Familiezaken

by Josie Lloyd, Emlyn Rees, Esther Ottens (Translator)

In augustus 1953 wordt het stadje Stepmouth geraakt door noodweer. Rachel Vale, een eigenzinnige puber, verdwijnt in de nacht. Haar oudere broer Bill heeft net ontdekt dat Rachel stiekem een relatie heeft met zijn aartsvijand. Het water blijft stijgen en dreigt hun ouderlijk huis te vernietigen.

Vijftig jaar later. Die ene nacht heeft tragische sporen nagelaten en Bill en Rachel hebben elkaar nooit meer gesproken. Rachel krijgt contact met Laurie, de dochter van Bill, die nooit geweten heeft dat ze een tante had. Laurie zoekt Rachel op op Mallorca, in de hoop de relatie tussen haar vader en haar tante te kunnen herstellen. Wat ze niet weet, is dat ze op Mallorca geconfronteerd zal worden met haar eigen geheim. Een geheim dat de familie opnieuw zou kunnen verscheuren…

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Family, Audiobook

415 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2004

Reviews

[Shrilaxmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the style of writing. It felt light-hearted and fun which probably should not have happened because there was some amount of tragedy and natural disaster involved. The plot seemed quite contrived and was only sustained by a vast amount of miscommunication. But oh well, I liked it. There is romance and drama - a pleasant summer read.

[Tanya (Girl Plus Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I have read every book by the husband/wife team of Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees and this one is a real stand-out. The alternating chapters, switching between present day and 1953, was brilliantly done. This allowed for the story to unfold perfectly, details being revealed like layers being peeled away. How Lloyd and Rees managed to intertwine the two time periods and the cast of characters is so impressive. As I neared the end, with the climax of two separate plots coming to fruition, and parallels being drawn between the two, I could hardly put the book down.

My only issue (which has nothing to do with the writing) is the book cover. It is in no way representative of the novel. I realize that the authors probably have little to no say over book covers but I found this one to be a bit cheesy and had Lloyd/Rees not already been favorite authors I might have passed this one right by (yes, I do sometimes judge a book by its cover LOL).

Aesthetics aside, We Are Family was a fantastic read and a perfect example of why Lloyd/Rees are favorites.

[Невена Pascaleva · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit too slow-going and maudlin for my taste, otherwise, a good love story. Part of the book's charm for me was that I got it from a small vintage bookshop in London for the price of one pound and the paper was a bit yellowish. Romantic :)

[Mahgol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned valuable things about family, relationships, and life from this enjoyable reading. so simple at the same time good enough to keep you intrigued. my favorite character was Rachel she was inspiring for never giving up, for being hopeful and building her future instead of giving up everything due to the bitterness of the past like her brother and mother.

[Helen Chester · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just couldn't get into it. Love Lloyd and Rees style of writing but this story jumps from present day to 1950s and with so many characters that I had to write them down but still got in a muddle. So gave up which I very rarely do. I gave it 4 attempts. Oh well. X

[Louise EF · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read. I liked that way it moved between present day and the 1950s.

[Malavika Venugopal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy weekend read, storyline was good but too stretched out.

[lifeinbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Passing this on. I didn’t remember anything about this book when I started this reread. I thought the beginning was quite entertaining and was pleasantly surprised, but after fifty pages or so the characters started to annoy me and skipped some of the story to get to the end.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compared to other books by this couple, this book is much more serious. It tells about fifty years in the lives if a grief-stricken family who got separated and reunited in very complicated ways.

[Ilonita50 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some twists and turns, highly drama novel.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

love the books by this duo and this doesn't disappoint. Thought it was clever how they interlinked past with present throughout the book

[Bronwyn Rykiert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and liked all the characters, except maybe Bill. I thought he was a bit hard headed over his sister but it was good in the end.

[Adri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't even say why I took this book from the library. And I can see that will appeal to a lot of people. I'm am just not one of them. I just want more from books than this.