Syndrie
This is a beautiful story that does a fantastic job at telling a family’s story across multiple generations. Interweaving multiple timelines and following many characters, this is a heartfelt tale that’ll give you a great understanding about who the people of the Lamb family truly are — and maybe make you feel a bit like you’re part of the family as well.
Sitting at just over 400 pages, I’m amazed at how much story is packed into this one novel without the plot ever feeling rushed. Even though the majority of the focus really lies across three different timelines, there’s still a good number of looks at some of the in-between timelines as well. So there’s definitely a bunch of characters in this one, but I found that they were all introduced in a way that made it very easy to remember them all distinctly (and I say that as somebody who often gets tripped up when it comes to large casts). It also helps that each of the characters really felt like they stood out as their own person and were both memorable and — for the most part — lovable as well. I found myself really wanting to root for the members of the Lamb family and hoped that they would make the right decisions in the end.
I also really loved having parts of the story come from the perspectives of the family ghosts as well. It really added a unique element to the standard family drama formula and I thought that having the ghosts directly address the reader really gave off a sense of welcoming. This isn’t just a case of a story being told to you, it’s an invitation to join in and really embrace the family as a whole.
Overall I would highly recommend this to readers of family dramas, especially if you love when they span across multiple generations! I don’t want to spoil too much but I will say this one does tackle some heavier topics — racism of course being one of the big ones — but even with the tragic moments that come up, I do feel like the overall story really gave off a more hopeful vibe. I was very satisfied with the ending and feel like it stopped at the perfect spot.
(I received an advance review copy of this book from the publisher, Henry Holt & Company, via NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.)
This is a beautiful story that does a fantastic job at telling a family’s story across multiple generations. Interweaving multiple timelines and following many characters, this is a heartfelt tale that’ll give you a great understanding about who the people of the Lamb family truly are — and maybe make you feel a bit like you’re part of the family as well.
Sitting at just over 400 pages, I’m amazed at how much story is packed into this one novel without the plot ever feeling rushed. Even though the majority of the focus really lies across three different timelines, there’s still a good number of looks at some of the in-between timelines as well. So there’s definitely a bunch of characters in this one, but I found that they were all introduced in a way that made it very easy to remember them all distinctly (and I say that as somebody who often gets tripped up when it comes to large casts). It also helps that each of the characters really felt like they stood out as their own person and were both memorable and — for the most part — lovable as well. I found myself really wanting to root for the members of the Lamb family and hoped that they would make the right decisions in the end.
I also really loved having parts of the story come from the perspectives of the family ghosts as well. It really added a unique element to the standard family drama formula and I thought that having the ghosts directly address the reader really gave off a sense of welcoming. This isn’t just a case of a story being told to you, it’s an invitation to join in and really embrace the family as a whole.
Overall I would highly recommend this to readers of family dramas, especially if you love when they span across multiple generations! I don’t want to spoil too much but I will say this one does tackle some heavier topics — racism of course being one of the big ones — but even with the tragic moments that come up, I do feel like the overall story really gave off a more hopeful vibe. I was very satisfied with the ending and feel like it stopped at the perfect spot.
(I received an advance review copy of this book from the publisher, Henry Holt & Company, via NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.)