Review: Hello From the Gillespies by Monica McInerney

Title: Hello From the Gillespies
Author: Monica McInerney
Format: Paperback
Publisher: NAL Trade
Publish Date: November 4, 2014
Source: I received a copy from the publisher; however, this did not affect my review.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "For the past thirty-three years, Angela Gillespie has sent to friends and family around the world an end-of-the-year letter titled “Hello from the Gillespies.” It’s always been cheery and full of good news. This year, Angela surprises herself—she tells the truth....

The Gillespies are far from the perfect family that Angela has made them out to be. Her husband is coping badly with retirement. Her thirty-two-year-old twins are having career meltdowns. Her third daughter, badly in debt, can’t stop crying. And her ten-year-old son spends more time talking to his imaginary friend than to real ones.

Without Angela, the family would fall apart. But when a bump on the head leaves Angela with temporary amnesia, the Gillespies pull together—and pull themselves together—in wonderfully surprising ways...."

My Two Cents:

In "Hello From the Gillespies," Angela is writing one of those end of the year letters that I am sure many of us have received or written at some point in time. Usually the letters are filled with glowing stories of a fabulous family that have you wondering if the stories are really real. Can anyone's life be good all the time? Angela has written many of these glowing letters but this year, she decides to do the unthinkable: she tells the truth and the truth is not as glossy as the fictions that she has told in all of the years before. This is a really story of what it means to be a family, warts in all. Families can fall apart or they can pull together. Now that her family knows what she thinks of them, it's up to them to decide what's next!

I really enjoyed this book. In Angela, we have a likeable character who is just trying to do her best. Her husband and she don't really talk anymore. Her three adult children are a mess and their lives are falling apart. Her young son is living in a dream world. Angela wants so badly for them to live the lives that she had written about in all of her previous holiday letters. I really felt for her plight. You really do only want the best for your family. I loved reading about this family. They each have their unique personalities and just when it thinks like they might fall apart, they do something really cool.

I really enjoyed the writing of this book. The author really does a great job of capturing all of the family members. I really enjoyed the way that she chose to tell this story. This marks the first book that I have ever read by Monica McInerney but after reading this one, I would love to read more!