This review originally appeared on the book review blog: justonemorepaige.wordpress.com.

This was a fantastic snapshot of a year (ish) in the life of a wholly fascinating and completely relatable, if slightly dysfunctional, family. The four Plumb siblings have been waiting for years for the day the youngest of them turns 40. The day they are set to receive a hefty inheritance from their now departed father, dubbed years ago as "The Nest." But a fairly devastating accident causes their mother to mostly drain the funds from The Nest less than a year before the big payout.

The eldest, Leo, was the cause of the accident and now faces whether he will be able (or will even try) to pay back each of his siblings' shares. Two of the other siblings had their own plans for the money (Melody's daughters' college funds and her own sky-high house payments) or their own holes to dig out of (Jack's lines of credit drawn to keep his failing business afloat). And one, Bea, is that sibling that just wants to help the rest. She doesn't need a lot nor have much as far as plans of her own, after a brief moment of renown as an author fizzled away years ago. As each of the siblings' stories are fleshed out, we also get glimpses into the lives of those adjacent to them: Melody's twins (growing up and beginning to learn about themselves separate from each other), Paul Underwood (coworker and long time admirer of Bea), Stephanie (family friend and on again-off again flame of Leo's), Matilda (the unfortunate "collateral damage" in Leo's accident), Tommy O'Toole (Stephanie's neighbor and part of Jack's devious monetary Plan B), and more. As the book progresses, the reader is taken on a thoroughly engrossing journey through each of these lives and their intersections.

What we see is that, of course, no family and no life is perfect. Each person has their own lies, their own failures and tragedies, but also their own triumphs, their own discoveries and joys. It's a fantastic depiction of character development (or lack thereof), within a plot that is both real and allows for that kind of development, while simultaneously staying in the background enough to let the characters themselves take center stage. I loved the mix of characters. Some that really discovered things about themselves, that rose to the challenges they faced or, alternatively, broke under the pressure. Some that made those discoveries about others around them and either adjusted, or didn't, accordingly. And others that stayed exactly the same, acting as they always had. It was such a realistic view of family, of social relations, and of the power of money to change people, that was neither boring nor overly dramatized.

For each reader there will be someone in this story, at least one character, who they completely recognize. And that's the real success of this novel: no matter who you are or what family you come from, there is something here that is personal, tangible and familiar.