HOUSE WE GREW UP IN – Family dysfunction and drama at its best!

 

 

 

 

 

I’m so excited that I’ve discovered British author, Lisa Jewell. I just finished reading the recently published, THE HOUSE WE GREW UP IN (Atria Books) and I absolutely loved it. I can hardly believe she’s written ten previous novels. Perhaps I’m the only one who hasn’t been in Miss Jewell’s loop, because Jojo Moyes’ wrote a fabulous review for this novel. Well, I can tell you, I’m certainly thrilled to be one of her fans now!

To neighbors, The Bird family appears to be living a perfect picturesque life within their Cotswolds village cottage. Inside resides mother, Lorelei, who is a bit of a 60’s free spirit, husband Colin and four children, daughters, Meghan, Bethan and tow-head twin boys Rory and Rhys. In addition to family members boxes of unneeded stuff Lorelei is buying slowly are evicting the Bird family out of their own home.

The Birds love celebrating Easter Sunday, especially Lorelei who turns it into a yearly ritual with chocolate Easter egg hunts, inviting family and neighbors for a big dinner. One Easter, everything changes. The Bird family, whose internal family dynamics have been slowly cracking comes to a breaking point. Each family member has to face their own inner demons and decide if they want to start the long road of healing individually and as a family.

Author Lisa Jewell, courageously navigates difficult situations for several characters with positive results which I frankly didn’t have hope for. As an artist, Jewell handles very fragile circumstances with insightful sensitivity without judging how past events affect the present.

The design team at Atria Books did a brilliant job creating the cover for THE HOUSE WE GREW UP IN. Once you read it, and I recommend you do, you will understand how the frailty of the egg is a metaphor for the characters, their mental and physical conditions and overall condition of the house. I found myself referring back as I read the novel.

Thanks to http://www.netgalley.com and Atria Books for a kindle copy of this novel for an honest review. I look forward to reading more from Lisa Jewell.