The Nest: Cynthia D' Aprix Sweeny

This was a hard book to put down because the characters are so human. They have both ugly sides and good sides, where the reader can relate to both. In a family of four, two daughters and two sons- Leo, the eldest is the most charismatic and the most a mess. The book starts with Leo in an unhappy marriage, he takes the waitress at a party out for a ride in his car and they are in an accident. The girl loses her foot and Leo's family's inheritance money, that was supposed to be split four ways, mostly goes to pay off the waitress. The other children have made bad financial decisions and have been counting on the "nest" money as they've termed it. Throughout the book we learn about each character through both their narrative sections and with memories they have of the other family members both good and bad. Leo eventually takes off to the to another country hoping not to be found because he doesn't want to pay the "nest" money back. In the end each sibling finds peace with losing things they love in order to pay for their financial burden, but they are finally happy in the end. The siblings are back in each others lives with the exception of Leo. This book was about the strange dynamics of family and finding out what is important in life through finding yourself.