by Tracey Lange (Reviewed by Carol Clancy)
We Are the Brennans is written from the perspective of multiple members of the Brennan family, although Sunday Brennan, the 29-year-old protagonist, is the catalyst behind the story. Sunday left her New York hometown unexpectedly five years ago, moving to Los Angeles to pursue her writing career. She leaves behind her fiancé for a career that never goes anywhere and when the story opens, she is working as a server in a restaurant. Sunday drinks excessively at a birthday celebration with a coworker, leading to a bad accident. Her brother Denny is called as her emergency contact, and he talks her into coming back home with him. The mystery of why Sunday really left home is explored throughout the novel, while it becomes increasingly clear that multiple family secrets led to her decision.
This is Tracey Lange's debut novel, after owning her own business for many years. She does a good job of moving the story along and keeping the reader interested. I'm not a big fan of multiple viewpoints and I do think in this case the switch from one narrator to another starts to become tedious. The events behind Sunday's big move also seem a little contrived. But the dynamics of the big Irish Catholic Brennan family are realistic and interesting. Overall, this is a good novel worth reading.