Fun for the Whole Family by Jennifer E. Smith

Fun for the Whole Family opens with this quote from Jerry Seinfeld: "There’s no such thing as fun for the whole family." I think this line from Anna Karenina: "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." is more fitting for the story of the Extraordinary Endicotts.

Gemma, Conner, Roddy, and Jude were once those siblings that everyone wants to be: inseparable, full of inside jokes and shared memories. Every summer, their mother would pick them up in Michigan and embark on a road trip for a few weeks.

Decades later, the siblings are scattered throughout the US and no longer speak to each other after explosive events three years prior. Then, a text arrives from Jude, now an Oscar-nominated actress, asking if everyone will meet her in North Dakota. All the siblings happen to be at a crossroads in their life. Conner is struggling. post-divorce and stuck with writer's block after the success of his first novel. Roddy is at the end of his professional soccer career when he's offered one last season, hundreds of miles away from his future husband. Gemma, who had to step up and be the mom for the others, is struggling with fertility and the idea of even wanting to be a mother.

The siblings all reunite, and as they relax around each other, they finally discuss the fight from three years prior and find out why Jude was so insistent that they reunite in this podunk North Dakota town.
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Jennifer E. Smith has written a family story that captures the relationships of siblings who have to band together to raise each other. The interpersonal relationships, the fights, the laughter, the tears...everything is included, warts and all. The Endicotts were an interesting family; yes, they were all "extraordinary," but they were also human beings. Smith is able to capture the essence of each individual sibling, both in the present day and in flashbacks.

Fun for the Whole Family is a rich family drama that runs the gamut of emotions. Every family has its own dynamic, and the Endicotts are one steeped in laughter, tears, and each other.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.