House Broken

HouseBroken by Sonya Yoerg is an interesting book.  It is about families with their struggles and their secrets and how they overcome them.

It looks at the lives of Geneva Novak, a veterinarian (she prefers dealing with animals to humans), and her family (and what a family she has)!  Her husband, Tom, looks at life through rose colored glasses. Her children, Charlie and Ella, are seriously lacking discipline, rules, and someone to keep a close eye on them!  Geneva’s mother, Helen, is the worst of them all.  She is an alcoholic that refuses to reform.  Geneva has done her best to distance herself from her mother, Helen, and her behavior.  Helen started drinking heavily after her husband passed away. 

However, Helen gets into a car accident, while drunk, and needs assistance while she recovers.  Tom suggests that Helen stay with the Novak’s while she recovers.  Geneva dislikes the idea, at first, but realizes it is the right thing to do and, maybe, she can repair her relationship with Helen.  Geneva and her family go through a period of discovery and revelations.  Geneva uncovers long buried family secrets that explains Helen’s behavior, Tom and Geneva grow closer together, and unexpected revelations regarding Ella and Charlie.

After I first started reading this book, I was not sure I would enjoy the book, but after a while, I could not put it down.  I wanted to see what would happen with Geneva, Tom, Ella, Charlie, and Helen.

This is an excellent debut novel by Sonja Yoerg.  It is about real life and real families. Not something that I would want to read all the time (because I see reading as a way of getting away from real life), but enjoyable.  I received a complimentary copy of this book through Penguin’s First to Read Program.  

House Broken is released January 6, 2015!  Thank you for visiting and reading my review.  I wish you Happy Reading!

Kris