The writing style of this author is welcoming, and brings the reader to a time that maybe no longer exists. The reader observes a loving father, in a definite envious manner, as not many dads are the ones in charge of taking care of the kids - not the dad you would find during the 1950s when kids were seen and not heard. The sadness comes right from the beginning; a young man walking away from who he is to become a young man that the world expects. It is also a place (for the reader) of sadness and anger because he also chose to involve a young woman who may have made a different choice in her selection of boyfriend and husband. What I didn't like about this first read is that the author packs too much into her descriptions without really telling the reader much. I'd like to know why they moved from one house to another when the first house seemed perfect. Was there a change in finances? I also found that going from the introduction to the past jumped too quickly; maybe a different approach would have been better. The odd thing is that I would like to continue the read. I think that I connect to the story because of the time period. The author is nine years older than I am which is about the same age as one of my many siblings and her brothers and sisters are the same age as my brother and sisters. A relationship to a book is important regardless of how tenuous that relationship.