"This Is Where I Leave You" - Jonathon Tropper

Hello my fellow bibliophiles!

This is the first, of what I hope will be many, book reviews to come. This week I recently finished "This Is Where I Leave You" by Jonathon Tropper. Now I need to mention up front that I saw the movie first, unknowingly at the time, that it was a book. Like any respectful book reader, I ALWAYS read the book before watching the movie/TV adaptation. I know, I know. The movies are never as good as the books so why do I waste my time? Because I like movies and I'm a sucker for cinema! But fear not, don't go running yet. This is a book blog and I vow to review only the books!

To start off, I rated this book a 3.5 out of 5 on Goodreads (feel free to look me up on there!). It was witty and comical, sad and heart warming, and can easily be related to anyone with siblings. The story is about a family of four children, all who have went their own ways, brought back to their childhood home to sit Shiva for their father who has passed away. The story focuses mainly from one sibling's point of view but also winds through the different points he and his siblings are all at in their lives. Old disputes, family history, and sibling rivalries intertwined with the emotions of losing a beloved parent added up to a great story. While I have not had to deal with the loss of a parent, I felt I could easily relate to the story itself and feel what the characters were going through. And while the book can be vulgar and crude at times, it's honest and it's real. The comic wit between siblings adds a lighter note to the deeper issue of death that I felt really added a strong dimension to the book. It was an overall light, easy read that I had difficulty putting down. I would recommend this book to all my fellow readers!

As we grow and learn together, please feel free to comment and provide me feedback on my posts! Let me know your thoughts on the books too if you have read them or if they are on your "to-be-read" list. I love hearing other viewpoints! I know this blog is going to start off a little shaky, and I will probably not be posting as often as I would like, but I hope to have a new post up 2-3 times a week so please continue to check back or subscribe to my post for updates! Bare with me as I become more expressive and detailed with my reviews; it may take some time..... Happy reading fools :)

Side note: Since I mentioned earlier that I watched the movie before reading the book, I thought I would add a few comments about it. Cast for the characters was chosen very well. The movie followed along almost to a T as the book, which as many of you know doesn't happen as often as we would all like! I recommend it!