Emily Jeanne Miller – Beth's Book Blurbs

Book Review: The News from the End of the World by Emily Jeanne Miller

Goodreads Summary: “Meet the lovable but dysfunctional Lake family over the four days that will make or break them.

When Vance Lake—broke, jobless, and recently dumped—takes refuge with twin brother Craig back home on Cape Cod, he unwittingly finds himself smack in the middle of a crisis that would test the bonds of even the most cohesive family, let alone the Lakes. Craig is strangely mournful and angry at equal turns. His exasperated wife, Gina, is on the brink of an affair. At the center of it all is seventeen-year-old Amanda: adored niece, rebellious daughter, and stubborn stepdaughter. She’s also pregnant.

Told in alternating points of view by each member of this colorful New England clan, and infused with the quiet charm of the Cape in the off-season, The News from the End of the World follows one family into a crucible of pent-up resentments, old and new secrets, and memories long buried. Only by coming to terms with their pasts, both separately and together, do they stand a chance of emerging intact.”

My Review:

What is most disappointing about this book is the blurb above – it gives you most of the plot. The suspense that could be created by family members discovering each other’s secrets is diminished for the reader, as you already know what they are going to discover.

That being said, the characters are well developed through the switching of narrators. I was worried at the beginning that there would be too many points of view, but I was pleasantly surprised. This method allows the demons of the past to be slowly and deliberately revealed (despite the blurb). As a bonus for a Massachusetts resident, it was very easy to picture the characters in the novel as they travel throughout the Cape and to Boston.

There was also a bit of extra fluff in some of the chapters – I found my attention wandering at times, but for the most part the storyline progressed at a decent pace. And I was satisfied with the finish, how we leave the family.

This is a good novel about the struggles of one dysfunctional New England family to forgive the past and move forward.

3.5 stars from me.

**I received my copy via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Thank you to the author and publisher for this opportunity.**