The Whole Thing Together

Reviewed by: Jan Hamilton - Long Creek Detention Center, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: October 5, 2017

Review

Two families, four adults and five youth adults share a summer home but have limited interaction with each other. Sasha stays in the house with her parents and older sisters on alternate weeks to the ones Ray spends in the house with his parents and same older sisters. This family dynamic brings the reader into an interesting blend of loving family ties and hostility deriving from the divorced adults who co-own the summer house. Initially this storyline felt contrived but it soon took off with a life of its own. The author has clearly portrayed her characters exposing their warts and blemishes. The characters of interest are Sasha and Ray but their sisters and parents are major contributors to the plot. The level of dysfunction is hard to watch (and you do feel like you are watching the two families come apart) yet those poor relationships make the book more than just a romance novel.

Add this title to school media centers where YA fiction is collected. Definitely add to public libraries but know the subject matter is more complex than the author's Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. Recommend that readers have facial tissues close at hand.

Overall Book Score: very good