Family Size (Maria Hoagland)

Why I have this book: I was browsing LDS fiction on Amazon and this one was there. I had read another book by the author (Nourish and Strengthen - reviewed earlier) and liked it, so I gave this one a try.

I liked it, too. As in her other book, the "feel" of the book is interesting. Again, it's like snippets of events, a day here or there, where it's like you're peeking into the world of the characters. I can't really describe it, but it just has a different feel to it than most other books I read. It's not a bad thing... just different.

This book focuses on three different women more in depth than the other characters in the book. They each are struggling with their own challenges. It's just like real life... we often don't know what people are going through. We only see what they are willing to show, and sometimes we see things that cause us to assume things that aren't true. There is a good message about not judging.

The one oddity to me is the character of Elise. I still can't decide if I like her or not, but interestingly, we only see her at the surface. Maybe if we knew more about her life, it would be easier to like her. There are hints that she is a good person at heart, but she has a judgmental streak that overshadows her strengths, at least for me.  Anyway... she was a bigger character than most, but not as big as the three main characters, so... ?

It was also interesting to read the thoughts the women would have. The things they would think about themselves, about others... the labels, the expectations, the measuring sticks we use. Interesting to "see" those thoughts from the outside. Kind of sad, really, how women can think about other women and about ourselves.

This book also had some strong similarities to the book I just reviewed previously. Sometimes in my mind, I had to separate the two stories... they just had a few things that blurred together for me. (Maybe I shouldn't read two books so close together!)

Clean.