Review: LITTLE BIG LOVE by Katy Regan
/16 Comments/by SuzannePublished by BERKLEY on June 5, 2018
Genres: Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 384
Source: Netgalley
Amazon
Goodreads
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
MY REVIEW:
I requested Katy Regan’s Little Big Love from Netgalley primarily because the book’s synopsis describes it as About a Boy meets Parenthood. Parenthood is one of my all-time favorite family-centric dramas and I loved it because every episode took me through a full range of emotions because I became so invested in the Braverman family: joy, sadness, anger, frustration, love, regret – you name it, I felt it. Seeing Little Big Love compared to Parenthood therefore made it a must-read for me. The comparison is apt too because the characters in Little Big Love captured my heart in much the same way the Bravermans did in Parenthood.
Little Big Love follows Zac Hutchinson, a 10-year old boy who is on a mission to find the his father, whom he has never met. Zac knows he has a dad because, of course, everyone does, but all Zac knows about his is that according to his mom and grandparents, Zac’s dad “did a runner” as soon as Zac was born and never came back. Zac has therefore spent his entire life without a dad and is obsessed with what it would be like to have one. The older he gets, the more convinced he is that if his dad could just meet him once, he’d want to stick around. Then, one fateful night when his mom, in a drunken state, confesses to Zac that she still loves his dad, Zac, with the help of his best friend Teagan, sets his “Find Dad Mission” into motion. Now he wants to find his dad, not just for himself, because he also thinks it would finally make his mom happy again.
Zac. 10-year-old Zac was, by far, my favorite character in this story. He’s such a sweetheart, always thinking of others, and just the type of kid who wouldn’t hurt a fly. It broke my heart to watch him obsess so much about not having a Dad in his life, especially once I realized how many secrets about his father his mom and grandparents were keeping from him. For reasons that weren’t revealed until much later, it was as if all mention of Zac’s father had been banned from their household so Zac literally knew nothing about his dad, aside from his name. Zac was also an incredibly sympathetic character because he’s being bullied at school because of his weight and because he doesn’t stick up for himself. The kids are just so evil and relentless, and I cried for Zac several times as I was reading. Regan really got me in the feels when it came to Zac.
Teagan. Teagan is Zac’s classmate and best friend, and she is the spunkiest little firecracker there ever was. She is Zac’s biggest supporter, which makes me love her all the more knowing how low Zac’s self-esteem is because of his weight and because of the constant bullying. Teagan is also a breath of fresh air, frequently using comical expressions like “He just needs a rocket up his bum!” to bring some levity and humor into what is otherwise a pretty heavy story. My favorite thing about Teagan is her enthusiastic support of Zac’s mission to find his dad. She spends a lot of time watching crime and detective shows so that she can share helpful tips on how Zac should conduct his investigation and gather evidence that will help locate his dad. It’s just adorable!
3 Points of View. While the children were my favorite characters in Little Big Love and Zac’s chapters were my favorites because that have that honesty and tell-it-like-it-is bluntness that only an innocent child can bring, I also appreciated that the story was presented not just from Zac’s perspective, but also from the perspectives of Zac’s mom, Juliet, and Zac’s grandfather, Mick. Juliet is a single mom who is struggling to make ends meet and who is also dealing with her own self-esteem and weight issues. All she wants is what’s best for Zac but sometimes finds herself questioning her life’s choices. Mick, Zac’s granddad brings us the perspective of a recovering alcoholic who loves his family more than life itself, but who is weighted down by secrets that if revealed, could cost him everyone he loves. I loved all of the layers that Regan adds to the story by using these three completely different perspectives.
Realistic Issues and Big Themes. As I mentioned earlier, at times, Little Big Love was a heavy read. It deals with some issues and themes that really got to me on an emotional level. They’re issues that many families will face and perhaps they got to me all the more since I have a son Zac’s age.
There is of course the family drama with these secrets that they’re keeping and how those secrets are just weighing everyone down. But then there’s also alcoholism, bullying, loss and grief, and mental health/low self-esteem issues as well. This whole family has been through so much, and as I said with Parenthood, I became so invested in them that their stories – the good and the bad – just really had me so emotional at times. Bless little Teagan and her “rocket up the bum” jokes to lighten the mood and keep things from getting too heavy, lol.
Even though I really enjoyed Little Big Love overall, I did occasionally struggle with the pacing, especially in the beginning. I adored all of Zac’s chapters and just flew through them, but I’ll admit that I struggled to get into Juliet’s story and even Mick’s at first. I was a little put off by the secrets they were keeping because I just didn’t see where any good could possibly come from what they were doing. Ultimately though, they won me over because it became clear that they both loved Zac more than anything else in this world and that they were beating themselves up about their choices just as much, if not even more, than I was beating them up.
Katy Regan’s Little Big Love is a moving story about a flawed but beautiful family and the things they’re willing to do to protect both themselves and the ones they love. They don’t always make the best choices, but their hearts are in the right place, even if their heads aren’t. I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys books that feature endearing characters, especially lovable children, as well as messy but realistic family situations.
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:
About a Boy meets Parenthood in this smart, big-hearted love story about a family for whom everything changed one night, a decade ago, and the young boy who unites them all.
Told through the eyes of Zac, Juliet, and grandfather Mick, Little Big Love is a layered, heartfelt, utterly satisfying story about family, love, and the secrets that can define who we are.
About Katy Regan
Katy Regan was born and brought up in the northern seaside town of Morecambe. Her claim to fame – aside from being possibly the only person in the world to get expelled from primary school – is that at the age of 16 she went to stage school in Surrey with Posh Spice. She worked at 19 magazine for two years before joining Marie Claire in 2002. ‘Highlights’ in that position included spending ten days in the buff on a nudist resort and becoming a footballer’s wife for a week — all in the name of investigative journalism. In 2004 at the height of her career as the office roving reporter singleton, she fell accidentally pregnant by her best mate (who just remained a friend). Seeing the creative possibilities in this unconventional situation, her editor commissioned her to write a column – And then there were three! which proved so successful it ran for two years and inspired many a reader to write in to Katy with their life story. She has now taken her loyal following to her blog – The State She’s In – on the Marie Claire website. She lives in south London and shares care of her son Fergus with his dad who lives across the road.
Weekly Recap #56: Week of 6/3 – 6/9
/34 Comments/by Suzanne
It’s time for another weekly recap post of all things happening on and off the blog. This week I’ll be linking to the Sunday Post, which is hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and to Stacking the Shelves, which is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews.
This week has been a little off kilter for me because it started off with a mandatory training session that forced me to get up extra early on a Monday morning and drive an hour to the training center when my morning commute is usually 10 minutes. That was the worst, of course, but they did compensate for that misery a bit by serving us a delicious breakfast before the training started. I can be very forgiving when bacon, eggs, french toast, and fresh fruit are involved, lol. The training did eat up a lot of my time though so I spent most of the rest of the week playing catch up. Not fun but by the time I left on Friday, I was back on track, so yay!
Not too much else has been going on. My son finished all of his testing last week and will graduate from elementary school this Friday. I can’t believe I’m going to have a middle schooler on my hands. Where does the time go? I still remember his first day of preschool!
I had a pretty good reading week too. I finally (two weeks late!) finished the last of my May ARCs, Furyborn, and will review that this week. I have some mixed feelings about it but enjoyed it overall. I also finished one of my June ARCs and got started on another. And thanks to my longer commute this week, I also managed to finish A Man Called Ove, which had been on my TBR for two years. This week will be mostly devoted to my June ARCs but I am hoping to get through A Boy Made of Blocks, which is another that has been on my TBR for too long.
I also apologize for lagging behind on my blog hopping and replying to comments. I knew I would fall behind with my work schedule but had planned to get caught up on Saturday since there was a 90% chance of stormy weather all day that day. When I woke up though, the sun was shining and it was gorgeous outside and I ended up spending nearly all day and evening outside instead of at my computer. I hope to get mostly caught up today though since the rain that missed us yesterday is supposed to be here all day today.
I think that’s it for me. I hope everyone else has a great week! 🙂
WHAT I POSTED LAST WEEK
- [3 Jun] Weekly Recap #55: Week of 5/27 – 6/2
- [4 Jun] The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware ★★★★½
- [5 Jun] DNF Regrets – Top 10 Books I Wish I Had Quit Reading
- [6 Jun] Can’t Wait Wednesday – Spotlight on THE RAGING ONES by Krista & Becca Ritchie
- [7 Jun] DISCUSSION: Challenge Fatigue – Can One Have Too Many Reading Challenges?
- [8 Jun] Far from the Tree by Robin Benway ★★★★★
- [8 Jun] Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco ★★★★
WHAT I’M READING THIS WEEK
UPCOMING REVIEWS
STACKING THE SHELVES
TOTALLY RANDOM
Backlist Briefs – Mini Reviews for FAR FROM THE TREE and HUNTING PRINCE DRACULA
/26 Comments/by SuzannePublished by HarperTeen on October 3, 2017
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 374
Source: Purchased
Amazon
Goodreads
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS
A contemporary novel about three adopted siblings who find each other at just the right moment.
Being the middle child has its ups and downs.
But for Grace, an only child who was adopted at birth, discovering that she is a middle child is a different ride altogether. After putting her own baby up for adoption, she goes looking for her biological family, including—
Maya, her loudmouthed younger bio sister, who has a lot to say about their newfound family ties. Having grown up the snarky brunette in a house full of chipper redheads, she’s quick to search for traces of herself among these not-quite-strangers. And when her adopted family’s long-buried problems begin to explode to the surface, Maya can’t help but wonder where exactly it is that she belongs.
And Joaquin, their stoic older bio brother, who has no interest in bonding over their shared biological mother. After seventeen years in the foster care system, he’s learned that there are no heroes, and secrets and fears are best kept close to the vest, where they can’t hurt anyone but him.
Review:
Robin Benway’s Far From the Tree is an incredibly moving and engaging read that grabbed hold of all of my emotions and didn’t let go until long after I reached the final page. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and sometimes it just really made me sad and frustrated. Why? Because Far From the Tree isn’t just a book about family. It also touches on some important social issues that really resonate, such as teen pregnancy and the stigma that seems to follow the teen mom but not the teen dad; the many fears that plague both kids who have been adopted as well as those who are stuck in the foster care system; the impact addiction can have on a family; and so many more.
Far From the Tree follows three teenagers, Grace, Mia, and Joaquin, who are related by blood, but who have never met because their mother gave each of them up soon after they were born. Grace and Mia were both adopted as babies, but Joaquin was never adopted and has spent his entire life drifting in and out of foster homes. Grace has lived most of her life knowing that she was adopted, but until a heart-to-heart conversation with her parents, she had no idea that she also had two siblings out there in the world. She sets out to find them and it’s just such an incredible moment to watch the three of them connect and gradually start to bond with each other, gradually sharing more and more about themselves, including most importantly, fears, whether rational or irrational, that have plagued them for most of their lives.
It’s incredibly easy to fall in love with all three siblings because Benway does such a wonderful job making each interaction feel authentic as she poignantly captures the awkwardness and all of the emotions that Grace, Mia, and Joaquin experience as they realize they’re not as alone as they each thought they were. If you’re looking for a beautifully written contemporary novel that explores what it truly means to be a family, look no further than Robin Benway’s Far From the Tree. 5 STARS
Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco
Also by this author: Stalking Jack the Ripper (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #1), Kingdom of the Wicked
Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper #2
on September 19, 2017
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Historical Fiction
Pages: 434
Also in this series: Stalking Jack the Ripper (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #1)
Source: Purchased
Amazon
Goodreads
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS
Following the grief and horror of her discovery of Jack the Ripper's true identity, Audrey Rose Wadsworth has no choice but to flee London and its memories. Together with the arrogant yet charming Thomas Cresswell, she journeys to the dark heart of Romania, home to one of Europe's best schools of forensic medicine...and to another notorious killer, Vlad the Impaler, whose thirst for blood became legend.
But her life's dream is soon tainted by blood-soaked discoveries in the halls of the school's forbidding castle, and Audrey Rose is compelled to investigate the strangely familiar murders. What she finds brings all her terrifying fears to life once again.
Review:
Hunting Prince Dracula is the second installment in Kerri Maniscalco’s Stalking Jack the Ripper series. I loved the first book in this series so much and I’m happy to report that the second book is just as good, if not better, than the first!
Audrey Rose and Thomas Cresswell were just as fabulous this time around, as they traveled together to Romania to study forensic medicine. Their witty and flirtatious banter fills the pages and serves as a fantastic counterpoint to the dark atmosphere and the danger that they of course find themselves enmeshed in once they enter the school, which turns out to be a super creepy castle. I don’t want to give away any details about the mystery itself but there’s blood, bodies, bats, stakes through the heart, and oh so much more, including the threat that perhaps the infamous Vlad the Impaler has returned from beyond the grave.
While the overall formula for Hunting Prince Dracula is quite similar to that of the first book – there’s a mystery to be solved and Thomas and Audrey Rose get on each other’s nerves as they set out to solve it – what took the second book to a different level for me was the emotional turmoil that Audrey Rose experiences as a result of some of the things she learned about her family at the end of the first book. It’s a thread that follows her throughout Hunting Prince Dracula and it adds some welcome depth to her character, although I of course already loved Audrey Rose because she’s so ahead of her time and is such a feminist. I love watching her verbally filet anyone who tries to tell her she shouldn’t be at the school studying forensics. She just has such a feisty, take no prisoners attitude and I love it (as does Thomas)! I can’t wait to get my hands on the third book in the series to see what’s in store for Thomas and Audrey Rose next! 4 STARS
About Kerri Maniscalco
Kerri Maniscalco grew up in a semi-haunted house outside NYC where her fascination with gothic settings began. In her spare time she reads everything she can get her hands on, cooks all kinds of food with her family and friends, and drinks entirely too much tea while discussing life’s finer points with her cats.
Her first novel in this series, Stalking Jack the Ripper, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. It incorporates her love of forensic science and unsolved history.
About Robin Benway
Robin Benway is a National Book Award winner and New York Times bestselling author of six novels for young adults, including Audrey, Wait!, the AKA series, and Emmy & Oliver. Her books have received numerous awards and recognition, including a 2008 Blue Ribbon Award from the Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books, 2009’s ALA Best Books for Young Adults, and 2014’s ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults. In addition, her novels have received starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, and Publishers Weekly, and have been published in more than twenty countries. Her most recent title, Emmy & Oliver, was published in 2015 by Harper Teen, and was named one of the best books of summer by the Los Angeles Times, the Houston Chronicle, and Publishers Weekly. Her latest book, Far From the Tree, won the 2017 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature and was published on October 3, 2017 by Harper Teen.
Robin grew up in Orange County, California, attended NYU, where she was the 1997 recipient of the Seth Barkas Prize for Creative Writing, and is a graduate of UCLA. She currently lives in Los Angeles, where she spends her time hanging out with her dog, Hudson, making coffee, and procrastinating on writing.