to over 5 hours of the audiobook yesterday because I just could not tear myself away from this compelling family. Lombardo set a high bar with this debut novel and I cannot wait to read whatever she comes up with next.

I am truly excited to read this one too!

I am number 2 or 3 on the wait list the library-which is pretty good since I started out as # 12! Probably won't get it to until late December-early 2020- I am looking forward to it-I love a great F
Family Saga!

5 Stars Plus is a great rating. Are there likeable characters too in the story? It's always a pleasure to get that absorbed with a book.

Holly R W wrote: "5 Stars Plus is a great rating. Are there likeable characters too in the story? It's always a pleasure to get that absorbed with a book."

Likable is not the first word I would use to describe any of the characters. I wouldn't say they are UNlikable, but they are complex characters who do things that you do not agree with and things that you do agree with.

David, Marilyn, and Grace are probably the most likable characters in the book, but even they make some unlikable decisions and take some unlikable actions.

Wendy was supremely unlikable for a large portion of the book, but you eventually gain insight to her life and the things she went through that makes you understand her more. And while I still don't know that I liked Wendy at the end, she supported her family and made extremely laudable decisions.

On the flip side, I liked Violet much less at the end of the story than the beginning. But, even then, I understood her decisions even if they weren't decisions I would make.

Honestly, I think that is one of the most compelling aspects of the book. No one was purely likable or unlikable. they were complex characters whose responses were shaped by their personal histories.

And THAT was very likable.

Thank you for taking the time to answer. Complex and realistic characters are what make for interesting reading. I enjoy thinking about the characters long after I've read a book.