I was somewhat disappointed in The Nest but I’m not completely sure why. The story is told in multiple points of view, each of the siblings and some other characters. I didn’t exactly get lost in the book. It was just average to me.
This is a story about a dysfunctional family, greed, drugs, relationships, and lies. It takes place in New York where the Plumb siblings have a large trust fund left to them by their late father. They cannot have access to the trust fund, which they call The Nest, until the youngest sibling, Melody turns 40. With Melody’s 40th birthday looming, one of the siblings, Leo, makes a horrible mistake and their mother has to tap into The Nest to get him out of trouble. The other siblings are furious over this decision. When Leo finds out that Francie had tapped into The Nest in order to get him out of trouble, he promises to pay his siblings back. His siblings do not trust Leo to pay them due to his previous actions. Basically, this book is about every dysfuctional family that has been ruined by an inheritance. Like I said before, I did not get lost in it, it wasn’t an amazing book, but it was a good book. The characters were somewhat relatable, I suppose.
Characters:
Melody: A classic housewife trying to be more upscale that her family can afford. She is married to Walter and has twin daughters named Nora and Louise. She is counting on The Nest to pay for her daughters’ college tuitions.
Jack: An antique dealer who has taken on more than he can handle. He is married to Walker, but his siblings do not know they are married. He has had numerous financial problems dealing with his barely afloat antique store. He secretly took out a loan and borrowed against his and Walker’s beach property. He is counting on The Nest to pay off the loan and keep their beach house and his business.
Bea: An almost famous writer. She had a couple of short stories published, thanks to her brother, Leo. Since then she has not been able to write her much anticipated novel and is working for a literary magazine. She is the only sibling who still has hope in Leo.
Leo: He is the whole reason for the mess with The Nest. One dumb mistake and he potentially ruined the lives of his three siblings. He is the party boy. The one who never takes responsibility for his actions. After his mistake, he lost his wife (who he didn’t really like) and his home. Luckily for him, the settlement included a confidentiality clause, so his mistake was kept secret.
You would think those four characters could tell the story quite easily. However, there are some add on characters that had me thinking “okay, who is this guy again?”
Norma and Louise: Melody’s twin daughters. Their mother expects them to be perfect. She spends weekends taking the girls on college tours and spends money they don’t have on SAT prep classes that the girls have started ditching instead. It is at these classes that the girls meet Simone. Simone opens up a whole new world to the girls.
Paul Underwood: Runs the literary magazine that Bea works for. He is secretly in love with Bea and has been for a while. I don’t really see him as a big player in this book until the very last chapter.
Tommy: I’m still not quite sure why his point of view was included. He was a security guard who lost his wife when the towers fell on 9/11. He ended up stealing a statue from Ground Zero that he thinks was a sign from his dead wife. Other than being a part of Jack’s desception to Walker, he plays no huge part in this story.
Stephanie: Leo’s on and off again flame. She is who Leo turns to when he gets out of rehab and is alone in the world. She has always loved Leo but has always had a problem with his personality. She may have the key to bring the Plumb family back together.
Matilda: She was involved in Leo’s big mistake and was the recipient of a large settlement from The Nest.
Vinny: I’m also not quite sure why Vinny’s point of view was included in this story. He is a military vetern, who lost an arm in combat. He helps Matilda thoughout her journey and ends up falling for her.
Rating: 3/5
-Amanda
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