Review: Families and Other Nonreturnable Gifts – Claire LaZelnik

Despite her name, Keats Sedlak is the sanest person in her large, nutty family of brilliant eccentrics. Her parents, both brainy academics, are barely capable of looking after themselves, let alone anyone else, and her two uber-intelligent siblings live on their own planets.

At least she can count on one person in her life, her devoted boyfriend Tom. Down-to-earth and loving, he’s the one thing that’s kept Keats grounded for the last decade. But when Keats’s mother makes a surprise announcement, the entire family is sent into a tailspin. For the first time, Keats can’t pick up the pieces by herself. Now she must reevaluate everything she’s ever assumed about herself and her family-and make the biggest decision of her life.

Series:
Release Date: September 1, 2011
Publisher: 5 Spot
Source: Provided by Publisher
Reviewer: Joelle
Rating:

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Reviewer’s Thoughts

I really enjoyed this book. It reminded me a bit of Running with Scissors–at least the “crazy family” part!
This family has a redeeming member though and that is Keats–the middle child. She is bright, just not a super-genius like the rest of her family members. She, however, has social, organizational and other skills that help her navigate society more successfully.
When her parents decide (rather, her mom decides) to divorce, Keats is the one who has to take care of the family, the house, etc. But then, she is always the one who get things done. Afterall, the other members of her family are too busy being brilliant to take care of mundane tasks like cooking, cleaning, and organizing a home.
Although the Sedlaks are intimidatingly smart, they are witty and sarcastic. There is a dry sense of humor that permeates this book that will have readers laughing out loud. In fact, Keats says early on in the book, “I had discovered about a year earlier that the things that most embarrassed me about my parents could be turned into amusing anecdotes if told with the right sort of dry detachment…” So even though I felt sorry for Keats at times and cringed at some of her choices, I cracked up more often than not reading this book. I think like most families, the Sedlaks love each other they just have a way of living that is unique to them & I thoroughly enjoyed reading about it.
I know this review is fraught with errors that would have any Sedlak reading it with nothing short of disgust, but I loved this book and I highly recommend it!