The Latecomer

I got about 75% into this book and then, unfortunately, had to put it down. It just hit a little close to home for me and was causing some mental health issues that I didn't care to push through.

However, I think the writing is superb. And that's why I tried so hard to push through. It's pretty obvious what the book is about from the blurb, so if you don't think it will be triggering for you, I highly recommend reading.

The dynamics of this family are very intricately explained.. you are inside their head. Because of that, it's a telling vs. showing type story, but in this case it works. It moved very quickly at the beginning. You get an in-depth look at a situation, then everything would skip ahead. So you're getting a snapshot of their lives with examples, I guess you could say. When you get to the college years, things slow down a little. I felt like the pacing was slightly off there. Their entire childhood is covered in the first 100-150 pages, then the story stays in their college until around page 300. But that ends with a bang and is worth hanging on if the college years bog you down.

A note: It's written in third person, and there are some jarring uses of the word “our” that threw me for a loop. But I had faith that the author was being purposeful with that... and I was right. So if this type of thing would bother you too, it's also worth hanging on through.