This book really missed the mark for me. It started off interesting. Lucia is a female lawyer in Montgomery, Alabama during the late 70s. Rachel is a young girl who meets Lucia when her Mom consults her for a divorce. The book alternates between their viewpoints through the years. The story moves along but it did not have any direction and then it just ended. I felt like I was reading the notes of an unfinished novel. The ending was a real disappointment.

This was an excellent, well-written novel. I was happily surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I also liked the setting of the book which took place in the south. I've always appreciated novels with a well chosen atmosphere. it can really make or break a novel. This book examines women's rights quite a bit and it was a little unnerving, however I still enjoyed it. My only complaint is that it seems like the ending just cut off...but maybe that was the author's intention. All in all, a decent read!

Gin Phillips has developed two strong female characters as alternating narrators in this suspenseful domestic drama. As with her previous novel Fierce Kingdom, Phillips excels in presenting women who are resourceful, outspoken, and independent. A successful young female lawyer in late 70’s Alabama, Lucia navigates the challenges of racism, chauvinism, and expectations for women’s roles from both society and members of her own family. She meets and mentors Rachel, a like- minded teenager in the process of exploring her life’s future direction. If you appreciate a novel with authentic characters in messy, non-stereotypical situations, you will enjoy the journeys of Lucia and Rachel in Family Law.

I really wanted to love "Family Law" by Gin Phillips because, like Lucia, I am a woman lawyer in a male dominated field. I could identify with the sexism she encountered, and unfortunately some of the fear as well. I enjoyed the story for the most part and the characters were well developed and real. That said, it felt like the author ran out of gas at the end. The ending was abrupt and disappointing.

This was a very powerful book—set in a time that is close enough to our present to surprise us about the state of women’s rights, but also to seem familiar, in the cultural touchpoints described. The one thing I couldn’t relate to was being a white woman in Alabama in the early '80s! But I have a good imagination and Gin Phillips weaves an atmospheric, rich picture for us. Family Law follows a young lawyer, Lucia, who is making a name for herself at a time when being a woman and a lawyer was an oddity and made her the focus of sexual and physical harassment. As fascinating as her mentorship relationship with teenaged Rachel, are the descriptions of her clients, women seeking divorces in a time when most of the structures in society were levered against them. Some of us had strong female role models growing up, but many did not, and Lucia is that for Rachel, whose own mother is confounding to her. The mother-daughter relationships in this book were painful and poignant. Another strength of this narrative was the painfully honest depiction of Lucia’s marriage—describing the ups and downs and daily inanities and small moments that sum up a relationship. I highly recommend this book.

This was an excellent, well-written novel. I was happily surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I also liked the setting of the book which took place in the south. I've always appreciated novels with a well chosen atmosphere. it can really make or break a novel.

This book examines women's rights and has strong themes.

I can see this being a good choice for a bookclub.

Recommended.

Gin Phillips once again delivers a rich and thoughtful novel about women and healing. FAMILY LAW compellingly charts the path of layered and intriguing characters in a story set against a pitch-perfect Southern setting.

Quick and engrossing read. Very enjoyable with strong character development. This will be a great book to pack in your beach bag.

This was one of those books that I was afraid might be a chick-lit book but ended up being something else. It SO wasn't but in a good way. Definitely ended up a good read.

Having grown up a decade before this novel was placed, in the South, with a parent that projected similar fears onto their female children, I fully got everything Rachel experienced and wondered about. I craved someone like Lucia to step into my life and show another way of being/thinking/acting. It didn't happen for me but in this story, this teen was lucky to find a strong role model plus adult friends to show her how to live without fearing everything her mom did. We all need good role models and it helps if they turn into friends.