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thephdivabooks's review against another edition
4.0
A charming contemporary family drama featuring a highly dysfunctional family with some endearingly quirky characters. Secrets, old rivalries, and resentment abound, bringing in drama caused by holding on to those secrets. I have to admit that if I were in this family, I’d probably keep secrets as well because ono-cohesive family unit is an understatement when describing this family!
The Feldmans are a dysfunctional family, as most evidenced by the fact that they have chosen to put as much physical distance between themselves to avoid spending more time to together than necessary. But when the matriarch of the family Annette is on the cusp of her 70th birthday, she asks the family to go on a 4-day cruise together to celebrate.
As Annette and her husband David, their daughter Elise and her husband, Elise’s two kids, Annette’s son Freddy, and Freddy’s (young) girlfriend board the ship, they have no idea the type of pressure cooker that their family has entered, and more than one secret will be outed aboard that ship!
Elise is hiding a huge secret from not only her parents, but her husband Mitch and her children. But she isn’t the only one! Mitch has something he is keeping from Elise as well. David hides a secret from Annette. And the biggest secret of all might be held by Freddy, whom everyone assumes is a burnout but is actually running a successful business.
On this crowded cruise ship with terrible food and not enough space for all of the Feldman’s and their baggage, secrets come to be revealed and the family realizes that perhaps they aren’t so different from one another after all.
This family is SO messed up, but surprisingly endearing! Elyssa Feldman’s characters are vivid and well-developed, creating a novel that feels somewhat like watching a play unfold. The interactions among the family members are among the most memorable scenes, and felt realistic. There was a nice sprinkling of humor to keep a smile on my face while I was reading.
I’ve never been on a cruise before because there was always something that would make me feel a bit trapped on a cruise ship. That claustrophobic feeling that I fear is rampant in this book. It isn’t the most favorable view of a cruise ship vacation, that is for certain! That said, the cover and marketing for this book are absolutely amazing. The nautical colors, the drawing, the port windows all really drew me to the book in an inexplicable way!
Can you imagine a family as dysfunctional as this all being trapped on a cruise ship together? It is a nightmare! They all of major secrets they are keeping from one another, and I found that this environment was the perfect setting for them to be forced to confront the truths that they’ve been hiding. This book highlights the notion that sometimes we struggle to be honest with those we should be the closest with.
The ending for me was sweet and came together well. I really enjoyed this book and I can imagine it would be a great vacation read. Perhaps a family vacation since there is no way your family is quite as dysfunctional as the Feldmans!
Thank you to Berkley for my copy. Opinions are my own.
The Feldmans are a dysfunctional family, as most evidenced by the fact that they have chosen to put as much physical distance between themselves to avoid spending more time to together than necessary. But when the matriarch of the family Annette is on the cusp of her 70th birthday, she asks the family to go on a 4-day cruise together to celebrate.
As Annette and her husband David, their daughter Elise and her husband, Elise’s two kids, Annette’s son Freddy, and Freddy’s (young) girlfriend board the ship, they have no idea the type of pressure cooker that their family has entered, and more than one secret will be outed aboard that ship!
Elise is hiding a huge secret from not only her parents, but her husband Mitch and her children. But she isn’t the only one! Mitch has something he is keeping from Elise as well. David hides a secret from Annette. And the biggest secret of all might be held by Freddy, whom everyone assumes is a burnout but is actually running a successful business.
On this crowded cruise ship with terrible food and not enough space for all of the Feldman’s and their baggage, secrets come to be revealed and the family realizes that perhaps they aren’t so different from one another after all.
This family is SO messed up, but surprisingly endearing! Elyssa Feldman’s characters are vivid and well-developed, creating a novel that feels somewhat like watching a play unfold. The interactions among the family members are among the most memorable scenes, and felt realistic. There was a nice sprinkling of humor to keep a smile on my face while I was reading.
I’ve never been on a cruise before because there was always something that would make me feel a bit trapped on a cruise ship. That claustrophobic feeling that I fear is rampant in this book. It isn’t the most favorable view of a cruise ship vacation, that is for certain! That said, the cover and marketing for this book are absolutely amazing. The nautical colors, the drawing, the port windows all really drew me to the book in an inexplicable way!
Can you imagine a family as dysfunctional as this all being trapped on a cruise ship together? It is a nightmare! They all of major secrets they are keeping from one another, and I found that this environment was the perfect setting for them to be forced to confront the truths that they’ve been hiding. This book highlights the notion that sometimes we struggle to be honest with those we should be the closest with.
The ending for me was sweet and came together well. I really enjoyed this book and I can imagine it would be a great vacation read. Perhaps a family vacation since there is no way your family is quite as dysfunctional as the Feldmans!
Thank you to Berkley for my copy. Opinions are my own.
kvreadsandrecs's review against another edition
3.0
A solid 3.5. It wasn’t amazing, but it was a fun tale.
lilyfleenor's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
shannonw19's review against another edition
5.0
The Feldman family - David; Annette, Elise, her husband Mitch; their kids, Darius and Rachel; and Elise's brother Freddy and his girlfriend, Natasha - go on a Caribbean cruise. The family is somewhat estranged and they are all hiding things from each other. After a disastrous dinner on formal night, the family tries to patch things up and rediscover each other.
I loved this book. It was funny and touching. The characters were well-drawn and all of them were well-written. The story moved along and got different perspectives as it was written in the third person. What I enjoyed most about Elyssa Friedland's book was the way she wrote Darius in particular. She captured so well the feelings and emotions of a teenage boy. She wrote Darius in a way that made me feel like I really, really knew him. I liked all her characters, but Darius was my favorite. Sensitive, insecure, nerdy, and all things teenage boy.
I particularly liked this books because it wrote the family dynamic between all of the Feldmans really well. You picked up on the angst Annette has over the whole family; the people-pleasing nature of Elise; the easy-going Mitch; the fuck-up Freddy. They are so richly drawn. It also makes a point of showing how looks and reputations can be deceiving, we are not the worst thing we do, and all families have some form for dysfunction and crazy.
No matter what kind of family you have or come from, you will identify with this book. It reminded me so much of my parents and grandparents and children and siblings. It's a really good book that you can't help but be sucked into and become a part of. I highly recommend this book.
I won this book and received no compensation in exchange for this review. The opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.
I loved this book. It was funny and touching. The characters were well-drawn and all of them were well-written. The story moved along and got different perspectives as it was written in the third person. What I enjoyed most about Elyssa Friedland's book was the way she wrote Darius in particular. She captured so well the feelings and emotions of a teenage boy. She wrote Darius in a way that made me feel like I really, really knew him. I liked all her characters, but Darius was my favorite. Sensitive, insecure, nerdy, and all things teenage boy.
I particularly liked this books because it wrote the family dynamic between all of the Feldmans really well. You picked up on the angst Annette has over the whole family; the people-pleasing nature of Elise; the easy-going Mitch; the fuck-up Freddy. They are so richly drawn. It also makes a point of showing how looks and reputations can be deceiving, we are not the worst thing we do, and all families have some form for dysfunction and crazy.
No matter what kind of family you have or come from, you will identify with this book. It reminded me so much of my parents and grandparents and children and siblings. It's a really good book that you can't help but be sucked into and become a part of. I highly recommend this book.
I won this book and received no compensation in exchange for this review. The opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.
rmarcin's review against another edition
3.0
I guess this book was supposed to be a funny look at a dysfunctional family, but I honestly didn't laugh at all. I felt the book was trying too hard to make things seem outrageous, e.g. the first scene in the book and the scene with the Baked Alaska.
I really didn't care about any of the characters, they were all absorbed in their own worlds.
The premise of the story is that Annette, the matriarch of the family, is turning 70, so she and her husband, David, invite their children and grandchildren to take a cruise together.
Elise and Freddy, siblings, haven't seen each other in quite some time. Elise is married to Mitch, and they have 2 children, Rachel and Darius. Freddy has a young girlfriend named Natasha. Elise and Mitch are both hiding secrets. Freddy hasn't told his family of his enormous success as the owner of a medical marijuana company. Annette hasn't told the family that David is dying.
While on the cruise, the family continues to be self-absorbed, and eventually everything comes to a head and secrets are spilled.
I thought this book was mediocre, but it did have some OK parts, just not enough.
#TheFloatingFeldmans #ElyssaFriedland
I really didn't care about any of the characters, they were all absorbed in their own worlds.
The premise of the story is that Annette, the matriarch of the family, is turning 70, so she and her husband, David, invite their children and grandchildren to take a cruise together.
Elise and Freddy, siblings, haven't seen each other in quite some time. Elise is married to Mitch, and they have 2 children, Rachel and Darius. Freddy has a young girlfriend named Natasha. Elise and Mitch are both hiding secrets. Freddy hasn't told his family of his enormous success as the owner of a medical marijuana company. Annette hasn't told the family that David is dying.
While on the cruise, the family continues to be self-absorbed, and eventually everything comes to a head and secrets are spilled.
I thought this book was mediocre, but it did have some OK parts, just not enough.
#TheFloatingFeldmans #ElyssaFriedland
hisparks23's review against another edition
3.0
This was very readable, somewhat enjoyable, somewhat forgettable and all in all not one I would go out of my way to either recommend or avoid. I feel like the human equivalent of this
cherylbookcollins's review against another edition
3.0
The reviews said so funny. It wasn't. I actually found it sad, the family was keeping so many secrets from each other, that they spent the whole time worrying about their lies.
megrosen88's review against another edition
3.0
The plot of this one is pretty thin but the family unit - at times dysfunctional and disorganized and at other times close knit and loving - takes center stage. Having been on two family cruises - one at age 12 and one at 19 - I totally understand how the close quarters of cruising can bring out both the best and worst in someone. An easy read that would be good for any vacation.