I listened to this in audio and the narrator (Gail Shalan) did a great job telling the story and keeping me engaged throughout. A Very Typical Family is an entertaining family drama story about 3 siblings who have been estranged from each other for 15 years. After the sudden loss of their mother, they are forced to reconcile if they are to inherit the family house.
One plot element I found highly unrealistic was the reasoning for the estrangement between the the siblings. Natalie called the cops on Lynn and Jake for doing illegal drugs during which one of their friends OD'ed and the entire story/plot focused on blaming Natalie for sending the other two siblings to jail for 3 years. The ending was far fetched and a bit discombobulated. Overall, an enjoyable audiobook listen.

LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!
Okay- so Natalie is hot mess. Her boyfriend (soon to be fiance sucks. His sister (her bff) sorta sucks too because shes willing to overlook his behavior. She 'sent her brother and sister to prison" and hasn't spoken to them in 15 years. She has serious work drama (in a job where she is totally unfulfilled anyway). Her mom (that hasn't ever really been much of a mom) dies. Oh - and she has to meet her long lost sibs at their moms house to inherit it. and - she has a psycho cat - which I absolutely enjoyed lol. Loved the drama - could have done without the super descriptions of her drawings towards the end of the book - but I liked how it all wrapped up neatly in a little bow. Thank you to Sierra Godfrey and Netgalley for a digital copy of this fabulous book in exchange for an honest review. Can't wait to see whats next!

A Very Typical Family, by Sierra Godfrey is a story about Natalie Walker who as a teenager called the police on her own siblings. She is raised in a family that is going off the rails and she is watching things fall apart. She is too young to process all that is going on and all she is feeling. On that fateful night, her supposed relationship falls apart and her siblings are in the house doing drugs. She regrets the call to the police the moment she does to but what else she she have done. After her siblings are arrested and go to jail.. Natalie heads to the east coast to start college. Her mother believes this change will keep her far away from her guilt and the family. She does pretty well keeping her past life quiet and moving on. She has a good job, is up for a promotion, a best friend and a great best friend. Things seem to be going well until she gets a call from a lawyer in Ca, saying her mother died. It is stipulated in the will that she must come back to Santa Cruz, with her siblings and settle the will. They have to do it together, even though they haven’t spoken in years.. Natalie decides to go to Santa Cruz, she drives cross country and has a lot of time to think about the past. How will the meeting go with her siblings? Will they be able to make peace? Will the siblings forgive Natalie? Will she forgive herself? What is exactly in the will? This was a good story. It was a little long for my taste. It seemed a little far fetched but it was a unique story. I want to thank Netgalley and the author for my copy for an honest review. It is always a pleasure to read and review books. I gave this story 3 stars. It just seemed a little repetitive at points and it just wasn’t my favorite read. What were your thoughts?

First off, a book with a cat named Penguin? Oh that's perfect! And if I ever get a cat, of course it will be a fluffy tuxedo cat, and now I must name it Penguin!! This was a great story about an estranged family coming back together. Having Natalie at the crossroads of her own story added to the complexity of the book. I really liked it until near the end where it completely devolved into a romance novel! The story and characters were strong enough to carry the book without adding the unnecessary, and I'll say it: a bit insulting to Natalie, romance. Why did she have to have a love interest at all? Isn't dealing with all the other trauma enough? So, obviously that disappointed me. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the book.

It could have benefited from trimming down on subplots that didn’t add on or further the plot along in a substantial way. Honestly, the romance could’ve been cut out completely and got the same book. The reveal behind the siblings rift wasn’t that realistic due to how quick things escalated. If you were to blink too fast then you missed it. It’s the only time the main character wasn’t making one of their daily painfully dumb decisions. Even though the characters are all in their thirties, quite a bit of the story felt like a mellow filler episode of a teen drama show. What intrigued me the most was the story behind why Lynn chose her job. It sent me into a wikipedia rabbit hole that was...fascinating. lol



Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing a copy for an honest review.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a short read. The story moved at a good pace and had some fun characters. It dealt with family drama and misunderstandings. I liked it. Although it wasn’t a 5 star read for me, I liked it enough to recommend it to readers.

3.5

I had no expectations reading this book. I was actually a little bit hesitant that I might not love it, but I was very kindly gifted an arc and thought to expand my boundaries. The first chapter I was a bit what am I reading? who are these people ? This is all very bizarre. But im glad i read it because it was heartwarming and heart tugging. I was so invested. I loved every flaw of these characters. I think they were so developed, so truthful, and I was crying during the end.

I think it's not for everybody, but it's one of those things that I think are worth reading, especially if you love family dramas and the nuances of family dynamics.

Family dramas are rife with potential. Here, we have a more complicated dynamic, where one sibling caused the other two to spend time in jail. This led her to be estranged from her mother as well as said siblings. She feels she has reached a point in her life where she is finally going to get what she is working towards, both a partner and a good role at her job.
It is at this stage that she gets a bad jolt (or two). This pushes her into action and has her heading to her old childhood home.
She does not know what to expect once she is there, but it is not a countdown which requires her to reside under the same roof as her siblings. Each sibling comes with their own story, and by the end, everyone rallies around.
The issue I had with the book was that it did not quite toe the line between the lighter books that might have a similar storyline or the more serious life-altering arcs that the more dramatic books employ. It swung between the two. If it had stuck to one mood, I would have liked it better.
The siblings are all flawed, and in the hunt to convene in one spot, secrets are brought out into the open and discussed. All the hurts are not cured, but the healing has begun, and everyone is invested in getting things moving.
It was the author's first book, and I liked it enough to want to read the next one she wrote. I already have it on my virtual shelf. I would recommend this to readers who like a more serious tone in this genre.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Genre: family drama
Quick summary: Natalie's family is not exactly on good terms - she was the reason her sister and brother went to jail. Years later, when their mother dies, the siblings will be reunited - like it or not.

I'm an only child, and I think that's one of the reasons why I love sibling drama. I enjoyed the way Godfrey unraveled the story of Natalie, Lynn, and Jake slowly, giving plenty of detail into each of their characters. The side characters - Lynn's son and Jake's scientist co-worker - added a lot to the narrative as well. Natalie may seem put together, but a lot of this family drama is her coming to terms with her past actions and building a future for herself. This is a solid debut, and I'd read Godfrey's next book! 3.5 stars.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love a family drama. LOVE. But I found this cast of characters to be confusing and frustrating. I didn't really feel like I had anybody to root for, and watching them make ridiculous decisions fed into that. I couldn't empathize with where they were coming from.

I felt like it needed some editing. There were some subplots that I didn't think went anywhere and I didn't really connect with the characters. It just wasn't very engaging or fun.

A Very Typical Family by Sierra Godfrey was a very good story but the emotions and drama were revved to the max; I loved the premise! I recommend this novel.

The story was good although it did seem to meander and the timelines seemed to be off – she was given two weeks leave, took seven days to drive to California and two weeks later requested more time off. The story is heavy on drama with the work situation, boyfriend issues, missing brother, sister escaping from an abusive relationship, missing cat and Natalie's new romantic attraction in addition to the issues with her estranged mother.
3 Stars

This was not a "typical" family by any means. As a teenager Natalie is responsible for her brother and sisters imprisonment. She has not spoken to them in years, until a family matter forces them to get together.. Upon hesitation, her sister is slow to build a relationship, but her brother is nowhere to be found.

Natalie has felt the guilt for so many years and wants nothing more to reconcile and have family around. Will her siblings come around and feel the same?

This was a wonderfully written story.

I was thrilled to be gifted an advance copy of A Very Typical Family by Sierra Godfrey from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I really enjoyed this book about a very dysfunctional family and all of their nuances. I was pulled in from page one and unable to put this book down. This book will give you all the "feels" and you won't want it to end.

The Walker Family is far from a very typical family, so I can only assume the title is meant to be funny. That being said, I loved this book! The Walkers are totally dysfunctional - the three siblings haven’t spoken to each other for fifteen years. There’s a reason for that: youngest sibling Natalie, called 911 on her brother and older sister when she was 17, with disastrous results. When their mother dies, her will stipulates that the three siblings will inherit their childhood home, a Victorian mansion in Santa Cruz, California, but only if all three get together physically at the house.

This book attracted me because my family has suffered a long-term estrangement and so I felt I could relate to at least that part of the story. I got more than a story about an estrangement, though. I got a lovely story about a still-young woman finally coming to terms with what she had done, why she wasn’t going anywhere in her career and why she kept picking the wrong kind of men to have a relationship with.

There is a love interest once Natalie gets to Santa Cruz that I thought was nice but unnecessary to the plot. Natalie’s sister Lynn is a tough cookie with a soft interior and her 13-year-old son Kit is a wonderful character. Natalie’s brother Jake - well, it took way too long for them to find him, as he apparently needed some alone time after their mother’s death. While some of Natalie’s decisions/actions were a bit childish or irresponsible (the way she traveled with her cat, for example), I really liked Natalie and sympathized with her situation. In addition, there are lots of funny moments throughout the book and I loved all the Santa Cruz atmosphere.

Note: the cover doesn’t do this story justice. The cover depicts three chairs and not much else.

Warning: death, estrangement, domestic abuse, gaslighting, drug abuse (past)

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark Early Reads for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This is such a heartwarming story! It starts off heart breaking but finishes off with a Hallmark-ish ending that everyone would be happy with.

Natalie has not spoken to her sister, Lynn and her brother, Jake in fifteen years. Why? She made a call that caused her siblings to get arrested and later on jailed. Feeling tormented from her guilt and unsupportive mother, Natalie left Santa Cruz and moved to Boston. She thought she is doing well in life until her boyfriend stole her promotion and around the same time received a phone call to inform her that her mother had died. Natalie learned that she had inherited her mother’s mansion together with her siblings but there is a catch…All three siblings have to reunite in the home in order to inherit it! With the recent disappointments in her life, she decided to take that chance to see her siblings again and possibly have a relationship with them again.

There is nothing normal about this family and the drama is pretty unrealistic to begin with but the part I loved the most is when Natalie makes an effort to reach out to her siblings again. I love Nora’s character as a whole. She has lived with her guilt and sadness for so long and she is not going to miss out on an opportunity to reconnect with them again. I found myself rooting for her and hoping hard her siblings would forgive her. I felt that she made the right choice given the circumstances that happened fifteen years ago and she was only a teenager! Understandably. Her siblings will be less forgiving but blood is thicker than water and in order to move forward, they have to first let go of their past.

Although this is a family drama, I find this story witty and warm! I do love a good story that revolves around family and second chances. I really enjoyed reading this one despite the convenient ending but sometimes I need to take a break from my usual heavy and sad reads so this definitely hits the spot for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the arc.

This book is an emotional story about a dysfunctional family and the struggles of the siblings to learn to forgive and forget. When the youngest sister makes a phone call to the authorities, it causes legal troubles for her older brother and sister.. How can a family move forward after that? It is a story of family, forgiveness, healing emotional scars, and learning to move on. An excellent read for anyone who has a strained relationship with their family because it does provide hope that it can be resolved.

Nearly fifteen years ago when a party went wrong and emotions were high, seventeen year old Natalie made a call that caused her siblings, Jake and Lynn, to spend three years in prison. Since that time there has been no contact between the siblings and little very contact with their mother. When a letter arrives out of the blue, the siblings are advised of their mothers death and in order to claim her estate, they must all come back to their childhood home in Santa Cruz. Natalie is in the midst of questioning her own life and finds it the perfect time to “take a break” from her job and the boyfriend that just got her longed for promotion. Lynn shows up shortly thereafter with her son, Kit. She’s running from her abusive husband and sees a chance to start over, but Jake is mysteriously missing. No one knows where he is. Will they find him before the home is donated to charity and is there any chance at all of a reconciliation after all these years? Godfrey takes us on a journey of family, friendship, and forgiveness and does so in a way that the reader cares for the characters she has created and makes us want to know what happens next when the last page is turned. Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This story was pretty good.

It was definitely a character driven domestic drama, not a thriller (so if that’s not your thing you may want to skip this). It was also a bit too long, trimming it would have sharpened the plot.

The reveals are realistic and fitting. The romance was sweet. The ending provided a nice tidy wrap of all the subplots.

I would recommend this and read more by this author. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for a copy in exchange for a review.