Review


I finally finished reading the most recent book I won on Goodreads.
At first glance, this appears to be a story about the dangers of teens sending sexually suggestive (or in the case of this book, explicit) messages to boys/girls they like. However, that event was just the catalyst for getting this very family-centered drama going.
This is an amazingly well-crafted story of the unraveling of a family, the Bergamots, who seems to have it all. Lizzie is the stay-at-home mother of two beautiful children. Richard is her handsome and driven husband. Jake is their well-meaning fifteen year old son. Well-meaning, but still lacking in temperance that only comes with age. The aftermath of one bad decision on Jake's part shakes their foundation. Lizzie finds herself lost and questioning everything about herself. Richard loses patience for those things which he knows are supposed to matter most to him. Jake needs someone to guide and comfort him, but doesn't know who to turn to, much less how to ask. This novel made me wonder how many people's lives and relationships are this tenuous? To any observer, and even to the Bergamots themselves, everything is perfect, but it took very little for their perfect life to reveal itself to be nothing more than the house of cards depcited on the cover.
At first glance, this appears to be a story about the dangers of teens sending sexually suggestive (or in the case of this book, explicit) messages to boys/girls they like. However, that event was just the catalyst for getting this very family-centered drama going.
This is an amazingly well-crafted story of the unraveling of a family, the Bergamots, who seems to have it all. Lizzie is the stay-at-home mother of two beautiful children. Richard is her handsome and driven husband. Jake is their well-meaning fifteen year old son. Well-meaning, but still lacking in temperance that only comes with age. The aftermath of one bad decision on Jake's part shakes their foundation. Lizzie finds herself lost and questioning everything about herself. Richard loses patience for those things which he knows are supposed to matter most to him. Jake needs someone to guide and comfort him, but doesn't know who to turn to, much less how to ask. This novel made me wonder how many people's lives and relationships are this tenuous? To any observer, and even to the Bergamots themselves, everything is perfect, but it took very little for their perfect life to reveal itself to be nothing more than the house of cards depcited on the cover.