Family tension, even in other people’s families, can really set me on edge. This book had me anxious from page 1, just waiting for Bad Stuff to Happen as the tension and anxiety of each character grows and grows. Definitely had me on the edge of the seat.

Really neat characterization and very finely detailed: the mom’s art (so cool), the dad’s writing. The intricacies of the familial relationships were so well plotted: you love someone, but you see their weakness; you hate when they act a certain way, but you know how to handle them when that’s the case; etc.

When the moment of crisis comes, it was not at all what I expected, and that includes the follow-up events.

But I have to wonder what the blurb writer was thinking. Because the last sentence on the front flap blurb? Yeah, that’s NOT what I got out of this at all.