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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
slow-paced
I did not love this book. Read for book club. For years, i mixed this author up with Jennifer Weiner and refused to read any of her books. Sorry, Jennifer Weiner 🤣 Would not recommend.
Clever and amusing story of a family coming together despite their individual struggles and idiosyncrises. This is a perfect beach read. I loved how the POV changed from character to character so that you felt like you really got to know each of these lovable family members. Definitely recommend.
This review was originally published on Cozy Up With A Good Read
So within a week I have read two books that are focused on family relationships, and while they are similar in some ways they are both very different. I love books that deal with family relationships and this one is at the height of those books. When she finds herself in financial trouble, Claire finds herself having to move back home, with her parents and her older sister, who is already 30. From there, Jennifer uses this book to detail the struggles of moving back home after being on your own, and being an adult.
Jennifer writes the book from the perspective of three children of different ages, all coming home, and needing to deal with different issues. I enjoyed the different perspectives, yet at the same time I was confused by why some of the characters had their own perspectives. A part of me thinks it was to show the difference in family relationships based on age and circumstances. It was interesting to see how everyone dealt with their issues and how Jennifer Close writes about moving home, I think she hit a lot of great points, with parents always watching you closely and wondering about every little thing you do.
What really stood out in this book for me was the reality of some of the situations that Jennifer brings out. She really shows the difficulty of living on your own in a large city (in this case New York) and not making much money, the economy these days makes this so difficult (I went through this myself a little while ago and almost moved home myself). The characters are all so different when they are forced to move back home, it seems like they revert back to a younger version because that is how they are treated.
I had some issues getting through the book because of the many different perspectives, I felt like it was a bit jumpy at times. After awhile I could understand the different perspectives as we see each child coming to terms with moving back home for a different reason and how they each deal with their issues and learn to grow from the experience.
I came to really enjoy this book and the characters, even though each of them had their problems and were difficult to like for many reasons. The way Jennifer Close writes them, as a reader you come to understand why they are that way, and in the end I really enjoyed following a year in their lives. I really think that if you stick with this book it is a fun read in the end. I do wish there was a bit more of a resolution with some things in the end, but at the same time, this is a book about life and how things aren't always tied up with a smile.
This book won't be for everyone, but I do suggest giving it a chance. It's a book about real people with problems that many of us face today. This is a book that is all about family and what everyone will do to help others through their problems. That is what really brought this book up in my opinion.
So within a week I have read two books that are focused on family relationships, and while they are similar in some ways they are both very different. I love books that deal with family relationships and this one is at the height of those books. When she finds herself in financial trouble, Claire finds herself having to move back home, with her parents and her older sister, who is already 30. From there, Jennifer uses this book to detail the struggles of moving back home after being on your own, and being an adult.
Jennifer writes the book from the perspective of three children of different ages, all coming home, and needing to deal with different issues. I enjoyed the different perspectives, yet at the same time I was confused by why some of the characters had their own perspectives. A part of me thinks it was to show the difference in family relationships based on age and circumstances. It was interesting to see how everyone dealt with their issues and how Jennifer Close writes about moving home, I think she hit a lot of great points, with parents always watching you closely and wondering about every little thing you do.
What really stood out in this book for me was the reality of some of the situations that Jennifer brings out. She really shows the difficulty of living on your own in a large city (in this case New York) and not making much money, the economy these days makes this so difficult (I went through this myself a little while ago and almost moved home myself). The characters are all so different when they are forced to move back home, it seems like they revert back to a younger version because that is how they are treated.
I had some issues getting through the book because of the many different perspectives, I felt like it was a bit jumpy at times. After awhile I could understand the different perspectives as we see each child coming to terms with moving back home for a different reason and how they each deal with their issues and learn to grow from the experience.
I came to really enjoy this book and the characters, even though each of them had their problems and were difficult to like for many reasons. The way Jennifer Close writes them, as a reader you come to understand why they are that way, and in the end I really enjoyed following a year in their lives. I really think that if you stick with this book it is a fun read in the end. I do wish there was a bit more of a resolution with some things in the end, but at the same time, this is a book about life and how things aren't always tied up with a smile.
This book won't be for everyone, but I do suggest giving it a chance. It's a book about real people with problems that many of us face today. This is a book that is all about family and what everyone will do to help others through their problems. That is what really brought this book up in my opinion.
I really enjoyed this book (also like her first novel, Girls in White Dresses).
I wanted to like this one so much because I loved her other books, especially Girls in White Dresses because of how relatable it was when I read it.
The Smart One follows the Coffey family over the course of about a year where all the grown-up children end up moving back home for different reasons. This part was super relatable as someone who also had to move home at some point as an adult. I did think the author really depicted how stressful it can be on the parents and the kids. It showed very realistic sibling dynamics as well as jealousy of friends who seem to have it “more together” or to whom things came more easily.
That being said, the mother and one of the daughters Martha were just so unlikeable, and their part of the story took up at least half the book. For most of the story, I was really just kind of down because it was all so negative. I get that it’s realistic but still. Also, there just wasn’t much action. It’s a family drama, so all the action is related to that, but it feels pretty monotone and flat for majority of the book.
One more positive to end this review, I did really like Claire and Max/Cleo. I felt like they showed growth throughout the book!
The Smart One follows the Coffey family over the course of about a year where all the grown-up children end up moving back home for different reasons. This part was super relatable as someone who also had to move home at some point as an adult. I did think the author really depicted how stressful it can be on the parents and the kids. It showed very realistic sibling dynamics as well as jealousy of friends who seem to have it “more together” or to whom things came more easily.
That being said, the mother and one of the daughters Martha were just so unlikeable, and their part of the story took up at least half the book. For most of the story, I was really just kind of down because it was all so negative. I get that it’s realistic but still. Also, there just wasn’t much action. It’s a family drama, so all the action is related to that, but it feels pretty monotone and flat for majority of the book.
One more positive to end this review, I did really like Claire and Max/Cleo. I felt like they showed growth throughout the book!
Quick read for sure. Interesting but definitely mindless.
I'm not sure how I feel about this one - in many ways, it was slice of life - it didn't really feel like any of the main characters grew or changed, with the exception of Cleo.
Modern fiction about adult children moving back home-some enjoyable parts, but multiple narrators meant no one was deeply developed
This was my first book by Jennifer Close and it won't be my last. It tells the story of four adult women - Weezy (the mom), Martha (the oldest daughter), Claire (the younger daughter), and Chloe (the son's girlfriend) - who end up living in a house together for a year as the younger women try to get their lives together. Each of the women has problems figuring out what to do next in their lives, ranging from the boredom of retirement and having grown children, to an unexpected pregnancy. While I wouldn't describe this book as exciting, the characters were real and engaging, and each had their own voice and personality that shone through. After reading a bunch of historical fiction set in war time, this was a nice break, and a good engaging summer read.
The audiobook version was fabulous as well - Rebecca Lowman is definitely my favorite narrator.
The audiobook version was fabulous as well - Rebecca Lowman is definitely my favorite narrator.