The Family

This novel is not at all what I expected. What I thought would be a gritty Godfather or Sopranos type story ended up being one of the best stories about female friendship I have ever read. This novel was so beautifully written and I loved the full cast of characters. One particular part of the book will stick with me forever but I don't want to give anything away to anyone wanting to read it. A stellar debut that puts Naomi Krupitsky on my list of "authors to watch."

The Family by Naomi Krupitsky caught my eye because I am obsessed with mafia movies so I was really excited to read this book. I enjoyed her writing style a lot and her atmospheric prose.

This was a coming of age of two daughters who are associated with the mob. I felt like majority of the book there wasn’t anything super groundbreaking but huge character development. The very end there was a direction and it was climatic.


*ARC received in exchange for review*

I can see why this was chosen for the Read with Jenna Book Club. This historical fiction is unlike anything I’ve read before.

Set in the 30s and 40s in Red Hook, NY, this is the story of two girls born into the Italian Mafia. Sophia and Antonia are the best of friends, neighbors, and daughters of local mob members.

The story spans their childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood as they navigate their relationships with each other and “The Family.”

It was captivating and wonderful to learn about lives of the women in the crime family.

This book has recently become my number one recommendation to others. The relationship of Sofia and Antonia and their families is incredible. You are immediately immersed into their families and Brooklyn during that war time and it will leave you wanting more from this author. Thank you for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful saga about two young women navigating their way in a crime family in the 1940s. Antonia and Sofia are as entwined as can be without being blood relatives. Both of their fathers- Carlo and Joey-are in the Family but they too are very different. Carlo, who wanted something more, disappears, changing life for Antonia and her mother Lina who makes her promise she won't marry a man in the family. Antonia has dreams of university but then there's Paolo, marriage, and motherhood. Sofia finds herself swept away by Saul, a Jew in the business and she too wants more. The relationship between these women is powerful and touching. Krupitsky has done a terrific job with crafting characters whose emotions run off the page. This might seem a little slow at the start but hang on for the powerful storytelling and an ending which surprised me. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Great read.