What doyouthink?
Rate this book
Little Monsters
Ken and Abby Gardner lost their mother when they were small and they have been haunted by her absence ever since. Their father, Adam, a brilliant oceanographer, raised them mostly on his own in his remote home on Cape Cod, where the attachment between Ken and Abby deepened into something complicated—and as adults their relationship is strained. Now, years later, the siblings’ lives are still deeply entwined. Ken is a successful businessman with political ambitions and a picture-perfect family and Abby is a talented visual artist who depends on her brother’s goodwill, in part because he owns the studio where she lives and works.
As the novel opens, Adam is approaching his seventieth birthday, staring down his mortality and fading relevance. He has always managed his bipolar disorder with medication, but he’s determined to make one last scientific breakthrough and so he has secretly stopped taking his pills, which he knows will infuriate his children. Meanwhile, Abby and Ken are both harboring secrets of their own, and there is a new person on the periphery of the family—Steph, who doesn’t make her connection known. As Adam grows more attuned to the frequencies of the deep sea and less so to the people around him, Ken and Abby each plan the elaborate gifts they will present to their father on his birthday, jostling for primacy in this small family unit.
Set in the fraught summer of 2016, and drawing on the biblical tale of Cain and Abel,Little Monstersis an absorbing, sharply observed family story by a writer who knows Cape Cod inside and out—its Edenic lushness and its snakes.
As the novel opens, Adam is approaching his seventieth birthday, staring down his mortality and fading relevance. He has always managed his bipolar disorder with medication, but he’s determined to make one last scientific breakthrough and so he has secretly stopped taking his pills, which he knows will infuriate his children. Meanwhile, Abby and Ken are both harboring secrets of their own, and there is a new person on the periphery of the family—Steph, who doesn’t make her connection known. As Adam grows more attuned to the frequencies of the deep sea and less so to the people around him, Ken and Abby each plan the elaborate gifts they will present to their father on his birthday, jostling for primacy in this small family unit.
Set in the fraught summer of 2016, and drawing on the biblical tale of Cain and Abel,Little Monstersis an absorbing, sharply observed family story by a writer who knows Cape Cod inside and out—its Edenic lushness and its snakes.
320 pages, ebook
First published June 27, 2023
About the author
Adrienne Brodeur
6books707followersAdrienne Brodeur is the author of the novel "Little Monsters," a New York Times Editor's Choice and a Vogue Best Book of 2023, and the memoir “Wild Game,” which was a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, NPR, People, and the Washington Post. Both "Little Monster" and "Wild Game" are in development as films. She founded the literary magazine, “Zoetrope: All-Story” with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, was an acquiring editor at HMH Books, and served as a judge for the National Book Award. Her essays have appeared in Glamour, O Magazine, The National, The New York Times, Vogue, and other publications. She is the Executive Director of the literary nonprofit, Aspen Words
Ratings&Reviews
Friends&Following
Create a free accountto discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,927 reviews
May 28, 2023
I was very excited to read this book, as I loved the author’s memoir “Wild Game” (which I gave five stars to). The synopsis of this book sounded interesting as I love reading about family dysfunction. The cover of the book is also beautiful. However, I’m left very underwhelmed after having just finished reading this.
This will be a brief review, as I don’t have much to say. In fact, I kept waiting and waiting for something major to happen, but it never did. We have the story of Abby and Ken, who are brother and sister. Abby and Ken were raised by their single father, Adam. Adam is bipolar, and he likes to quit taking his medications from time to time. Therefore, Abby and Ken are pretty much trained to know when he is having a manic episode. Abby and Ken’s mother died while giving birth to Abby, so there seems to always have been some resentment and competition between the two of them. Their once very close relationship has since pushed them apart.
This book is told in alternating chapters between the characters. In this way we learn a bit about their lives, and what they are currently going through. We also get introduced to Steph, and we learn of her upbringing and family dynamics as well. We have many political references throughout the book (as this book is based during the 2016 election year), and I felt that they were quite unnecessary. The only chapters that I looked forward to were that of Adam’s (the father), as that was the only time I would get a chuckle or two.
I didn’t get much from this story, as I struggled through it and didn’t feel any connection towards the characters. In the end, 2.5 stars- rounded up.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster, and the author for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. Publication date: June 27, 2023.
Genre- Women’s Fiction, General Fiction (Adult).
This will be a brief review, as I don’t have much to say. In fact, I kept waiting and waiting for something major to happen, but it never did. We have the story of Abby and Ken, who are brother and sister. Abby and Ken were raised by their single father, Adam. Adam is bipolar, and he likes to quit taking his medications from time to time. Therefore, Abby and Ken are pretty much trained to know when he is having a manic episode. Abby and Ken’s mother died while giving birth to Abby, so there seems to always have been some resentment and competition between the two of them. Their once very close relationship has since pushed them apart.
This book is told in alternating chapters between the characters. In this way we learn a bit about their lives, and what they are currently going through. We also get introduced to Steph, and we learn of her upbringing and family dynamics as well. We have many political references throughout the book (as this book is based during the 2016 election year), and I felt that they were quite unnecessary. The only chapters that I looked forward to were that of Adam’s (the father), as that was the only time I would get a chuckle or two.
I didn’t get much from this story, as I struggled through it and didn’t feel any connection towards the characters. In the end, 2.5 stars- rounded up.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster, and the author for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. Publication date: June 27, 2023.
Genre- Women’s Fiction, General Fiction (Adult).
July 28, 2023
Little Monstersby Adrienne Brodeur is an Intricate Family and Literary Fiction Story!
The Gardner Family of Cape Cod are a complicated trio!
Older brother Ken, a successful businessman is focused on a future in politics. He already has a seemingly perfect family in his wife Jenny, and twin daughters. It's all part of his grandiose plan.
Younger sister Abby, an artist who's hopes are riding high for the big break she's been chasing. Quitting her teaching job and focusing on her talent is her dream.
Their dad Adam, a renown oceanographer, is turning seventy, forced into retirement, feeling pushed out and irrelevant. He knows his bipolar disorder is putting him into a spin but he's planning something big and intentionally using his medication to prove a point.
You with me so far? Let's digress:
When Ken was a toddler and Abby a newborn their mother died leaving Adam to raise them alone. Her death left a void, yet growing up Ken and Abby were inseparable and unbelievably close. Now, as adults, their relationship is tense, the air thick and uncomfortable when they're in the same room together.
This family is so good at keeping secrets from one another and pretending they know each other so well that as the cracks continue to widen between them, a surprise none of them anticipates is lurking right around the corner...
Little Monstersdrew me in first by its cover, second by the synopsis, and lastly by the author's storytelling and beautiful writing style. I adore Family Fiction, the more complicated the better. This is described as being drawn from the biblical tale of "Cain and Abel" and perhaps there are hints of it here and there, but this story definitely stands on its own.
Building a solid backstory and diverse characters takes time so if you're expecting a whip fast pace, you won't find it here. Here you'll find an authentic reflection of how day-to-day life moves forward, often slowly because real life takes time and getting to know the characters always lead to a better experience.
Emotions run high and low on these pages and there are lots of pieces and parts to this complex family puzzle. They don't fit together cohesively and may not ever fit quite right or work for the reader by the story's end. Sometimes that's how families are, disjointed, dysfunctional, and working with what they have and keeping it together as best they can.
I love these messed up characters who are easy to either love or love to hate. Their issues, their journeys, their goals are what spark a thread of connection in this reader. It's the reason I love Family Fiction and why I highly recommendLittle Monstersto others who love it, too!
4.25⭐
Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Adrienne Brodeur for a physical ARC of this book through Shelf Awareness GLOW. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review.
The Gardner Family of Cape Cod are a complicated trio!
Older brother Ken, a successful businessman is focused on a future in politics. He already has a seemingly perfect family in his wife Jenny, and twin daughters. It's all part of his grandiose plan.
Younger sister Abby, an artist who's hopes are riding high for the big break she's been chasing. Quitting her teaching job and focusing on her talent is her dream.
Their dad Adam, a renown oceanographer, is turning seventy, forced into retirement, feeling pushed out and irrelevant. He knows his bipolar disorder is putting him into a spin but he's planning something big and intentionally using his medication to prove a point.
You with me so far? Let's digress:
When Ken was a toddler and Abby a newborn their mother died leaving Adam to raise them alone. Her death left a void, yet growing up Ken and Abby were inseparable and unbelievably close. Now, as adults, their relationship is tense, the air thick and uncomfortable when they're in the same room together.
This family is so good at keeping secrets from one another and pretending they know each other so well that as the cracks continue to widen between them, a surprise none of them anticipates is lurking right around the corner...
Little Monstersdrew me in first by its cover, second by the synopsis, and lastly by the author's storytelling and beautiful writing style. I adore Family Fiction, the more complicated the better. This is described as being drawn from the biblical tale of "Cain and Abel" and perhaps there are hints of it here and there, but this story definitely stands on its own.
Building a solid backstory and diverse characters takes time so if you're expecting a whip fast pace, you won't find it here. Here you'll find an authentic reflection of how day-to-day life moves forward, often slowly because real life takes time and getting to know the characters always lead to a better experience.
Emotions run high and low on these pages and there are lots of pieces and parts to this complex family puzzle. They don't fit together cohesively and may not ever fit quite right or work for the reader by the story's end. Sometimes that's how families are, disjointed, dysfunctional, and working with what they have and keeping it together as best they can.
I love these messed up characters who are easy to either love or love to hate. Their issues, their journeys, their goals are what spark a thread of connection in this reader. It's the reason I love Family Fiction and why I highly recommendLittle Monstersto others who love it, too!
4.25⭐
Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Adrienne Brodeur for a physical ARC of this book through Shelf Awareness GLOW. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review.
May 13, 2023
4+
It’s April 2016 and Adam Gardner is suffering from insomnia and trying to decipher the clues his mind is depositing. He is bipolar but this has never stopped him from making the most of life. He has had an excellent career as an acclaimed oceanographer working at a renowned institute on Cape Cod. He raises his two children, his little monsters, (mostly) singlehanded after his much loved first wife dies aged 30. As his 70th birthday approaches in a few months both his children consider an appropriate gift for him. Ken Gardner in Chatham contemplates all the money winging its way into his account right now as the deal of a lifetime goes ahead. Maybe there’s something there he can gift his father. His sister Abby is a teacher and an artist, so perhaps some art for her father’s birthday will suffice. She has a secret she is keeping from her family despite the fact that her life and that of Ken’s have always been deeply entwined. Meanwhile, Steph, a Boston police officer and a new mother makes a discovery that rocks her world. How does she fit in with the Gardner clan? The countdown is on to the party of the year, let’s hope it all goes smoothly.
This is a wonderfully written family/sibling saga with the language at times being almost lyrical and poetic. Some of the strongest descriptions emanate from Adam’s mind which is a creative thing of beauty. His sometime fragile mental state is treated throughout with empathy. Equally strong are the vivid descriptions of Cape Cod, giving you such a strong sense of place that I’m transported back to a fabulous holiday I spent there, including the inevitable whale watching!
The book has multiple themes such as family, sibling rivalry and ambition and family dynamics and dysfunction. I also love the art we get via the character of Abby. All the characters are well portrayed and feel authentic. The men are less likeable than the women as some are certainly narcissistic although whilst Adam is judgy, he is also amusing in his non pc world and is also charismatic. The female characters are capable and resilient. I also like the strong context of 2016 with THAT looming election which is woven cleverly into the storytelling. The unfolding drama contains wit and humour, it’s smart, a little bit dark on occasions and the different perspectives flow smoothly and keep the focus. As the party draws near so the drama escalates, the tension builds and erupts at the celebrations.
Overall, this is a very good, enjoyable, entertaining summer read and one to become absorbed in as it’s a genuine page turner.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Penguin Random House for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
It’s April 2016 and Adam Gardner is suffering from insomnia and trying to decipher the clues his mind is depositing. He is bipolar but this has never stopped him from making the most of life. He has had an excellent career as an acclaimed oceanographer working at a renowned institute on Cape Cod. He raises his two children, his little monsters, (mostly) singlehanded after his much loved first wife dies aged 30. As his 70th birthday approaches in a few months both his children consider an appropriate gift for him. Ken Gardner in Chatham contemplates all the money winging its way into his account right now as the deal of a lifetime goes ahead. Maybe there’s something there he can gift his father. His sister Abby is a teacher and an artist, so perhaps some art for her father’s birthday will suffice. She has a secret she is keeping from her family despite the fact that her life and that of Ken’s have always been deeply entwined. Meanwhile, Steph, a Boston police officer and a new mother makes a discovery that rocks her world. How does she fit in with the Gardner clan? The countdown is on to the party of the year, let’s hope it all goes smoothly.
This is a wonderfully written family/sibling saga with the language at times being almost lyrical and poetic. Some of the strongest descriptions emanate from Adam’s mind which is a creative thing of beauty. His sometime fragile mental state is treated throughout with empathy. Equally strong are the vivid descriptions of Cape Cod, giving you such a strong sense of place that I’m transported back to a fabulous holiday I spent there, including the inevitable whale watching!
The book has multiple themes such as family, sibling rivalry and ambition and family dynamics and dysfunction. I also love the art we get via the character of Abby. All the characters are well portrayed and feel authentic. The men are less likeable than the women as some are certainly narcissistic although whilst Adam is judgy, he is also amusing in his non pc world and is also charismatic. The female characters are capable and resilient. I also like the strong context of 2016 with THAT looming election which is woven cleverly into the storytelling. The unfolding drama contains wit and humour, it’s smart, a little bit dark on occasions and the different perspectives flow smoothly and keep the focus. As the party draws near so the drama escalates, the tension builds and erupts at the celebrations.
Overall, this is a very good, enjoyable, entertaining summer read and one to become absorbed in as it’s a genuine page turner.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Penguin Random House for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
June 30, 2023
Siblings Ken and Abby Gardner have always stayed involved in each other’s lives, once close, yet feeling adrift after losing their mother when they were young children. Ken is a successful businessman with political aspirations and Abby is an artist. Their father, Adam, is a smart oceanographer although at times, wasn’t always the best father.
Now as Adam’s 70th birthday approaches, Ken and Abby have to confront secrets they’re both keeping and as it turns out, they aren’t the only ones.
Told through multiple POVs,Little Monstershas the right balance of family drama, flawed characters and the coastal, summer setting of Cape Cod.
Thank you to Avid Reader Press for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Now as Adam’s 70th birthday approaches, Ken and Abby have to confront secrets they’re both keeping and as it turns out, they aren’t the only ones.
Told through multiple POVs,Little Monstershas the right balance of family drama, flawed characters and the coastal, summer setting of Cape Cod.
Thank you to Avid Reader Press for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 14, 2023
When I first received an unsolicited copy of Little Monsters to review, my immediate assumption is that it would turn out to be an elevated beach read. The cover – a Cape Cod beach setting – and the description of a complicated family with secrets to share reminded me of many others with similar plotting that always appear in the early months of summer.
But I read the first few pages and by the time I completed the first chapter, there was no way I was coming up for air. This book is darn good and has a depth to it and psychological insights that I did not anticipate. I devoured Little Monsters and I believe it is going to be one of those rare books that both literary readers and escapist readers can equally enjoy.
The book begins with the impending retirement and 70th birthday of a famed oceanographer, Adam Gardner, coming to grips with the realization that at the end of the day, our relevance in the world is not what we believed it to be in youth. After the untimely death of his wife, he raised two children – Ken and Abby – by himself, and even though he was a remote father, both of them have displayed great promise in their fields. He also has a third child, Steph, of whom he is unaware. These are the primary narrators of this book.
But drill down a little and there are unresolved traumas that must be healed and secrets that must come out. These fully-realized characters are each on the cusp of singing their own songs – much like the whales that Adam studies – and grasping control of their own destinies. The writing is confident with sharp narrative tension and sharply observed episodes that lead to growth and understanding as the book proceeds. In particular, therapy sessions between Ken and his psychoanalyst, George, are beautifully illuminated.
With the Cape Cod setting in the background and the last months of national innocence before a sociopathic reality star claims the presidency, this is a snapshot of a place and a time and most of all, of a family that we come to know very well. I thank Simon and Schuster and its imprint, Avid Reader Press, for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for an honest review.
But I read the first few pages and by the time I completed the first chapter, there was no way I was coming up for air. This book is darn good and has a depth to it and psychological insights that I did not anticipate. I devoured Little Monsters and I believe it is going to be one of those rare books that both literary readers and escapist readers can equally enjoy.
The book begins with the impending retirement and 70th birthday of a famed oceanographer, Adam Gardner, coming to grips with the realization that at the end of the day, our relevance in the world is not what we believed it to be in youth. After the untimely death of his wife, he raised two children – Ken and Abby – by himself, and even though he was a remote father, both of them have displayed great promise in their fields. He also has a third child, Steph, of whom he is unaware. These are the primary narrators of this book.
But drill down a little and there are unresolved traumas that must be healed and secrets that must come out. These fully-realized characters are each on the cusp of singing their own songs – much like the whales that Adam studies – and grasping control of their own destinies. The writing is confident with sharp narrative tension and sharply observed episodes that lead to growth and understanding as the book proceeds. In particular, therapy sessions between Ken and his psychoanalyst, George, are beautifully illuminated.
With the Cape Cod setting in the background and the last months of national innocence before a sociopathic reality star claims the presidency, this is a snapshot of a place and a time and most of all, of a family that we come to know very well. I thank Simon and Schuster and its imprint, Avid Reader Press, for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for an honest review.
July 17, 2023
Man, am I glad that’s over. This book was not good. I was intrigued at its start as I was introduced to the following four people:
• Adam, a seventy-year-old man who has ceased taking his medications for bipolar disorder in an effort to harness his lifelong research on whales;
• Ken, an arrogant, rich man who, from the outside, seemingly has it all;
• Abby, an up-and-coming artist who has become pregnant by a married man; and
• Steph, a Boston police officer whose biological father has just been revealed to her after years of her mother’s lies.
As you can see, there are several secrets spiraling around these characters. To be honest, that’s all you need to know about this book. The remaining painstakingly slow pages crescendo to Adam’s seventieth birthday party, and it is no surprise to the reader when all of the secrets have reared their ugly heads. There was no character development and the individuals were all just as shitty as they were when the book started. Blah. Would not recommend.
• Adam, a seventy-year-old man who has ceased taking his medications for bipolar disorder in an effort to harness his lifelong research on whales;
• Ken, an arrogant, rich man who, from the outside, seemingly has it all;
• Abby, an up-and-coming artist who has become pregnant by a married man; and
• Steph, a Boston police officer whose biological father has just been revealed to her after years of her mother’s lies.
As you can see, there are several secrets spiraling around these characters. To be honest, that’s all you need to know about this book. The remaining painstakingly slow pages crescendo to Adam’s seventieth birthday party, and it is no surprise to the reader when all of the secrets have reared their ugly heads. There was no character development and the individuals were all just as shitty as they were when the book started. Blah. Would not recommend.
February 21, 2023
Adrienne Brodeur (Wild Game) is a master when it comes to writing about family dysfunction and her portrayal of a bi-polar, narcissistic father and his flawed but fully human children is spot-on. You'd think that might be dark, but instead it's wicked smart, often witty, and always insightful. I don't know which part I liked best—the father's virtuoso ramblings on whale songs, the daughter's art, the son's self-justifications, the kick-ass half-sister, the party that blows sky high, or the fact that I got to toggle between one and the other and see things from all sides.
Want to read
February 12, 2024i liked this author's memoir.
i have no idea if that means i'll like this book.
i have no idea if that means i'll like this book.
July 19, 2023
Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur was a captivating book that took place on scenic Cape Cod over the late spring and summer months of 2016. It was centered around a family that was dysfunctional at best. Adding to the flaws of this family were an abundance of secrets, a rivalry between siblings that appeared to be beyond remedy, a well guarded pregnancy, a newly discovered parentage and the 2016 presidential election between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Donald Trump. Little Monsters was a family drama that portrayed imperfect characters with believable flaws. The chapters alternated between the various characters and their respective POVs.
Adam Gardner was turning seventy years old in 2016. He was an accomplished oceanographer who was obsessed with his study of whales. Retirement had been the last thing on Adam’s mind but here he was turning seventy and no longer employed. Adam suffered from a bipolar disorder. He was not always vigilant about taking his prescribed medications. Adam lost his wife just when his daughter, Abby was born. Ken, Abby’s older brother, always subconsciously blamed Abby for his mother’s death. Abby and Ken were close when they were growing up until something happened that changed their relationship and it had remained somewhat distant ever since. Adam raised Ken and Abby the best that he could. He was not always the most reliable or best father, though. Ken and Abby were now grown. Ken was married to his beautiful wife, Jenny, and had twin twelve year old daughters. He was a successful businessman with aspirations toward a political career. Abby was an artist who was on the verge of receiving her first real break. Her art was finally receiving the recognition it deserved. Abby lived and worked in her late mother’s artist studio. Her mother had designed the structure, had it built and used it as her studio when she was alive. The only negative thing about it was that her brother, Ken, owned the building and held that fact over Abby’s head.
As Adam’s special birthday celebration approached, the tension between the family members began to escalate. Just below the surface, a host of secrets were kept close and guarded. Would the secrets remain hidden or would they be flushed out and exposed? Could Ken, Abby and Jenny pull off the grand celebration Adam had wanted and practically demanded from them? Would all their secrets get in the way of executing the “perfect” party for Adam’s seventieth birthday?
Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur was well written and really captured the essence of scenic Cape Cod with its stunning landscape and foliage. I loved the descriptions of Jenny’s exquisite flower garden and the part when Adam was on his boat and his beloved whales surfaced on cue. It was so easy to visualize the lush scenery and natural habitats for all the birds and animals that resided there. I really enjoyed how Adrienne Brodeur created strong female characters who were capable, intelligent and independent. The possibility of a female president was embraced especially by Ken’s and Jenny’s twin daughters. As Little Monsters progressed, the dynamics of the Gardner family became increasingly complicated, verging on being dysfunctional. There were several themes that were explored. Among them were family, friendship, sibling rivalry, mental health, consequences for impulsive behaviors and actions, expectations and ambitions. Overall, I enjoyed reading Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur and highly recommend it.
Thank you to Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster for allowing me to read Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Adam Gardner was turning seventy years old in 2016. He was an accomplished oceanographer who was obsessed with his study of whales. Retirement had been the last thing on Adam’s mind but here he was turning seventy and no longer employed. Adam suffered from a bipolar disorder. He was not always vigilant about taking his prescribed medications. Adam lost his wife just when his daughter, Abby was born. Ken, Abby’s older brother, always subconsciously blamed Abby for his mother’s death. Abby and Ken were close when they were growing up until something happened that changed their relationship and it had remained somewhat distant ever since. Adam raised Ken and Abby the best that he could. He was not always the most reliable or best father, though. Ken and Abby were now grown. Ken was married to his beautiful wife, Jenny, and had twin twelve year old daughters. He was a successful businessman with aspirations toward a political career. Abby was an artist who was on the verge of receiving her first real break. Her art was finally receiving the recognition it deserved. Abby lived and worked in her late mother’s artist studio. Her mother had designed the structure, had it built and used it as her studio when she was alive. The only negative thing about it was that her brother, Ken, owned the building and held that fact over Abby’s head.
As Adam’s special birthday celebration approached, the tension between the family members began to escalate. Just below the surface, a host of secrets were kept close and guarded. Would the secrets remain hidden or would they be flushed out and exposed? Could Ken, Abby and Jenny pull off the grand celebration Adam had wanted and practically demanded from them? Would all their secrets get in the way of executing the “perfect” party for Adam’s seventieth birthday?
Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur was well written and really captured the essence of scenic Cape Cod with its stunning landscape and foliage. I loved the descriptions of Jenny’s exquisite flower garden and the part when Adam was on his boat and his beloved whales surfaced on cue. It was so easy to visualize the lush scenery and natural habitats for all the birds and animals that resided there. I really enjoyed how Adrienne Brodeur created strong female characters who were capable, intelligent and independent. The possibility of a female president was embraced especially by Ken’s and Jenny’s twin daughters. As Little Monsters progressed, the dynamics of the Gardner family became increasingly complicated, verging on being dysfunctional. There were several themes that were explored. Among them were family, friendship, sibling rivalry, mental health, consequences for impulsive behaviors and actions, expectations and ambitions. Overall, I enjoyed reading Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur and highly recommend it.
Thank you to Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster for allowing me to read Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
October 9, 2023
A familial drama with alternating POV’s that traverses their lives but doesn’t really seem to go anywhere.
This story is slow and steady the whole way through. We get a slow unraveling of the two children/ adults and their father that shares glimpses of who they are and how their relationships became so disconnected yet strongly gnarled together.
I wasn’t a fan of how slow the story was and nothing really riveting happens in this story. This very much just feels like we follow the MC’s back and forth until the very end of the story which just didn’t resonate with me.
ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This story is slow and steady the whole way through. We get a slow unraveling of the two children/ adults and their father that shares glimpses of who they are and how their relationships became so disconnected yet strongly gnarled together.
I wasn’t a fan of how slow the story was and nothing really riveting happens in this story. This very much just feels like we follow the MC’s back and forth until the very end of the story which just didn’t resonate with me.
ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 6, 2023
[ 2.5 ] going to try my best to explain my thoughts here… 😅 Sometimes I struggle reading and reviewing literary fiction in bookish communities because there is a pressure that you have to like it, and if you don’t you must not “get it.” You must not understand the themes. You must suffer. You must enjoy said suffering.
Purposefully-unlikable and flawed characters are common with litfic, so if you don’t like the book “because of the characters,” the feedback is, “That’s the whole point!”
I like unlikable characters.
But I think there’s a difference between not liking it because the characters aren’t likable vs. not liking how the unlikable characters were handled.
I like unlikable characters.
When they’re interesting, nuanced, have some shred of likability. Some sort of character arc, like at all. Abby was fine. Everyone else? Insufferable.
I don’t need to suffer just to say I “get it.” I got it, and I didn’t like getting it.
——
Another note I’ll add is I’m always sensitive to books that include characters with bipolar disorder. Is there ever a bipolar character that isn’t the villain? Isn’t the source of the trauma and hardship? That *isn’t* described as “ugh, a lot to handle.” As someone with direct, familial experience with this disorder and who knows first hand how many of these aspects really are spot on/ a reality, I wish books would delicately hand it to prevent perpetuating that “bipolar = bad.” Bipolar = ruins families. Bipolar = no other personality trait besides Bipolar™️
That is a side tangent because I think this book was sensitive to it — in that the bipolar character wasn’t the only super unlikable one — BUT I think the addition of that aspect on top of the rest of it was just another factor that turned me off.
😖 Cape Cod and her art studio were lovely though!!!!!
Purposefully-unlikable and flawed characters are common with litfic, so if you don’t like the book “because of the characters,” the feedback is, “That’s the whole point!”
I like unlikable characters.
But I think there’s a difference between not liking it because the characters aren’t likable vs. not liking how the unlikable characters were handled.
I like unlikable characters.
When they’re interesting, nuanced, have some shred of likability. Some sort of character arc, like at all. Abby was fine. Everyone else? Insufferable.
I don’t need to suffer just to say I “get it.” I got it, and I didn’t like getting it.
——
Another note I’ll add is I’m always sensitive to books that include characters with bipolar disorder. Is there ever a bipolar character that isn’t the villain? Isn’t the source of the trauma and hardship? That *isn’t* described as “ugh, a lot to handle.” As someone with direct, familial experience with this disorder and who knows first hand how many of these aspects really are spot on/ a reality, I wish books would delicately hand it to prevent perpetuating that “bipolar = bad.” Bipolar = ruins families. Bipolar = no other personality trait besides Bipolar™️
That is a side tangent because I think this book was sensitive to it — in that the bipolar character wasn’t the only super unlikable one — BUT I think the addition of that aspect on top of the rest of it was just another factor that turned me off.
😖 Cape Cod and her art studio were lovely though!!!!!
July 31, 2023
What started out as a nice story with a great location steadily became a hate-read. I am unbelievably annoyed with the amount of politics and feminism in this book. All the men are assholes, and all the women are insufferable. This is a men vs. women read that will delight any left-leaning readers, but piss off all others. Why is it so hard for today's authors to write a decent story without the convoluted presence of the 2016 election? This book checks off so many boxes on the progressive checklist that it makes me ill. Only thing that could have made this story worse is if everyone was a vegan....
Author....for the love of writing, not everyone is butt-hurt about the planet, the elections, and the patriarchy. Some of us live in reality.
Author....for the love of writing, not everyone is butt-hurt about the planet, the elections, and the patriarchy. Some of us live in reality.
July 16, 2023
As much as I wanted to like this book, it was just too icky and upsetting. The sexual abuse between siblings was really disturbing and it was still largely unresolved by the end of the book -- no apology, no conversation about it between Abby and Ken. Steph and Toni were by far the best characters in terms of morality and personality. Ken was insufferable, Adam was frustrating, Jenny had glimpses of goodness but was inconsistent, David was OK. I suppose I did like Abby, and I hope motherhood brings more happiness and genuine love into her life. There was just SO much left unsaid and unresolved at the end... will Abby and David stay together? Is Ken gone for good? Is Jenny seeking treatment for alcoholism? And who knows what will become of Adam. He's likely to just get worse as he continues to age. The descriptions of Cape Cod were lovely, but ultimately it was a slow moving and upsetting story where not much happened, it was just a bunch of deeply damaged people NOT talking through their issues and instead behaving irrationally. I would give the author another try though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2023
I loved Adrienne Brodeur's memoir, Wild Game, and Little Monsters, her new novel, has that same raw authenticity. She KNOWS this world she's writing - the setting but also the intricate and complicated family dynamics in play here. What does kinship mean? How do boundaries blur and change over time? Adrienne's novel is one answer to this question and I loved it.
May 30, 2023
“This was the ultimate paradox of being human: the longing for vitality in a world ruled by decay.”
Cape Cod is a magical place, as the millions of annual summer visitors will agree. Growing up in Massachusetts, I frequently went to the Cape with my family, enjoyed the marine wildlife, the birds (terns! There are terns!), the beaches and bays, and the magical atmosphere of Barnstable County. I was drawn to this book on that alone. The figurative and literal descriptions of all forms of life on the Cape was beautiful, remarkable. The wheel of life throughout nature—birth, life, decay, death.
Brodeur’s novel takes place on the Cape, centering on the Gardner family, who live there year-round. Dr. Adam Gardner, approaching his 70th birthday, is a marine biologist, whose fading glory days include his expertise on humpback whales. He raised his daughter and son single-handedly, (who were nicknamed little monsters when they were kids) when his beloved wife died in childbirth. The biggest obstacle in his life is his struggle with bipolar disorder, which is well-controlled with medication—but now he’s decided to stop the meds in order to dive into new cetacean research. He intends to prove to the crop of new young scientists (and himself) that he is still relevant.
Ken is Adam’s son, an aspiring politician with a wife and spunky twin daughters. His younger sister, Abby, is an artist, single, 38, and pregnant—she hasn’t told a soul yet. A couple from Boston, Steph and her wife, Toni, and newborn son, are spending their family leave here on the peninsula. Steph, adopted, has recently learned that Adam is her biological father. Having a baby has changed her concept of “family,” and she wants to explore whether to tell the Gardner family this news.
It is summer 2016, and as Adam’s birthday celebration approaches, the family drama unfolds on the cusp of radical change. Against this majestic backdrop, family secrets are headed for a blindsiding turn. The troubles mount, sometimes like a soap opera. Just when it threatens to turn into melodrama, Brodeur pulls the reigns, usually keeping it real.
The middle section lacked momentum, some of it felt like filler. However, the author’s depiction of bipolar disorder is flawless; she nailed it. I’ve been a psychiatric RN for decades, and have worked extensively with sufferers of this illness. Brodeur’s portrayal of Adam kept me engaged, even when some parts of the narrative read as garnish to me. The childhood trauma of Ken and Abby was also on point. The big sections are separated by months, and the text alternates between characters. It was a satisfying, realistic ending—don’t expect it to be tied in a bow.
3.75 rounded up
Thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending me an ARC for review.
Cape Cod is a magical place, as the millions of annual summer visitors will agree. Growing up in Massachusetts, I frequently went to the Cape with my family, enjoyed the marine wildlife, the birds (terns! There are terns!), the beaches and bays, and the magical atmosphere of Barnstable County. I was drawn to this book on that alone. The figurative and literal descriptions of all forms of life on the Cape was beautiful, remarkable. The wheel of life throughout nature—birth, life, decay, death.
Brodeur’s novel takes place on the Cape, centering on the Gardner family, who live there year-round. Dr. Adam Gardner, approaching his 70th birthday, is a marine biologist, whose fading glory days include his expertise on humpback whales. He raised his daughter and son single-handedly, (who were nicknamed little monsters when they were kids) when his beloved wife died in childbirth. The biggest obstacle in his life is his struggle with bipolar disorder, which is well-controlled with medication—but now he’s decided to stop the meds in order to dive into new cetacean research. He intends to prove to the crop of new young scientists (and himself) that he is still relevant.
Ken is Adam’s son, an aspiring politician with a wife and spunky twin daughters. His younger sister, Abby, is an artist, single, 38, and pregnant—she hasn’t told a soul yet. A couple from Boston, Steph and her wife, Toni, and newborn son, are spending their family leave here on the peninsula. Steph, adopted, has recently learned that Adam is her biological father. Having a baby has changed her concept of “family,” and she wants to explore whether to tell the Gardner family this news.
It is summer 2016, and as Adam’s birthday celebration approaches, the family drama unfolds on the cusp of radical change. Against this majestic backdrop, family secrets are headed for a blindsiding turn. The troubles mount, sometimes like a soap opera. Just when it threatens to turn into melodrama, Brodeur pulls the reigns, usually keeping it real.
The middle section lacked momentum, some of it felt like filler. However, the author’s depiction of bipolar disorder is flawless; she nailed it. I’ve been a psychiatric RN for decades, and have worked extensively with sufferers of this illness. Brodeur’s portrayal of Adam kept me engaged, even when some parts of the narrative read as garnish to me. The childhood trauma of Ken and Abby was also on point. The big sections are separated by months, and the text alternates between characters. It was a satisfying, realistic ending—don’t expect it to be tied in a bow.
3.75 rounded up
Thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending me an ARC for review.
July 2, 2023
*Published and if you enjoy secrets, family dynamics and our authors love and familiarity for Cape Cod you may enjoy this!*
I loved our authors memoir ‘Wild Game’ so I ran to request this one. I’m so glad I did.
Families, secrets, Cape Cod and an incredibly complicated sibling relationship, I’m in!
Somehow this book covers so many topics but never feels like our author was trying to check off all the boxes. Every topic is woven in perfectly and feels so natural to the flow of the story. As the Goodreads synopsis notes you can also tell how very familiar our author is with the setting, feeling as if you are there. I’ve always been obsessed with sibling dynamics and fiction on family dramas, this one really delivers. The characters and situations presented feel real and accurate. I felt the story line was great and the characters were well developed. I love reading about normally flawed and believable characters and this book is full of them. If you also enjoy these things I would highly recommend this book to you.
Many thanks to our author, Netgalley and Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster for providing me with an advanced eGalley copy of the book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This will be released on July 11th, 2023 and I hope if you choose to read it you enjoy it also.
I loved our authors memoir ‘Wild Game’ so I ran to request this one. I’m so glad I did.
Families, secrets, Cape Cod and an incredibly complicated sibling relationship, I’m in!
Somehow this book covers so many topics but never feels like our author was trying to check off all the boxes. Every topic is woven in perfectly and feels so natural to the flow of the story. As the Goodreads synopsis notes you can also tell how very familiar our author is with the setting, feeling as if you are there. I’ve always been obsessed with sibling dynamics and fiction on family dramas, this one really delivers. The characters and situations presented feel real and accurate. I felt the story line was great and the characters were well developed. I love reading about normally flawed and believable characters and this book is full of them. If you also enjoy these things I would highly recommend this book to you.
Many thanks to our author, Netgalley and Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster for providing me with an advanced eGalley copy of the book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This will be released on July 11th, 2023 and I hope if you choose to read it you enjoy it also.
June 7, 2023
Dramatic, simmering, and sincere!
Little Monsters is a tender, engaging tale that sweeps you away to the idyllic Cape Cod during 2016 and into the lives of the Gardner family, especially siblings Ken and Abby, as the preparations for their father’s upcoming seventieth birthday party will have them finally confronting all the jealousy, resentment, pain, scars, long-buried secrets, and despicable behaviours that have tied them together since childhood.
The prose is fluid and smooth. The characters are bitter, troubled, and flawed. And the plot is a captivating tale about life, loss, heartache, guilt, love, secrets, revelations, acceptance, familial drama, friendship, hope, mental illness, forgiveness, and introspection.
Overall, Little Monsters is a heartfelt, intricate, nuanced tale by Brodeur that reminds us that families are complicated and messy, the choices we make often have far-reaching consequences, and skeletons often find their way to the surface no matter how well they’re buried.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Little Monsters is a tender, engaging tale that sweeps you away to the idyllic Cape Cod during 2016 and into the lives of the Gardner family, especially siblings Ken and Abby, as the preparations for their father’s upcoming seventieth birthday party will have them finally confronting all the jealousy, resentment, pain, scars, long-buried secrets, and despicable behaviours that have tied them together since childhood.
The prose is fluid and smooth. The characters are bitter, troubled, and flawed. And the plot is a captivating tale about life, loss, heartache, guilt, love, secrets, revelations, acceptance, familial drama, friendship, hope, mental illness, forgiveness, and introspection.
Overall, Little Monsters is a heartfelt, intricate, nuanced tale by Brodeur that reminds us that families are complicated and messy, the choices we make often have far-reaching consequences, and skeletons often find their way to the surface no matter how well they’re buried.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
May 30, 2024
In diesem Buch steht eine Familie mit vielen Geheimnissen im Mittelpunkt des Geschehens. Die wunderschöne Landschaft des Cape Cods trägt sehr zur sommerlichen Stimmung in diesem Roman bei. Es gibt Figuren, die man sofort lieb gewinnt, aber auch Personen mit tief sitzenden Verletzungen und quälenden Dämonen aus der Vergangenheit. Es geht um die Frage was wirklich „Familie “bedeutet und was man bereit ist in sie zu investieren.
Manche Enthüllung blieb mir leider zu blass und zu wenig auserzählt. Trotzdem konnte ich Figuren finden, die ich sehr mochte und deren Entscheidungen ich nachvollziehen konnte. Manchmal muss man sich auch gegen Familie entscheiden um vor sich selbst grade stehen zu können. Dazu gehört Mut und Reife. Ich kann diesen Roman als Sommerlektüre mit sehr überzeugendem Meeresküstensetting empfehlen. 3,5 Sterne ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Manche Enthüllung blieb mir leider zu blass und zu wenig auserzählt. Trotzdem konnte ich Figuren finden, die ich sehr mochte und deren Entscheidungen ich nachvollziehen konnte. Manchmal muss man sich auch gegen Familie entscheiden um vor sich selbst grade stehen zu können. Dazu gehört Mut und Reife. Ich kann diesen Roman als Sommerlektüre mit sehr überzeugendem Meeresküstensetting empfehlen. 3,5 Sterne ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
June 27, 2023
The fully realized setting of Wellfleet Woods, halfway between the tip and the elbow of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, launches Adrienne Brodeur’s mesmerizing, modern day saga about a dysfunctional family so cleverly drawn as to make the story’s dynamic relatable and completely understandable.
The 2016 set story begins with the anticipation of a birthday celebration, and as preparations are made, each characters’ relationship to Adam Gardner is explored. Adam will reach the milestone of age 70 in mid-August and wants to stay relevant. He’s on the verge of what might be his last scientific breakthrough before retirement as a widely respected and highly lauded marine biologist who specializes in whales.
Adam is father to Ken and Abby, who are now moving toward midlife and living disparate lives while nursing a relationship inexplicably strained in their childhood. They are devoted to Adam, aware of both his genius and the highs and lows of his bipolarity. They keep the seething caldron of their history barely tamped down while warily staying in each other’s orbit, due in part to the remote artist’s studio tucked back on the sand dunes that their deceased mother Emily owned, in which Abby now lives and works, and which was left to Ken before Abby was born.
The siblings are diametrically opposed in personality and temperament. The conservative Ken is a successful real estate developer with political aspirations who “married into an old Boston Brahmin family” and “already had social status and access to money.” The bohemian, single Abby is a “graduate of RISD, 1999” and had been “making art on Cape Cod ever since.”
Emily, the mother “Ken lost, and Abby never had,” died immediately after Abby’s birth, and looms like a shadow throughout the novel. She is the undercurrent of and catalyst in this cause-and-effect story, whose death at age 30 left Adam a distracted, single father, and Ken and Abby emotionally on their own to cling to each other in a way that might not have been healthy. When Abby abruptly changes the relationship with no explanation, it is the cut that continues to fester as Ken’s central wound.
In preparing her father’s birthday present, Abby reflects on her family. She “couldn’t pinpoint a date, but over the last few years, the distance between the three of them had turned into something more palpable, a liquid congealing into a solid. Ken was nursing old grievances, their father’s fuse was growing ever shorter, and Abby felt herself pulling away from them both.”
The chapters in Little Monsters alternate between the three Gardners and two other characters, who add depth of field to hidden events in the Gardner’s complicated history. Jenny, the once wild-child and now tamed trophy wife of Ken’s, remains Abby’s best friend, ever since their first year at the Rhode Island School of Design. Jenny is now conflicted over where to place her loyalty, and equally at odds over what she has become.
The enigmatic Steph is a competent police officer vacationing in Provincetown, with her partner, Toni. Newly the birth mother of Jonah, Steph wants to connect with the Gardner family, now that a recently revealed secret has come crashing to the fore, but how to best proceed?
The author’s knowledge of Cape Cod, its environmental laws, the indigenous intricacies of land and sea and all that lives above or below the ocean or flies overhead makes Little Monsters a visceral, multi-sensorial feast woven into the perfectly paced story as each chapter builds by connecting the dots and ends with the lure of a page-turning cliff-hanger.
Brodeur’s descriptions are circumstantial and breathtaking: “The bay was full of ambient sounds—waves roiling pebbles, gulls wailing, families packing up to go home. As often happened at dusk, a fracas erupted offshore—bluefish, crazed with hunger, thrashed, and arced open-mouthed, having corralled a school of bunkers to the surface. Overhead, terns screamed, diving into the fray to collect the spoils.”
In a wonderful scene where the passionate Adam shares his love of all things aquatic, it is incidental that he steers his boat out to Stellwagen while off his meds, so sincerely enthusiastic is he to tell his passenger, “You’ve just entered one of the most important ocean sanctuaries in the world, where whale watching rivals California and Hawaii.” In what might be a manic moment, Adam reasons, “Stellwagen needed to be explained from the bottom up, not the top down... words rushed out—'nitrates,’ ‘phosphates,’ ‘phytoplankton,’ ‘zooplankton,’ ‘photosynthesis,’ ‘chemosynthesis,’ ‘rotifers,’ ‘copepods’—and Adam explained the aquatic food chain from the base of the pyramid.”
The culturally specific language in Little Monsters is lively, au courant, and at times delightfully salty, giving insight to the times and nuance to all personalities in a tightly crafted story of a family that would like to connect, but is in denial of its individual and collective wounds.
Readers will relish Adrienne Brodeur’s Little Monsters for its meticulous world building, gripping storyline, multidimensional characters, and utterly reasonable ending. It is an extraordinary story, unique while it informs even as it entertains.
The 2016 set story begins with the anticipation of a birthday celebration, and as preparations are made, each characters’ relationship to Adam Gardner is explored. Adam will reach the milestone of age 70 in mid-August and wants to stay relevant. He’s on the verge of what might be his last scientific breakthrough before retirement as a widely respected and highly lauded marine biologist who specializes in whales.
Adam is father to Ken and Abby, who are now moving toward midlife and living disparate lives while nursing a relationship inexplicably strained in their childhood. They are devoted to Adam, aware of both his genius and the highs and lows of his bipolarity. They keep the seething caldron of their history barely tamped down while warily staying in each other’s orbit, due in part to the remote artist’s studio tucked back on the sand dunes that their deceased mother Emily owned, in which Abby now lives and works, and which was left to Ken before Abby was born.
The siblings are diametrically opposed in personality and temperament. The conservative Ken is a successful real estate developer with political aspirations who “married into an old Boston Brahmin family” and “already had social status and access to money.” The bohemian, single Abby is a “graduate of RISD, 1999” and had been “making art on Cape Cod ever since.”
Emily, the mother “Ken lost, and Abby never had,” died immediately after Abby’s birth, and looms like a shadow throughout the novel. She is the undercurrent of and catalyst in this cause-and-effect story, whose death at age 30 left Adam a distracted, single father, and Ken and Abby emotionally on their own to cling to each other in a way that might not have been healthy. When Abby abruptly changes the relationship with no explanation, it is the cut that continues to fester as Ken’s central wound.
In preparing her father’s birthday present, Abby reflects on her family. She “couldn’t pinpoint a date, but over the last few years, the distance between the three of them had turned into something more palpable, a liquid congealing into a solid. Ken was nursing old grievances, their father’s fuse was growing ever shorter, and Abby felt herself pulling away from them both.”
The chapters in Little Monsters alternate between the three Gardners and two other characters, who add depth of field to hidden events in the Gardner’s complicated history. Jenny, the once wild-child and now tamed trophy wife of Ken’s, remains Abby’s best friend, ever since their first year at the Rhode Island School of Design. Jenny is now conflicted over where to place her loyalty, and equally at odds over what she has become.
The enigmatic Steph is a competent police officer vacationing in Provincetown, with her partner, Toni. Newly the birth mother of Jonah, Steph wants to connect with the Gardner family, now that a recently revealed secret has come crashing to the fore, but how to best proceed?
The author’s knowledge of Cape Cod, its environmental laws, the indigenous intricacies of land and sea and all that lives above or below the ocean or flies overhead makes Little Monsters a visceral, multi-sensorial feast woven into the perfectly paced story as each chapter builds by connecting the dots and ends with the lure of a page-turning cliff-hanger.
Brodeur’s descriptions are circumstantial and breathtaking: “The bay was full of ambient sounds—waves roiling pebbles, gulls wailing, families packing up to go home. As often happened at dusk, a fracas erupted offshore—bluefish, crazed with hunger, thrashed, and arced open-mouthed, having corralled a school of bunkers to the surface. Overhead, terns screamed, diving into the fray to collect the spoils.”
In a wonderful scene where the passionate Adam shares his love of all things aquatic, it is incidental that he steers his boat out to Stellwagen while off his meds, so sincerely enthusiastic is he to tell his passenger, “You’ve just entered one of the most important ocean sanctuaries in the world, where whale watching rivals California and Hawaii.” In what might be a manic moment, Adam reasons, “Stellwagen needed to be explained from the bottom up, not the top down... words rushed out—'nitrates,’ ‘phosphates,’ ‘phytoplankton,’ ‘zooplankton,’ ‘photosynthesis,’ ‘chemosynthesis,’ ‘rotifers,’ ‘copepods’—and Adam explained the aquatic food chain from the base of the pyramid.”
The culturally specific language in Little Monsters is lively, au courant, and at times delightfully salty, giving insight to the times and nuance to all personalities in a tightly crafted story of a family that would like to connect, but is in denial of its individual and collective wounds.
Readers will relish Adrienne Brodeur’s Little Monsters for its meticulous world building, gripping storyline, multidimensional characters, and utterly reasonable ending. It is an extraordinary story, unique while it informs even as it entertains.
April 23, 2024
Inhalt:
Sommer auf Cape Cod. Alle Mitglieder der Familie Gardner verheimlichen etwas. Ken, ein erfolgreicher Geschäftsmann mit Vorzeigefamilie und politischen Ambitionen, versucht mit aller Macht, seine Ehekrise zu verbergen. Abby ist Künstlerin und schämt sich dafür, immer noch auf das Wohlwollen ihres Bruders angewiesen zu sein. Adam, der Vater der zwei, sieht unterdessen seinem 70. Geburtstag entgegen. Um ein letztes Mal als Forscher zu glänzen, setzt der brillante Meeresbiologe heimlich seine Medikamente ab - mit fatalen Konsequenzen.
Während Adams Festtag unaufhaltsam näher rückt, verschärfen sich die Konflikte zwischen den Geschwistern. Dann erscheint eine Unbekannte auf der Bildfläche, und bringt alles, woran Abby und Ken geglaubt haben, zum Einsturz.
Meine Meinung:
Adrienne Brodeurs Erstlingswerk `Wild Game` gehört zu meinen Lieblingsbüchern und hat mich extrem bewegt. Aus diesem Grund war ich sehr neugierig auf das neue Buch der Autorin.
Die Geschichte wird aus der Sicht der verschiedenen Familienmitglieder der Gardners erzählt. Auch wenn der weibliche Teil der Familie durchaus zu Wort kommt, sind es doch vorwiegend die Männer in dieser Geschichte, die mir durch ihr chauvinistisches sowie egoistisches und kindisches Verhalten im Gedächtnis geblieben sind und diesen Roman prägen. Ich weiß nicht, ob ich dieses Buch als besonders feministisch betiteln würde, so wie es in so mancher Rezension, die ich gelesen habe, heißt. Mir fehlte am Ende die Selbstreflexion der Protagonisten und die moralische Schlussfolgerung.
An mehreren Stellen langweilte mich das Buch tatsächlich, obwohl es der Geschichte nicht an dunklen Familiengeheimnissen fehlte. Wahrscheinlich habe ich einfach schon einmal zu viel von einer weißen, wohlhabenden Familie mit ihren eigenen großen und kleinen Problemen gelesen.
Fazit:
Für mich leider ein eher durchschnittlicher Familienroman.
Meine Bewertung:
3/5 Sterne
July 3, 2023
3.25. This one just covered TOO MANY TOPICS: bipolar disorder; death of mother in early childhood; fathers inability to emotionally connect with his family; summer before 2016 election; men’s horrific attitudes towards women; running for political office; children out of wedlock discovering biological father; lesbian marriage; childhood trauma
PHEW………..
PHEW………..
July 15, 2023
I found this book plodding and dull. Just when I thought something interesting would happen, it fizzled out. I skipped over the entire middle of the book and was easily able to pick up right before the 70th birthday party, without feeling I missed a beat. The descriptions of the Cape were good.
July 24, 2023
Why I gave this 2 stars even though the writing isn't bad:
Unlikable characters. I did not connect to any of them.
Kept waiting for some big event to have the entire story come together. Nothing happens.
Unecessary and irrelevant political comments.
Unlikable characters. I did not connect to any of them.
Kept waiting for some big event to have the entire story come together. Nothing happens.
Unecessary and irrelevant political comments.
March 24, 2023
Absolutely fantastic. This book accompanied on a book tour of my own and I looked forward to the moment I could hop into bed with it each night. It's incredible how Brodeur manages to get so viscerally inside the bodies and hearts of so many different characters with such wide ranging professions (visual artist, real estate developer, whale expert, cop....). I am big on books where the characters have jobs that feel earned and make sense to their character development-- this delivers in spades. It has the writing and sensuality of a literary novel but it's paced like a commercial novel-- in other words, this is the perfect beach read for the smart set. Highly highly recommend!
August 10, 2023
3.5. I really really enjoyed about 90% of the book. I loved the interesting relationships between all the people and their unique characteristics. I loved the independent women and the ones that were wondering where their independence went. But I didn’t like the last 10% of the book. Throughout the book Ken is working with a therapist. A breakthrough happens but it is so vague. And I get that the author may want yo leave it open to interpretation… but I wanted to see how it resolved - or didn’t resolve. What came out? Did he lie? Was he honest? Ugh.
May 25, 2023
4.5/5 stars, rounded up
"He didn’t understand why these bittersweet memories were suddenly surfacing. Thirty-eight years, and still, just a finger snap from grief."
Little Monsterswas my first introduction to Adrianne Brodeurs work, so I didn’t completely know what to expect going in. The synopsis and the authors memoir suggested a tale of dysfunctional families and mental health, whereas the cover and the authors previous fiction hinted at more of a beach-read. I was very happy to see it delivered the first. This is a layered story of a family teetering on an edge, the threads that bind them stretched to the breaking point. With clear allusions to the biblical tale of Cain and Abel, this is a narrative that I highly recommend you experience for yourself.
Little Monstersachieves a sense of momentum and pacing through a ticking clock counting down the months to a large event. We meet Adam Gardner, a brilliant oceanographer with an almost obsessive fascination with whales, counting down the summer months to his 70th birthday in September. Struggling with the prospect of mortality and the legacy he will leave behind, he decides to quit his medication for his bipolar disorder, convinced this is the only way to unlock his genius and make one final scientific discovery to put him on the map forever.
Also preparing for their fathers birthday are his two children, Ken and Abby. Ken a successful but ruthless businessman, providing financial support to not only his family, but his sister alike. Abby a passionate visual artist who depends on her brother’s goodwill, in part because he owns the studio where she lives and works.
Tensions rise due to the increasing feeling of rivalry and competition for their fathers approval between the siblings, and climax when a third (half-) sibling enters the playing field with an urgent message to share. Meanwhile, all three of them might be missing what’s happening under their nose: their father losing his mind more and more to the secrets of the ocean he’s desperately studying.
Told through gorgeous prose that brings to live these flawed characters and the vivid Cape Cod setting alike, Adrienne Brodeur retells a timeless tale in a modern coat of paint. Connections to Cain and Abel go deeper than the obvious name-references, but weave into the character dynamics seamlessly. It combines themes the familiar themes of jealousy, narcissism, infidelity, pride and a desperate need to be seen by their sole parent, with ones that weren’t present in the original story. Capitalism, the lingering grief over a mother lost too soon, and the family inheritance of mental- and physical health.
Many thanks to Simon & Schuster for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
"He didn’t understand why these bittersweet memories were suddenly surfacing. Thirty-eight years, and still, just a finger snap from grief."
Little Monsterswas my first introduction to Adrianne Brodeurs work, so I didn’t completely know what to expect going in. The synopsis and the authors memoir suggested a tale of dysfunctional families and mental health, whereas the cover and the authors previous fiction hinted at more of a beach-read. I was very happy to see it delivered the first. This is a layered story of a family teetering on an edge, the threads that bind them stretched to the breaking point. With clear allusions to the biblical tale of Cain and Abel, this is a narrative that I highly recommend you experience for yourself.
Little Monstersachieves a sense of momentum and pacing through a ticking clock counting down the months to a large event. We meet Adam Gardner, a brilliant oceanographer with an almost obsessive fascination with whales, counting down the summer months to his 70th birthday in September. Struggling with the prospect of mortality and the legacy he will leave behind, he decides to quit his medication for his bipolar disorder, convinced this is the only way to unlock his genius and make one final scientific discovery to put him on the map forever.
Also preparing for their fathers birthday are his two children, Ken and Abby. Ken a successful but ruthless businessman, providing financial support to not only his family, but his sister alike. Abby a passionate visual artist who depends on her brother’s goodwill, in part because he owns the studio where she lives and works.
Tensions rise due to the increasing feeling of rivalry and competition for their fathers approval between the siblings, and climax when a third (half-) sibling enters the playing field with an urgent message to share. Meanwhile, all three of them might be missing what’s happening under their nose: their father losing his mind more and more to the secrets of the ocean he’s desperately studying.
Told through gorgeous prose that brings to live these flawed characters and the vivid Cape Cod setting alike, Adrienne Brodeur retells a timeless tale in a modern coat of paint. Connections to Cain and Abel go deeper than the obvious name-references, but weave into the character dynamics seamlessly. It combines themes the familiar themes of jealousy, narcissism, infidelity, pride and a desperate need to be seen by their sole parent, with ones that weren’t present in the original story. Capitalism, the lingering grief over a mother lost too soon, and the family inheritance of mental- and physical health.
Many thanks to Simon & Schuster for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
July 8, 2023
Loved this book!!! It kept me engaged right from the start!! A book that is chock full of family drama!! It makes you mad at times!! It makes you laugh at times!! It is a brilliant book!!!
The year is 2016 and this book is set in Cape Cod. Adam is the father of Ken and Abby. Adam is a famous oceanographer who is bi polar and mainly treats this with medicine. He is known to go off his meds so the children know what to look for. Ken is married and the father of 12 year old twin girls and has political office hopes. Abby is an artist who is looking for that big break!!
Adam is turning 70 and a big birthday party is a large part of the book. There is a lot of planning going into the part that will be at Kens house. His wife is the one doing most everything!! Will they be able to have a party without any issues?? Will Adam have taken his medication??
This family is so dysfunctional and so many secrets!! Very enjoyable read and highly recommend!!!
The year is 2016 and this book is set in Cape Cod. Adam is the father of Ken and Abby. Adam is a famous oceanographer who is bi polar and mainly treats this with medicine. He is known to go off his meds so the children know what to look for. Ken is married and the father of 12 year old twin girls and has political office hopes. Abby is an artist who is looking for that big break!!
Adam is turning 70 and a big birthday party is a large part of the book. There is a lot of planning going into the part that will be at Kens house. His wife is the one doing most everything!! Will they be able to have a party without any issues?? Will Adam have taken his medication??
This family is so dysfunctional and so many secrets!! Very enjoyable read and highly recommend!!!
April 9, 2023
I LOVED this sweeping family story set in Cape Cod.
Adam is turning 70. He has dedicated his live to the local whale research and neglected both his health and his children that he raised solo. As his birthday looms, he purposely stops taking medication for his bipolar diagnosis.
His children have led strange and.complex lives as they live out the issues of their childhood. All of it will come to a head this year at the party. Set against the backdrop of a very beautiful and familiar area of cape code, all of the characters are relatable, likeable, hateable in their choices. A perfect story of American life in the Northeast! If you like sweeping family dramas, contemporary novels and commentary, you will absolutely love Little Monsters.
a#Avidreaderpress #Avidbooks #LittleMonsters #AdreinneBrodeur
Adam is turning 70. He has dedicated his live to the local whale research and neglected both his health and his children that he raised solo. As his birthday looms, he purposely stops taking medication for his bipolar diagnosis.
His children have led strange and.complex lives as they live out the issues of their childhood. All of it will come to a head this year at the party. Set against the backdrop of a very beautiful and familiar area of cape code, all of the characters are relatable, likeable, hateable in their choices. A perfect story of American life in the Northeast! If you like sweeping family dramas, contemporary novels and commentary, you will absolutely love Little Monsters.
a#Avidreaderpress #Avidbooks #LittleMonsters #AdreinneBrodeur
June 30, 2023
This book was TOUGH to get through. All of the men in this book were insufferable brats who were so difficult to listen to as they were extremely negative and blamed all of their problems on women. The women were just as bad as they all put up with it and didn't seem to care. There was very little plot. There seemed to be build up to SOMETHING, but it totally petered out, and there was no redeeming ending. I genuinely cannot figure out why it has such rave reviews on here.
June 26, 2023
I decided to alternate between the physical book and audiobook. I loved this full cast. I thought it was fantastic. I enjoyed the whole story of this messy, complicated family! It takes place in Cape Cod, which is like one of our favorite places EVER!, In 2016. Adam is a soon to 70 yo father of his adult children, Ken and Abby. Their mother passed away when they were little and they were raised by their father. Dad is an oceanographer with Bipolar. Ken is hoping for a career in politics, married to his wife Jenny, and they have 2 daughters. Abby is an artist and currently single. Abby and Ken used to be close when they were young but things happened between them…and now, there is a tension between them. This family has secrets and circumstances seem to be tearing everyone apart. Told through alternating chapters and characters, you get everyone's side of the story. One secret comes to light during this story and I was so interested in how that would play out. I thought this was a really good family story. If you like slow burn, character driven books about family dynamics, this will be for you. Very good!!
Out June 27.
Thank you to the publisher and librofm for the gifted copy and audiobook. All opinions are my own.
Out June 27.
Thank you to the publisher and librofm for the gifted copy and audiobook. All opinions are my own.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,927 reviews