I finished Where Yesterday Lives the other day. It was one of Karen Kingsbury's older books, but in my opinion, one of her best. In my mission to read every single one of Karen's books, I'd known about this book for awhile, but never had the urge to read it until now. After reading it, I have no idea why I waited so long. My favorite part of the book was the Family Dynamics. Where Yesterday Lives was about the Barrett family who lived in Petoskey, Michigan (Which I ALSO was able to relate to because my boyfriend is from Michigan). The five Barret children are grown now and have their own lives, and 2 of the older daughters have moved away from Michigan.
The book takes Place in July 1998 in Petoskey, Michigan, a little town off Traverse Bay. Most of the book takes place in the aftermath the Patriarch, John Barrett, dying of a massive heart attack. None of the Barrett children are very close to one another and it's been awhile since they were all together. Each one has their own issues they're dealing with as well as their own thoughts about their family.
Here's a brief description of each member of the Barrett Family
Jon Barrett worked for IBM and a few other jobs, which required constant relocating, and as a result their family moved around from place to place quite a bit, not establishing permanent roots until they arrived in Petoskey.
Ellen is the oldest child and is 31 years old. She is a reporter for the Miami Times. She lives in Miami with her husband, Mike, and so far they have been unable to have any children. In highschool, her best friend was Leslie and her boyfriend was Jake Sadler, the boy she thought she would end up marrying.
Jane is 29 years old, has been married to Troy for 7 years and they have 3 children--Koley, 6 year old boy, Kala--3 year old girl, and Kyle--one year old boy. They live in Central Arizona.
Jane has always resented the close relationship that Megan and their father have. Jane and her father have never been that close and Jane never felt that she was good enough for their father. Also, the one time when she needed him the most, he was not there to help her. This affected their relationship in many ways. Jane feels especially angry at their dad after he dies.
Megan is 27 years old. She is still single...she went through a period of time where she used some heavy drugs and drifted away from the family. She seems to be out of that now. Megan also seems to be in denial that her siblings' relationships are strained, as they are.
Amy is 25 years old. She has a degree in Child Development and is married to Frank. She is quiet and sometimes seems like the odd one out of all the children. Amy is especially close with her mother.
Aaron is 23 years old. He has anger issues and hasn't been able to hold down a job because of it. He is also the yougest, and the only son with 4 sisters, so he's had alot of issues because of that (or so he says). He and his dad did have somewhat of a good relationship. They enjoyed golfing together frequently.
The book shifted back and forth between the present (1998) and back when Ellen was in highschool and college, and dating Jake. While Ellen is visiting Petoskey for her dad's funeral, she is questioning her marriage to Mike, and whether their relationship can make it through dealing with their problems. She also runs into her old flame Jake Sadler, and spends time with her, but in the end realizes that Mike is the one she really belongs with.
No one really knows why Jane is so mean and nasty, and why she treats Ellen the way she does. At John's funeral, each of them read eulogies that they've written and alot of things are explained. Jane reveals that she was raped as a teenager, the same week that their dad took off, and that the fact that he wasn't there for her when she needed him most really hurt her and ruined their relationship. Ellen also begins to understand why Jane resented her all these years. After hearing each others' eulogies, they are all able to understand each other better and begin to have better relationships with each other.
I really enjoyed the family dynamics (and drama!) and even though characters made me really mad on a few occassions, it was easy to understand why they acted the way they did. I could easily see this book being made into a movie.
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