Due to some foresight by their father, and a market that made his small investment grow astronomically, the Plumb children each stand to inherit half a million dollars within a few months, when their youngest sister Melody turns 40. The father, long dead, set up the trust that way so that they would not make life choices around the money. He also never intended for it to grow to that number.
As one might imagine, intent does not always garner the outcome one hopes for. Even though the “kids” are in their 40’s and 50’s, they have all — perhaps save Bea — made choices in the expectation of receiving that money. Melody has overextended herself with a home purchase and failed to plan for her twin daughters’ college expenses. Jack has overextended his business waiting for the golden parachute to set things right. Bea is living within her means, but after the publication of a successful novel, she has not pushed herself to do anything else. Leo is the typical rich neer-do-well. He let a successful business go, and has since wasted his life on drugs and managed not to form any sort of meaningful attachments.
The novel opens with Leo at a wedding, when he seduces a young girl on the catering staff and convinces her to come for a ride in his car, which ends up with disastrous near-Kennedyesque results. Leo’s mother springs into action to smooth things over and protect the family name. As keeper of the trust, she uses most of the funds without telling the kids.
The siblings think that Leo should pay them back, and he claims that he’ll have a plan in place to make it right soon. The upside to this loss is that it gets the siblings talking. It’s apparent that most of them did not have much of a relationship at all before this incident. Even if it’s trouble that initially brings them together, will it be enough to bring them back together as a family, permanently?
The siblings’ relationships with each other is definitely a big element of the story, but another that I found even more intriguing was their relationships with their significant others, and specifically how those people helped shaped who they were, or more accurately, who they could be if their obsession and reliance on “the nest” had not caused them to make such bad choices — and keep them hidden.
I am not sure I can say the characters were redeemed, but I do think it’s written in such a way that many readers will find someone who they are pulling for.
This novel perfectly straddled the line of escapist reading (kind of like the train wreck you can’t help but observe) and social commentary, which made it just the kind of novel I enjoy.
I noticed the amazon page features a review from School Library Journal recommending it for YA readers as well. Melody’s 17-year-old daughters are fairly major characters in this cast, so I can see the fit, as well as just the shocking nature of Leo’s mistake and the odd family dynamic with which many teens might relate. There is some strong content in the way of language and a few sex scenes as well as some drug and alcohol references, but honestly, I don’t think the content is any stronger than some of the YA fiction I’ve read.
I picked this up because it is one of five books I’m reading in my online book club, but I love a good family drama, so I probably would have read it anyway. I also love a great setting (and New York in particular), and New York is practically a character in this novel.
Please click over to read my post at 5 Minutes for Mom, Are Unlikable Characters a Deal Breaker? to find out more about my thoughts on this issue and how the book club discussion enhanced my own response to the novel.
It’s interesting to read other people’s take on this book, I did not like it at all. Not one character engaged me – I didn’t care about any of them. My bookclub read this book which is why I did, but I couldn’t finish it bc it did not suit me whatsoever. (I did read enough to know most of the content and gained understanding of the rest thru the bookclub discussion)
Yes, so many YA books are reading like an adult book and this one is definitely adult. I wonder why we find it acceptable that YA is reading like adult? (Lately, I have been asking that question of myself especially after reading a YA book that I absolutely loved but disagree that it’s suitable for YA)
Well, I think to US it reads like adult, but YA has really been redefined. When you think of all media that is aimed at teens these days — from TV to movies — it all has very mature content that I certainly don’t find acceptable for a 14-year-old.