The Arrivals
What to write about this book? The summer in the life of one family, a day in the life of grandparents, feelings of a pregnant woman or a first time father, mistakes, disputes, hope, happiness, and at the core forgiveness? This book is all of this and more.
The characters were painted so realistically. At times I really disliked each and every one. I thought, "I really don't like this book!" Then I realized the characters are flawed, they make dumb mistakes, they suffer with the same doubts that plague us all, and they are not always lovable or even nice.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons why we like to read so much; to be taken away from the 'real world' for a bit, to believe that everything can end 'happily ever after' the way it is portrayed in some stories. Then we are hit in the face with a book such as this one that paints the struggles of one family in the real world. I have to say it was a nice change.
By the end I was rooting for each character as I came to know them intimately. I was glad that I was given the chance to glimpse the life of this family as I remind myself that this is only fiction!
I will be watching for more books by this talented author and I would say to her thank you. Thanks for reminding me that all families have problems. Its all about overcoming the odds and remembering that family is forever flaws and all, in the end love will endure.
