3.5. I picked this up as I needed something completely different and non-ranty to read after the Lionel Shriver book, and it did that. I felt quite absorbed in the family's story, and the characters were well-drawn (with a real mixture of good and bad traits, just like real people). I felt many elements of the plot were handled in a shallow way or not fully resolved. I also find it annoying when ages of characters and the year/s events are happening in are unclear. I enjoyed this well enough but probably wouldn't read anything else by the author.

Plot/compellingness 3/5
Themes 3/5 
Characters 5/5 
Emotional resonance 3/5
Writing style 3/5