Read about a historical family inheritance that comes with a catch
A Very Typical Family — Sierra Godfrey
What to Read This Week
A Very Typical Family by Sierra Godfrey
Content warnings listed in the footnote of this newsletter.1
What It’s About
Natalie knows she messed up when she was a teenager, and she’s paid the price ever since. She hasn’t spoken to anyone in her family since she was the reason her siblings went to prison when they were younger. She lives on the opposite side of the country and moved on—mostly.
But when she receives a letter from a lawyer announcing her mother’s death, she’s shocked, both at the news and at how sad this makes her feel. After all, it was her mother who asked her to leave and never come back all those years ago. She’s left their historical family home in Santa Cruz to the three siblings, on one condition: all three siblings must be present inside the house together to claim it.
Natalie knows giving up the house isn’t an option, so she packs up her car and heads back to the West Coast to—hopefully—reunite with her siblings. But she has no idea if they will show up. Lynn and Jake haven’t talked to her, and she’s only caught glimpses of their lives online. When she arrives in California, she’s surprised to run into Lynn immediately, but the two soon realize Jake is nowhere to be found, and time is running out.
Why You Should Read It
Godfrey’s depiction of this messy, complicated, and miscommunicating family feels so true to real-life families, especially those who have something in their past that haunts them all. While at times I wanted to scream at these characters for their own failure to communicate, it is, unfortunately, how people sometimes navigate their relationships with one another.
And yet Godfrey also manages to take a serious past and serious familial issues and folds humor and heart in with mishaps along the way, because of course nothing ever goes to plan.
Next Up
I’m back on a mystery kick, devouring my two current reads: The Girl Before and I Have Some Questions for You. Hope you’re ready to read some mysteries, because I can tell that I’m going to have a ton of them to recommend soon!
And remember that secret project I hinted at? I can finally tell you about it! Elizabeth Held from the amazing What to Read If asked if I had opinions about romance books, and folks, you know I always have opinions on books! I have an essay in the upcoming limited series newsletter Meet Cute Missives, so be sure to subscribe to read all the essays when they launch this spring!
More Books
Can’t get enough, or looking for a different recommendation? Browse the archives, or check out some popular past recommendations:
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Content warnings include domestic abuse (descriptions of past and a violent scene on page), death of a parent, mention of affair, drug abuse, overdose.
I’m close to finishing I Have Some Questions For You. Omg I cannot put it down!