One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallory

 

How many books do you carry while traveling?  I usually bring several with me and my kindle.

Julie Parker’s kids asked her to skip Christmas this year.  She is okay with this plan as she is looking forward to spending Christmas with her much younger boyfriend.  Plans suddenly change when her kids want Christmas together at the family cabin to remember their father (Julie’s ex) who passed away during the past year.  Julie must change plans with her new boyfriend and get everything ready at the cabin.  As more guests keep being added, will the family have a merry Christmas together?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallory was the December read for the Page-turners Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library.  There was mixed reactions from the club on this book.  Some loved it, some didn’t like it, some were just okay with it.

·       There was a small section in the book with dialogue for kids that threw me out of the story.  They talked like adults and not like kids their age.

·       A character has IBS.  Her trials were discussed, and her mother-in-law makes sure she has food she can eat.  I related to this character as I have had a variety of gastrointestinal woes my entire adult life.  It’s hereditary and most of my family also has some combination of it as well.  It would be nice if people realized it is a real illness and tried to ensure you had food to eat rather than expressing that it is a “fake” illness.  I haven’t really read about a character with these problems where they aren’t just making jokes about it. 

·       The “cabin” made me laugh.  It was 6,000 square feet.  It was not what I think of as a cabin.  It had a lot of bedroom and bathrooms.  Yet everyone could hear each other’s conversations with the way it was designed.

·       Julie seemed very accepting of extra guests, even her boyfriend’s ex-wife.  Most in the book club did not think this was very realistic.

·       No one in book club seemed to think it was a big deal that Julie’s boyfriend was twelve years younger than her.  The only person that it seemed to bother was Julie herself in the book.

·       There were a lot of characters to keep track of, and lots of drama like a soap opera.

·       There were sex scenes, but also people getting caught having sex which was cringe worthy.

·       This was a middle of the road read for me.  I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it.

Overall, One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallory was a middle of the road Christmas family drama.

Book Source:  Review copy from NetGalley.  Thank-you!