#ATBR2020 Review: My Kind of People by Lisa Duffy @atriabooks @lisaduffywriter @atriamysterybus @jessmapreviews
My Kind of People
by Lisa Duffy
Publisher: Atria
Publish Date: May 12, 2020
Paperback
352 Pages
Standalone
Genre: Contemporary
ORDER: Amazon | Barnes
& Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound
On Ichabod Island, a jagged strip of land thirteen miles off the coast of Massachusetts, ten-year-old Sky becomes an orphan for the second time after a tragic accident claims the lives of her adoptive parents.
Grieving the death of his best friends, Leo’s life is turned upside down when he finds himself the guardian of young Sky. Back on the island and struggling to balance his new responsibilities and his marriage to his husband, Leo is supported by a powerful community of neighbors, many of them harboring secrets of their own.
Maggie, who helps with Sky’s childcare, has hit a breaking point with her police chief husband, who becomes embroiled in a local scandal. Her best friend Agnes, the island busybody, invites Sky’s estranged grandmother to stay for the summer, straining already precarious relationships. Their neighbor Joe struggles with whether to tell all was not well in Sky’s house in the months leading up to the accident. And among them all is a mysterious woman, drawn to Ichabod to fulfill a dying wish.
Perfect for fans of Celeste Ng and Ann Leary, My Kind of People is a riveting, impassioned novel about the resilience of community and what connects us all in the face of tragedy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lisa Duffy is the author of The Salt House, named by Real Simple as a Best Book of the Month upon its June release, as well as
Bustle’s 17 Best Debut Novels by Women in 2017 and This Is Home, a favorite book club pick. Lisa received her MFA in creative writing from the University of Massachusetts. Her writing can be found in numerous publications, including
Writer’s Digest. She lives in the Boston area with her husband and three children.
My Kind of People is her third novel.
My Review:
Duffy's third book, my third read and all three are five stars. WHAAAAAAAAAAT?! And people, you know I like to watch TV while I read and I TURNED OFF THE TV. That's right, you read that right! Before you continue reading this review, stop what you're doing and put this on your TBR. Done? Ok, good! ;)
I could gush and gush about this book for days but I'll keep this short and simple. Duffy creates such characters and gives us such DEPTH that you're not just reading the story, you're LIVING it. I find myself getting completely lost in her reads that I'm emotionally invested and feel a sense of loss when I'm done with the story.
Ichabod became a true place for me in my mind. I absolutely fell in love with each character - especially Sky and Leo... and even Agnes and her grumpy self found her way into my heart. Ok ok.. maybe there's one character I didn't like but I'm ok with not getting to know him better because boooo… haha, but just like in real life, you can't like everyone right? And I quite liked the balance of the reality of it all.
What I love about this is that while there is a bit of a mystery that is laden within the pages, being within the lives of these characters is enough. I could continue to read about them for days to come. But alas, the book has to end at some point I suppose. Le sigh.
And a big thank you to the author for once again including me among other stellar readers in the acknowledgments. It's an honor and pleasure to be a part of this entire journey.
★★★★★
Jessica's Review:
Lisa Duffy has yet to let me down with one of her books. My third 5 star rating for her books and it amazes me how her stories just demand your attention (it shouldn't surprise me at this point though). Duffy sets the scene perfectly and you feel as if you're right there alongside our main characters - she transported us straight onto Ichabod Island.
A tragic car crash has left ten-year-old Sky an orphan for the second time in her life. Leo's world is turned upside down by the accident as well - he learns of his best friend's death and that he has been named Sky's guardian. Leo must leave the city behind and go back to Ichabod Island, just off the coast of Massachusetts, where he grew up. Some major changes that have left his husband, Xavier, struggling with the adjustment. Leo finds himself reaching out to the community and other friends to help him with navigating raising a child and trying to cope with his grief.
We meet an array of other characters as the story progresses and they each have their own quirks and traits that give them all a unique voice within the book. We get a little bit of everything in MY KIND OF PEOPLE - the strength within a small community, tragedy, friendship, family dynamics, secrets, new beginnings, love, and so much more. Duffy knows how to create depth in her stories and within her characters and it's a sad moment when it's time to say goodbye to them. I also wanted to say a big thank you to the author for including me in the acknowledgments alongside some other incredible reviewers/Bookstagrammers!
5 stars
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