Book Review - The Arrivals

by: Meg Mitchell Moore

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:
It's early summer when Ginny and William's peaceful life in Vermont comes to an abrupt halt.

First, their daughter Lillian arrives, with her two children in tow, to escape her crumbling marriage. Next, their son Stephen and his pregnant wife Jane show up for a weekend visit, which extends indefinitely when Jane ends up on bed rest. When their youngest daughter Rachel appears, fleeing her difficult life in New York, Ginny and William find themselves consumed again by the chaos of parenthood - only this time around, their children are facing adult problems.

By summer's end, the family gains new ideas of loyalty and responsibility, exposing the challenges of surviving the modern family - and the old adage, once a parent, always a parent, has never rung so true.

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I'm going to gush. I think this would be classified as "chick lit" but I would call it "just a story" which is my favorite kind of story. Ginny and William have settled into their retired life together when their adult children return home with their children, pregnant spouses or just alone. The house is filled to busting and William and Ginny take turns being annoyed by it. I loved this, because that's how it usually goes in a relationship. It's a good way to support each other.

Which leads to the other reason I adored this story. Each character is human, realistic. No one is all good or all bad, you WILL get annoyed with every character in this book. I find that more engaging than characters that are sweeter than a cupcake.

And there were numerous plot points, or story lines. Some I sort of knew where they were going to end, but even then it was a fun ride with nothing truly known for sure until it ended. There is lots of sadness, anger and tons of hope.

It also clearly paints a picture of what it's like when you want to be a parent, when you are waiting to become one, when you are one and when your kids are all grown. I think it was a brilliant way to play out not only a great story, but a sneaky way to play out a 30+ year timeline.