No family is perfect, right? That's not what 15-year-old Shelley Wollcott thinks. She, her younger brother Angus and older sister Joanna are the children of a twice-divorced man. Shelley knows her family is anything but normal, so when her immediate family is invited to her father's hometown of Barrington for a summer reunion, she's less than thrilled with the prospect of facing her perfect cousins, aunt and uncle — the Preffyns.With a new stepmother in tow, Shelley and Angus travel to Barrington to stay with their dad's sister, Aunt Maggie, her husband Uncle Todd, and their daughter Carolyn. When Shelley learns that her cousin Brett has run away from home and is living with friends, she realizes that the Preffyns' perfect family isn't so perfect after all.Throughout the novel, Shelley tries to uncover her father's past in Barrington. She looks up to him, who is perfect in her eyes, and realizes he made some bad choices in his youth. She loves her father regardless, and discovers that being perfect isn't everything. Everyone has their faults, not every family is picture-perfect, and one can learn to let go of their anger for people from the past.I thought this was an okay read. There aren't any huge conflicts, and things resolve nicely in the end. But I suppose you want to read a happy ending with a book like this.
So I've been on a quest to reread all my favorite books from childhood and YA novels from the 1980s heavily figured into that journey. This book was updated at some point after it was written so now it contains awkward "e-mails" and other plot inconsistencies that make no sense in the age of cell phones and wifi. Anyway, the story is cute but in no way did it hold up over time. It's unfortunate that the copy I read was the updated version because I think the original would have been more relevant and engaging. Does anyone else remember this book?
