This was a very interesting book. It read differently than most books and I think it was because it felt a bit removed from the characters and story but also with deep knowledge of the characters? It was a unique style and it was interesting. I found the first half of the story to be a bit slow, it was interesting and it stuck with me but I was very easily distracted by anything and everything. The second half kept my interest a lot more easily, but I was frustrated with the choices the characters were making. I liked most of the characters pretty well, but I have to say this whole cast of characters was overall pretty frustrating. I did think Marley was onto something with her frustration with the Joseph family’s inability to ever say anything true or speak about anything. The small town of Mercury was not ready when Marley and her mother drove into and even more than the town the Joseph family wasn’t ready. The story starts in present day with Marley married to one Joseph brother, ex to another, and surrogate mother to the whole family. The story then goes back to her arrival and tells of how this rather dysfunctional family has been limping along. There is beauty even in the dysfunction of this family and these relationships. This is definitely a book that will stick with me and I think that is largely because I didn’t always like or agree with the characters and that can be powerful too. I went with 3.5 stars rounded up because this is a book that will be in my thoughts for a long time.