Family Reunion

by Caroline B. Cooney

When the invitation to the Preffyn family reunion arrives interrupting a perfectly decent summer vacation, 15-year-old Shelley Wollcott is anything but enthusiastic. It’s not that Shelley has anything against her relatives, she just can’t stand it when they give her that “what a pity” look. It’s not her fault that her real mother walked out on the family or that her father has remarried yet again. With Dad away on business and her older sister visiting their mother in Paris, Shelley must face the “perfect” Preffyns’ reunion with only her prankster younger brother and her insecure new stepmother at her side. It’s an opportunity to uncover the family’s secrets, but Shelley isn’t sure whether, when she discovers the truth, she’ll laugh or cry.

In this funny and poignant novel by Caroline B. Cooney, Shelley learns to appreciate all the members of her unusual family—including herself!—in ways she never anticipated. And she discovers things are often not as perfect as they seem.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Middle Grade, Humor

208 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Caroline Cooney knew in sixth grade that she wanted to be a writer when "the best teacher I ever had in my life" made writing her main focus. "He used to rip off covers from The New Yorker and pass them around and make us write a short story on whichever cover we got. I started writing then and never stopped!"
When her children were young, Caroline started writing books for young people -- with remarkable results. She began to sell stories to Seventeen magazine and soon after began writing books. Suspense novels are her favorites to read and write. "In a suspense novel, you can count on action."
To keep her stories realistic, Caroline visits many schools outside of her area, learning more about teenagers all the time. She often organizes what she calls a "plotting game," in which students work together to create plots for stories. Caroline lives in Westbrook, Connecticut and when she's not writing she volunteers at a hospital, plays piano for the school musicals and daydreams!
- Scholastic.com

Reviews

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, sad and heart warming, a little quirky!

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thoughtful, sometimes poignant book about family relationships, set in the USA. Shelley, who is nearly 15, narrates it; she is the middle child of divorced parents, and is gradually becoming used to her stepmother Annette. However she finds it difficult to forgive her mother for having moved out. Shelley feels that she can never live up to her more glamorous older sister Joanna - in Paris with her mother for the duration of the book - although they get along well, and she is frequently frustrated by her impulsive, generous and inventive younger brother Angus.

They go to their cousins for a big family reunion, worried about their 'perfect' cousins looking down on them, only to discover that there are cracks in their cousins' family too...

Seeing the story through Shelley's eyes works well; she struggles to discover who she is, and how to relate to people, and slowly realises that she's not just someone's sister or daughter, but a valuable person in her own right. This could be clichéd and trite, but the writing is very good, with plenty of subplots and a realism that shines through.

Recommended to anyone from the age of about eight or nine; probably not of much interest to younger readers, as it does cover early boy-girl relationships (albeit in a very low-key way) and probably particularly useful to older children/younger teens who are in blended or broken families.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

No family is perfect, right? That's not what 15-year-old Shelley Wollcott thinks. She, her younger brother Angus and older sister Joanna are the children of a twice-divorced man. Shelley knows her family is anything but normal, so when her immediate family is invited to her father's hometown of Barrington for a summer reunion, she's less than thrilled with the prospect of facing her perfect cousins, aunt and uncle — the Preffyns.

With a new stepmother in tow, Shelley and Angus travel to Barrington to stay with their dad's sister, Aunt Maggie, her husband Uncle Todd, and their daughter Carolyn. When Shelley learns that her cousin Brett has run away from home and is living with friends, she realizes that the Preffyns' perfect family isn't so perfect after all.

Throughout the novel, Shelley tries to uncover her father's past in Barrington. She looks up to him, who is perfect in her eyes, and realizes he made some bad choices in his youth. She loves her father regardless, and discovers that being perfect isn't everything. Everyone has their faults, not every family is picture-perfect, and one can learn to let go of their anger for people from the past.

I thought this was an okay read. There aren't any huge conflicts, and things resolve nicely in the end. But I suppose you want to read a happy ending with a book like this.

[Ransom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shelley Wollcott has been the glue to keep the family together: her father recently remarried, her brother is audacious (like selling shares to a bomb shelter) and her sister is in Paris living with their mother. Throughout the book she's trying to figure out what it is to be stable and part of a family. It doesn't help that she's constantly comparing things to the Perfects - her cousins who live in Barrington.

Toward the end, she re-evaluates her place in her world and how things fit together. All of her family (minus her sister and mother in Paris) come together and teach her many things, not the least of which is just to be herself.

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is utterly hilarious and absolutely applicable to anyone. We all have the odd person in our family, or maybe even our whole family may be a little out of tune. I know I always feel like I'm some alien compared to the rest of my family. Slapstick humor is used correctly and effectively in this story and creates comic relief throughout the somewhat tense story line. It's a book you can't put down until you're done reading it and it will leave you with such a pleasant feeling in your heart.

[Rashmi Tiwari · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I've been on a quest to reread all my favorite books from childhood and YA novels from the 1980s heavily figured into that journey. This book was updated at some point after it was written so now it contains awkward "e-mails" and other plot inconsistencies that make no sense in the age of cell phones and wifi.

Anyway, the story is cute but in no way did it hold up over time. It's unfortunate that the copy I read was the updated version because I think the original would have been more relevant and engaging. Does anyone else remember this book?

[Emily N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Family Renunion reveals the ups and downs in a disfucntional family that are often hidden for the sake of "looking good" to the public. I deffinatly liked this book. Especially for how you can see inside the mind of Shelly, the middle child, and how she classifies each of her family members. I would reccomend this book to anyone looking for a rather comical, yet serious book about a family and their problems.

[Jules Heberer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is one of my favorite books because I really like comedy and romance books. Shelley is the main character in this story. Shelley's mother divorced her father for her boyfriend that lives in Paris. She's trying her hardest to get through the divorce. Her life is just a complete wreck at this point. Everything changes when someone and something come along. Read "Family Reunion" by "Caroline B. Cooney" to find out what comes along to brighten things up!

[Nancy Palmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story about family and growing up. Shelley is 14 and trying to adjust to a family reunion, a stepmother, and her sister visiting their mother in Paris. Her parents' divorce had shaken her world and this summer was about discovering who she was and how she felt about her family. Not everything is how it seems and Shelley is able to accept her family and begin to appreciate herself. Her little brother Angus is hilarious!

[Laurie D'ghent · Rating 3 out of 5]

I lead a regular life. Why would I want to read about someone else's regular life? I don't. I want drama and danger and excitement, not a family reunion.
That being said, the characters are very believable, and it was interesting to watch the protagonist morph throughout the book. I just wouldn't read it again.

[Susan Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shelley is not happy at the thought of attending a family reunion at her perfect cousins' house - but once arrived, she finds cracks in their perfection.

I read this when it first came out, but had to re-read it for PPYA. It's typical Cooney, but still good.

[10-11 Lexie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was good because it had alot of untied things happening. A little mystery, a dash of humor. You get my point. I reccomend this book to people who enjoy a good laugh when you need one.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story that really makes you think about that some families appear "perfect" on the outside, but on the inside they all have problems. Really enjoyed it. Each family member brought something different and intriging.

[Suzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious book, I laughed so many times while reading this book.
I first read it as a class book with my 6th grade class. I liked it so much that I rented it again last year and I read it again!

[Janelle Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful! girl read. funny! anyone part of a family would LOVe it.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Middle grade novel about family- secrets, competition, embarrassment, and gossip. Hints of romance but mostly a fun look at another person's family dynamics.

[Ariana]

good.

[Valerie Mabrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, light, summer read.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I just read an updated version of a book I read years ago.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book but not that much I probably wouldn't want to read it again. However I liked the books by this author.

[Po · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little bit too linear. Thought it could have been more polished. Some of the character lacked dimension and was a bit irritating because of that.

[Brianna songie]

This was a nice book. I loved it so much cause it was funny

[Hailey Allen]

i returned the book, because i didn't really understand what was really happening in the book.

[AMY · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, funny, good mini-chick-lit. Will recommend it to many young female readers.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this! I laughed out loud. Great book for young teens.

[Ada Alarms · Rating 4 out of 5]

greattt bookk....familyy drama...

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute book 7-10th grade.

[annapi · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the Wollcotts receive an invitation from Aunt Maggie to the Preffyn family reunion one summer, 15-year old Shelley dreads it. The "perfect" Preffyns are always criticizing their family - her weird and embarrassing 12-year-old brother Angus, their black sheep father who got married at 16 to wife #1 and divorced soon after, her mother (wife #2) who left them all (three children) to marry her French lover and live in Paris, and her stepmother Annette (brand new wife #3) who can't seem to handle them properly. Bad enough that her older sister Joanna is in Paris vacationing with their mother and can't make it. But her father has to work and will arrive late to the reunion, leaving her, Angus, and Annette to face the family on their own for a few days.

I read this to fulfill a challenge, and wasn't expecting much except an easy read. But I was pleasantly surprised to find it has hidden depths and a very enjoyable sweetness that never descended to the cloying. It was funny and had its poignant moments, all nicely timed, and by the end I actually wished it had been longer so I could find out more about the characters and what happened next. This is perfect for a light beach read.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very interesting. Its about a a family that finds out that their aunt Maggie is having their 3rd anaversity. So they wanted to do a reunion. This book as a little strong words from top to bottom. The weak part about is that it does. not put a lot of action into when they are planning and getting the decorations ready. I rate this a 4 because I like all the drama and the humor in it. This book should be for 5 to 7 because like I said it has parasol strong words in it.