Talk about a family saga! Holy moly. Sonja Yoerg went in and she went in DEEP.

Trigger warning: this story does contain sexual assault.

If you want a beautifully heartbreaking story of the deepest kind of love, then this book is for you. Taking place in the 80’s, the Vergennes family is a tight ship, and I don’t just mean that figuratively. There are 9 kids and one on the way. Jude, the oldest, took off 5 years before and now Verity is captain.

The Family Ship introduces you to all the kids, including points of view from most of them, even the littles, and I loved that. You get most sides of the family’s story. Through tragedy and triumph, love and hate, this family sticks together. Even when they don’t want to, devotion and love brings them back.

Your heart will break, you’ll want to reach through this book at times to help these children. You will laugh at some of the childrens’ thoughts. Yoerg wrote the little ones especially well.

This is a great story of a family who takes the hits, and grows stronger because of them. You won’t be able to put it down. The Family Ship will sail right into your heart.

I received an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This story absolutely blew me away! Such great characters and such a unique, captivating story-line!

The Vergennes family is like no other family I have ever encountered before—in real life or on the pages of a book. This family of 10 has a ship in their front yard, and their lives are centered around living a shipshape existence. That is until the older children want to stretch their sails (see what I did there?) and try to live their lives outside the family ship.

The drama that continued to befall this family kept me turning the pages and the love that they had for one another endeared them all to me. As they struggled with the tragedies that happened to this close knit family and as they pulled together to support one another, I fell more in love with everyone. So much heartache, and so much love.

Once again, Sonja has written a story that pulled me in, a story with a cast of individuals who captured my feelings, and my heart. I am totally amazed at the stories that she creates, stories that are so different from what is out there, and so different from her previous work. I know when I read one of her books, that I am going to be going on a journey that I have not been on before!

I highly recommend The Family Ship! I loved it! I loved the story, I loved the characters, and I loved the adventure that whisked me away, allowing me to escape to another time and place.

Perfect for fans of ensemble fiction, as this book examines a large family from many of the family members’ points of view. It’s a unique family with a ship in their yard and unique expectations and familial obligations surrounding it. Not literary fiction by any means, but a good family story.

The Family Ship is a phenomenal family saga that is sure to get readers right in "the feels".

It is 1980. The Vergennes family is a large one whose isolated home near a small town in the Chesapeake area of Virginia came with a 36 foot custom-built ship in the backyard. The ship was built by the previous owner, an oyster fisherman. Arthur and Maeve have 9 children ages 4 to 22, and are happily expecting their tenth. Arthur, a Navy vet who served in the Korean War, expects responsibility, accountability, routine, discipline and order in his household. With so many children, it's the only way for things to run smoothly. He finds the ship the perfect way to teach these values to his children. Each of the children has an assigned spot in the crew, and the children take their positions seriously, while also exalting in the make-believe adventures they have on the (now-stabilized) ship. Not being within walking distance of town, the children have only each other (and the ship) to play with.

Maeve, is the calm, loving heart of the home. Her family is her life, and she was heartbroken when Jude, their oldest son moved out five years ago when he was only 17 following a major argument with his father.

A crisis brings Jude back into the family circle again, but tragedy soon sets them all reeling, adrift, and, ultimately, in harm's way. Can the family find their way(s) through their personal and collective storms and be whole again?

The complex characters and the relationships within the family come to life as told through chapters which rotate through the 3rd person POVs of each of the children. It is easy to relate to the family members and all the emotions, hurts, dreams, hopes and conflicts of each. It's also virtually impossible to not love these children, trying to so hard to live up to expectations, to not let the rest of "the crew" down, while striving towards what they want themselves.

This book was an emotional but wholly satisfying read and I recommend it most highly!

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to read an advance copy of the book which is scheduled for publication on February 23, 2021. All opinions within this review are strictly my own.

Loved this book so much! The story and the characters draw you in quickly and you find it hard to put the book down. This was my first book to read by this author and I look forward to reading the other books she has written!

This is a story about the Vergennes family. The oldest child Verity along with her younger siblings have a boat right in their back yard in Virginia and they are the crew. At the beginning I had no idea where this was going but I stuck with it and it develops into an amazing story of family dynamics, heartbreaking lessons learned and coming to a point of acceptance and hope. You don't want to miss this one! Highly recommend!

Blame And Forgiveness. Let's face it, the central conceit of this tale - a mostly abandoned boat left on a property that a family purchases that the parents and older kids then use as a mechanism to control the younger kids - is a bit... strange. And I note this as the son of two people who both had six or more siblings each - so while I only have two brothers myself, large family dynamics are not completely foreign to me. This noted, once your brain accepts the central conceit here, the actual story is truly a very solid one of finding oneself, struggling with roles that are not always chosen and not always permanent - both by choice and by situation, and, ultimately, self-recrimination of past wrongs and the need to forgive both yourself and others. The back half *really* picks up, and actually features a scene reminecent of one particular story of my own family history that I was told for years - in this case, a particular confrontation at a particularly ... inopportune... time. (Doing my best to note that this was a phenomenal scene without giving much away, since it *does* happen in the climax of the tale.)

Ultimately, those who have only known smaller families - where you and your entire family you've ever known have had the stereotypical-ish 2-3 kids or less - may struggle a bit with keeping up with the fairly large family and the dynamics therein. But work with it, because most everyone gets their chance to be a mostly-realized age-appropriate actual person... even as most of the actual action really does focus on the more senior people. (In other words, even the toddlers get a chance to be toddlers, but the teens and adults ultimately drive the story.)

Truly a great work, and a Toby Keith level master class in "I can spin off a story about anything". (Look up the story of TK's "Red Solo Cup" to understand that reference. ;) )

Very much recommended.

Breathtaking. There is so much packed into this book that I feel like I need some time to process it. Told from the viewpoints of multiple members of the Vergennes family, The Family Ship is an emotionally impactful story that beautifully explores many important topics, including grief, boundaries, and loyalty. Though it is primarily a character-driven family drama, there are plenty of events that keep the plot progressing rapidly. I was completely riveted by the story but it was the characters I really fell for. Highly recommend! Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

'The Family Ship' sets a course through the Vergennes family and tackle is the intricacies of family relationships. With a family full of children, Sonja Yoerg weaves all of their stories together underpinned by the longstanding relationship of Maeve and Arthur, their parents. This book provided a good narrative of life in a very large family for so many children with so many perspectives. There were no circumstances that seemed glaringly outlandish or over-the-top and I think that is the point to the story. This book is a vessel all of the characters and how they interact and work together in order to keep relationships alive, just like crewmates do onboard. Each child had a role and a specific place to be and it was very clear with the return of Jude about what direction they needed to steer into. The USS Nepenthe was their 'floating home'. It was a place to reflect, to escape and imagine. This family's ship was the catalyst for all the Vergennes' to realise the true nature of who they were and their circumstances that brought them on board.

Thanks to @netgalley for the e-ARC.

This is the beautiful story of a family of 10 who lives on a small island just off the east coast. The oldest son, Jude, left the family under hard circumstances. Now the second oldest, Verity (LOVE the name!) is ready to take the next step in her life and go to college. However with seven brothers and sisters at home Verity is torn because her pregnant mother needs help with the family.

The family also has a boat in their yard that is more than just a playhouse for the kids. They have order and roles and go on amazing adventures.

The story has a Swiss Family Robinson feel with the boat and the older children taking care of the younger children. I loved the family. When they family has the worst possible thing happen, they have to try to adapt to a new way of life. I really felt Verity’s hard choice to between herself or her family.

This is a wonderful book for anyone who loves family stories and healing, both new and old wounds.

Families are complicated, and when you have nine children, life is chaotic. Sonja Yoerg is a marvelous storyteller, as I learned in two other books of hers. She broke down the varied personalities of the family members, and the effect they had on each other. Jude, the older brother, expected from birth to be the protector and Captain of the ship. Verity, a mothering sibling, that ends up ships captain, when Jude takes his freedom from a domineering father. And Eden, the social personality, eager to live her live away from the regimental structure of her father’s Naval life. And the mother Maeve, is the glue that holds them all together, even a broken Navy veteran.
When tragedy strikes, the glue disappears and it’s a scramble to keep this family together and safe. This novel just kept me marveling at the tenacity and grit of a family that learned structure, loyalty, kindness and courage at a young age, and were able to support and save each other, when everything around them fell apart. It’s well written and the characters were wonderful.
My thanks to the author, NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Another sound novel from Sonja Yoerg. Immensely readable about the plight of the Vergennes clan. Oh my goodness I loved this book. This novel is so perfect...Beautifully crafted and written in what appears to be an effortless and casually told manner.

This book is clever, funny, heartfelt, heartbreaking and profound...I loved every word and devoured the whole thing in two sittings, resentful of all the time I could not be reading it. Now I’m bereaved of the characters and at a loss of what to read next that could come anywhere near to it. My heart is in Chesapeake Bay.

The Family Ship brings us the everyday life of a large family in Chesapeake Bay and the two oldest children who decide it is time to change direction. This is another excellent novel by Ms. Yoerg, who never disappoints.

The Family Ship
By Sonja Yoerg


A poignant and skillful story of drama, tragedy and hopefulness

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY
Verity Vergennes, 18, is the captain of the USS Nepenthe, and her seven younger siblings are her crew. An old oyster boat has been transformed into a make-believe destroyer beached in the Vergennes’ backyard in a small Virginia town on the Chesapeake Bay. The family’s ship is a place for the kids in the crew, ages, 4, 6, 8, 8,11,13,14, to both play and learn responsibility.

Verity’s parents, Maeve and Arthur Vergennes are already struggling to keep up and now Maeve is pregnant again. They count on the kids to help take care of each other. But now Verity wants to abandon ship and has secretly applied and has been accepted to Halliwell College in Roanoke which is hours away from home. Because the Vergennes eldest son, Jude, left home five years ago under troubled circumstances and has never returned, Verity knows this decision will be a difficult one for her parents.

When disaster strikes and the family begins to unravels, Verity is forced to marshall her siblings to keep the Nepenthe and all that it symbolizes afloat.

REVIEW
The Family Ship is a poignant and skillful story by beloved author Sonja Yoerg. Her descriptions of the USS Nepenthe, and its crew and their responsibilities aboard the ship were vivid and enchanting. This intrepid old ship is a integral part of this delightful story that is full of drama, tragedy and hopefulness.

Yoerg keenly introduces us to the crew by alternating chapters from different family members points of view. She guides us through the treacherous seas of family relationships and her writing is full of emotion and tension. She demonstrates both the shocking depths people will go to and the strength people can find when face with tragedy.

Yoerg can alway be counted on for in-depth exploration of family relationships in her books. Her books are perfect for book clubs and she includes perfect discussion questions. She has published six additional novels including Stories We Never Told (2020) and one of my all-time favorites, True Places (2019). Thanks to Netgalley, Lake Union and Sonja Yoerg for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.


Publisher Lake Union
Published February 23, 2021
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

I was hooked on this book from page 1... absolutely amazing! You will fall in love with this family! Highly highly recommend

I am fascinated by family and the intricate layers of relationships and bonds between family members, and The Family Ship offered all of this and more. I loved every single word on every single page and just could not get enough of the Vergennes family. So much was beautifully captured and written about, the talent of this author shines and sparkles brilliantly in this novel. I was so incredibly moved and I highly recommend it to everyone.

Sonya Yoerg has quickly become a must-read author for me. The Family Ship only helped to cement that standing with me as it was another marvelous read filled with family, joy, tragedy, life lessons, and love.

The characters are so interesting and unique that you'll greatly enjoy getting to know them all. I don't even want to go into discussing the plot because it's hard not to give it all away. Suffice it to say I spent most of the book disliking the father and thinking the mother was kind of a doormat, but I loved the children. They were awesome.

Pick up this book and prepare to lose yourself to an entirely different sort of story that will leave you feeling many emotions.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for providing an ARC at my request. All thoughts are my own.

loved, loved this book. Received an arc for an honest review, it started slow for me but Sonja's beautiful way of getting the characters down to a tee, had me routing for this family and making me cry as well. Sonja outdid herself and can't wait to read more of her books

Sonja Yoerg is a truly talented author. I have thoroughly enjoyed every single book of hers that I've read and The Family Ship is no different. She did a wonderful job with the character development and the complex family dynamics. A superb family drama that provoked not only smiles and laughs, but tears and heartbreak.

𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒖𝒍, 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅, 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒂 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒂 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆.

On Chesapeake Bay, 1980 the Vergennes family run a tight ship being taught valuable lessons of responsibility and discipline aboard an oyster boat made into a destroyer called the USS Nepenthe. Their father Arthur, a former Navy man, believes it is the glue for family loyalty and that by earning ranks his brood will learn confidence. For their eldest daughter, eighteen-year-old Verity, the rank of Lieutenant Commander to her younger siblings no longer feels like fun. Not the type of person who enjoys giving orders, all she truly wants is a life of her own and more freedom to live it. Arthur’s plan to attend the local community college after high school isn’t what she wants. As much as she loves her siblings and parents what she wants is a chance to stand on her own, to discover who she is besides the eldest Vergennes girl. Despite secretly applying to college further away than her father would allow, she wonders if such a hope could ever come to fruition. Certainly, money is a concern, something she knows full well they can’t afford. Then, there is the guilt she feels for wanting to leave the nest, especially knowing her parents depend on her to help run their own little crew. With eldest brother Jude having jumped ship after a fight with his father, she shoulders the burden of being the ‘good’ child. With her mother’s latest pregnancy and exhaustion, how can she possibly be so selfish? Yet, what is so wrong about wanting a life of her own? Isn’t that what children do, grow up and leave home?

Arthur isn’t always the fair, calm master he wishes to be. His wife Maeve knows all too well that he “worried a great deal and blamed himself unnecessarily when life went sideways”. It is about to go sideways for them all when Maeve becomes pregnant again. Arthur is about to be tested, triggering off an incident from his past that has shadowed his entire life. Jude is the black sheep, persona non grata in Arthur’s estimation, but Verity needs him now more than ever to lean on, despite their rocky past. She isn’t the only one.

This is a story about family, guilt and redemption. It is about the ways we blame ourselves for things out of our control and the terrible effect it has on our relationship with others. It is a tale of being forced into roles that no longer fit, of not knowing how to move forward in forgiveness. The Family Ship proves that we can’t always control the ocean of life, that we can only steer the ship and hope the direction we are headed leads us to a safer shore. We cannot control fate, nor protect our children or ourselves from the waves of tragedy but we can decide what to do with what is left of us once we’re shipwrecked. A heartfelt read that tugs at the heart as the adults begin to unravel.

Publication Date: February 23, 2021

Lake Union Publishing

This book is so sweet and had me feeling all the things from laughter and warmth to tears and heartbreak.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves a good family story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an advanced release copy in exchange for an honest review.