I loved that book.
MA Murail was definitely less kind in that novel, looking at many group more critically, and less forgiving, pointing out the ironies, the mean little truth about the working environment, the failures of the education system, the betrayal of selfish people we cross in life... but she was super funny like usual, and her good heart beats through, the message is clear: take the time to tell your loved ones what you really feel and how important they are to you. We navigate in a society where everywhere, everyone is more and more lonely, and the problem is clearly lack of meaningful face to face communication.
I loved looking into the lives of this family.
I loved that they were so similar, without realising it. That their aspirations were so close, without knowing it. That their disappointments were the same, sadly without sharing it...
I think this is not necessarily a book for the younger set, even if it technically is a YA contemporary tale. It is simple in many of it's plot devices, vocab and clean content... but many things will fly over the heads of teenagers (even if everyone will find something in it). I believe I only truly appreciated it as much as I did because so many little everyday things talked to me: I have been a small kid in a playground full of bullies, an uncomfortable teenager disenchanted with the world, an office worker locked in the terrible meaningless profit chase with people all around me dropping from burnout, and currently I am the mom of 2 very young kids. The kindergarten references hit home hard and made me laugh so much I had to share them with my husband.
I really loved that book.
I discovered MA Murail when I was 8 years old, and in my mid-thirties I still love her just as much.