Book Review: Families and Other Nonreturnable Items by Claire LaZebnik

Summary: Despite her name, Keats Sedlak is the sanest person in her large, nutty family of brilliant eccentrics. Her parents, both brainy academics, are barely capable of looking after themselves, let alone anyone else, and her two uber-intelligent siblings live on their own planets. At least she can count on one person in her life, her devoted boyfriend Tom. Down-to-earth and loving, he's the one thing that's kept Keats grounded for the last decade. But when Keats's mother makes a surprise announcement, the entire family is sent into a tailspin. For the first time, Keats can't pick up the pieces by herself. Now she must re-evaluate everything she's ever assumed about herself and her family - and make the biggest decision of her life.


Review: This was the first book I've ever read by Claire LaZebnik and I really enjoyed it! Keats was a really likable person and you really felt for her when she had to deal with her crazy, dysfunctional family. When I first realized that Tom and Keats had a huge age difference and they had started dating when she was 15, I was a little creeped out, but it really worked with the story. I really hated Hopkins but I loved Milton, so LaZebnik did a great job developing her characters and defining who they are. I enjoyed following Keats and watching her discover how she really wants to live her life. Her family sounds so crazy that I understood completely how Keats felt towards them. Keats really learns to understand the value of family and how you're stuck with what you have, so you should make the most of it. There were some slow parts to the book, but in the end it was a nice story.