A Very Typical Family by Sierra Godfrey

 

Reviewed by Kristin

Natalie Walker is carrying a lot of guilt from the last time that she saw her family. Fifteen years ago, her older siblings Jake and Lynn threw a wild, drug-filled party in their historic Santa Cruz home. Someone died, and Natalie was the one who called the police. Jake and Lynn ended up in prison for contributing to their friend’s death. Natalie left for college in Boston, and her mother did not encourage her to come home for visits.

Now Natalie has built her own life on the other side of the country. She works for an architectural firm researching historic houses, and quietly sketching. She has a best friend/roommate, is dating her friend’s brother who is also her co-worker, and is hoping for a big promotion at work.

On the same day that her boyfriend ends up getting the job she wanted, she also finds out that her mother died over two months ago. She, Jake, and Lynn are set to inherit their family home, as long as they all show up at the house in California in short order to fulfill the terms of the will.

Now that might be a little awkward.

Lynn, now working at a mortuary in New York City, arrives at the house with teenage son Kit in tow. (Surprise, Natalie, you have a nephew!) Lynn is not thrilled to see Natalie, but she agrees to all of them staying at the house as they look for their brother. Jake, Natalie discovers, worked hard through his stint in prison and now has a doctoral degree in ornithology, and has a research lab at the local college. His name is on the door, but Jake is nowhere to be found. His colleagues guard his privacy, although they understand Natalie’s desire to find her brother.

This is a debut novel from an author with more journalistic and technical writing experience than fiction. In some places this shows, as the pacing is a little rough. Natalie drives all the way from Boston to Santa Cruz, even though her employer expects her to have all the business of her mother’s death wrapped up within a couple of weeks. (Spoiler alert: she does not.) She finds her sister and nephew at the family home, moons around her brother’s hot colleague, wanders out to the beach to see if Jake is out surfing, and more, all without a sense of urgency. There is a deadline on their inheritance, and Natalie and Lynn’s actions do not seem to be hurried. Of course, Natalie and Lynn do have a lot going on in their personal lives, so I did have to give them some leniency here.

Penguin the cat wanders in and out of sight, warming my heart as I can tell that the author and the character are fellow cat lovers. He is a good traveler all the way across the country, and adapts to his new, if temporary, abode well enough. Natalie worries about him when he makes himself scarce for a few days. (Spoiler alert #2: The cat is fine. Animal lovers need not despair nor avoid this book.)

No huge plot twists or unreliable narrators here. The characters are very likeable, even cranky sister Lynn. Jake is unseen for most of the book, but eventually readers get a chance to understand his motivations for removing himself from the situation. All in all the storylines are tied up convincingly, even if a bit too pat for real life. The antagonists play their parts, stir up some tension, and are dealt with in the manner that they deserve. Very typical family? Maybe. But possibly one that could benefit from some therapy.