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House Broken (2000)

by Sonja Yoerg(Favorite Author)

4.45 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0451472136 (ISBN13: 9780451472137)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

review 1: 4.5 stars. "House Broken" is the story of Geneva, a mom who is trying to deal with her husband's crazy close-knit family, two wild teenagers, and her mother who seems to be hell-bent on destroying herself and the family. This is a story of family secrets and the strength that it takes to keep the family together when the family has gone through a dramatic event or two. I really enjoyed the story. It's a very realistic look at one family and their struggle to understand one another.The book is told in the third person perspective from Geneva, Geneva's daughter, Ella, and Geneva's mother, Helen. I really liked how the author chose to give us the perspective of these three characters. Each of the characters has a really unique voice and a very unique perspective on what's goi... moreng on in the story. I really feel like by having these three different perspectives that it pulled me further into the book.The family drama at the center of those book was sometimes hard to read about. Geneva's family has never been close. Geneva is close to her only brother but the rest of the siblings almost never speak. At the center of this discontent are things that have been kept secret from Geneva and some of her siblings for decades. It's the unearthing of these horrible secrets that really are at the center of this book. Through these horrible secrets, we really get a good sense of what the family has been through and why some of the characters still seem to be so affected by events of so long ago. The intricacy of all of these family secrets really pulled me into the book as well.I will start this next paragraph with a personal caveat: to me, a mark of a good book is when you are not ready to let go of the characters when the last page ends so take this next section with a grain of salt. This book has a very open-ended ending that has me pining for a sequel (please say there is a sequel!!!). I really wanted to know what happened to Helen and why even after everything that she and Geneva have been through why she still decided to do what she did. I don't want to give anything away so I won't give you any more detail but the way the book ended was very unsatisfying for me. I want more!Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I liked how realistic the family seemed. I especially think kudos go to the author for the character of Ella. I think teenagers can be particularly difficult to write; however, this author does it with panache. I would love to read more about Geneva's family sure or maybe another selection by this author!
review 2: This book was told from the perspective of 3 generations of women (Helen, Geneva, and Ella) and explores mother-daughter relationships and uncovers various family secrets. On the surface the story appears to be about an overstressed veterinarian in California who has to deal with an alcoholic mother, but actually there's so much more to discover. The author does an amazing job writing about very difficult emotional topics in a realistic manner which allows the reader to become connected to this family's history.Thanks to First to Read- Penguin Books USA for the free copy of this book. less

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