When I saw this book in a book club list, I was intrigued and I was pretty excited to give this book a go. It is not one I would have probably ever have picked up on my own, but that’s the beauty of book clubs.

Unfortunately, the book just didn’t really land with me. Repeatedly described as funny in reviews, on the cover, and by the woman who sold me the book, maybe it was oversold, but I just didn’t find it that funny at all. I like the idea of the story, but the humour is setup by the character flaws of the motley cast of this book. These characters include Prudence, a new yorker who inherited her uncle’s debts in addition to the rundown Woefield property, Earl, the crotchety farmhand with a past he’s avoiding, Seth, an early-20s alcoholic who has lived with his alcoholic mother since a mysterious incident with his drama teacher, and Sara, a young girl who keeps her chickens at Woefield, spending a lot of time there to avoid her father, who is verbally and physically abusive to her mother…. Sounds like a hoot, right? Spoilers ahead…

I mostly liked Prudence, and I found Earl’s pieces easy to read. But I had a hard time finding humour in Seth’s and Sara’s stories. Eventually we learn that Seth had had a relationship with his high school teacher (non-sexual, but intimate). Apart from that, there are at least two scenes where his alcoholism ends with him harassing women. I just couldn't find the humour. Sara makes friends with a born-again Christian girl and starts having anxiety about making it to heaven, all while her home life falls apart around her. Eventually her parents arrange for her to stay at Woefield, and she’s still there when the book ends. I just couldn’t find the humour there either.

Apart from that, the book just seemed to plug along too fast. So much happens so quickly, its hard to keep up and get to appreciate the characters and the farm. The ending comes quickly without really any resolution of any of the issues any of the characters were facing. It's the first book in a series,while I did like some parts, and despite what it seems like above, there were some funny parts, but overall I’m not inspired to pick up the next book in the series and learn more.