This is ultimately a pretty engaging story that presents two obstacles the reader must overcome. The situations the main characters - Janie and her troubled son Noah, and Jerry Anderson - are quite bleak at the outset. You want to see a shred of hope that this will all lead …more somewhere satisfying on some level even if not a happy ending. And the insertion of mini-case studies (it is not clear whether factual or the author's imagination) of a very unusual phenomena (upon which the story comes to balance) is a bit clumsy.
But the story takes off in the last third, against my expectations, with the discovery of the Crawford family. What seemed a bit forced fell away as I became absorbed in the drama. (less)

This somewhat raw but enjoyable novel brings us into a year in the life of a suburban Chicago family, a year in which each of the four characters face life-altering challenges and change. The story line is closer to that of a good made-for-tv movie than ground-breaking …more literature. But that does not prevent the reader from following the arc of each character's story with genuine interest. Fassnacht puts each character into conflicts that we want to see resolved, even if some of those resolutions are a bit pat. The book is lifted by flights of fresh writing, with fine imagery and many humorous and relatable observations. (less)