Every time I walked past this book on the shelf at the library, I was convinced I'd already read it. The cover and the title looked so familiar! Then the last time I went, the shelves looked really picked over, so I took this one out and actually read the blurb. And guess what? I hadn't already read it after all. So guess what I read over the weekend?
This is a fun, quick read - I read the whole thing on Sunday afternoon.
Charlie is the youngest of five kids and the only one still living at home. She's excited that this weekend all her siblings (except maybe Jamie who hasn't been home for 18 months) will be under one roof. For the last time. The house has been sold and her sister's wedding, for which they are all gathering, is the last thing they'll all do there.
One by one the family assemble, each arrival adding to the chaos the wedding is already wrecking. The wedding planner disappears, possibly with a large amount of embezzled cash. An unexpected dog is dropped off for a photo shoot the day after the wedding and won't stop howling. The burglar alarm seems to have a mind of its own and keeps shrieking. Charlie's favorite older brother brings home a girlfriend no one was expecting.
And this is just the beginning of the problems this family face as they prepare for the happiest day of Linnie's life.
The number of layers of chaos the author piled onto this wedding was almost unbelievable. Each time you felt like everything was as bad as it could get, something else would go awry. The marriage celebrant discovers he's not licensed to marry people in that state, the groom's suit was mistakenly given to someone else. The band will only play Journey covers. And even once the happy couple have walked down the aisle, the trouble doesn't stop. There's a lot of places things can go wrong at the reception too...
Despite being a little implausible that so many things could go wrong, this was a fun read. Each of the family members had distinct personalities and you could see how they'd all become who they were through living in this place together. The affection between the siblings was clear and even when they fought, you knew they'd still be okay afterward.
Over the three days the book covers, Charlie makes a lot of discoveries about herself, her family and the world around her. I enjoyed spending those three days with her, and knew at the end she'd be okay, even though her perception of her world and the people in it had shifted a little.
But don't just listen to me. Here's the blurb:
Charlie Grant's older sister is getting married this weekend at their family home, and Charlie can't wait for the first time in years, all four of her older siblings will be under one roof. Charlie is desperate for one last perfect weekend, before the house is sold and everything changes. The house will be filled with jokes and games and laughs again. Making decisions about things like what college to attend and reuniting with longstanding crush Jesse Foster all that can wait. She wants to focus on making the weekend perfect.
The only problem? The weekend is shaping up to be an absolute disaster. There's the unexpected dog with a penchant for howling, house alarm that won't stop going off, and a papergirl with a grudge.
There are the relatives who aren't speaking, the (awful) girl her favorite brother brought home unannounced, and a missing tuxedo. Not to mention the neighbor who seems to be bent on sabotage and a storm that is bent on drenching everything. The justice of the peace is missing. The band will only play covers. The guests are all crazy. And the wedding planner's nephew is unexpectedly, distractedly cute.
Over the course of three ridiculously chaotic days, Charlie will learn more than she ever expected about the family she thought she knew by heart. And she'll realize that sometimes, trying to keep everything like it was in the past means missing out on the future.
That does sound fun. I'm surprised it hasn't been made into a movie.
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