Blessings: A Novel

2.5 stars. It was a good story. I liked the idea of a baby left in a box on the steps of an estate but there were a few things which really annoyed me. These may seem minor to most people but they distracted me enough from really loving the book. I did not like how the author did not title her chapters or at the very least, number them. I also did not like the way she would be writing in present tense and then slip into the past. it was confusing if you were just quickly skimming. I thought she also used adjectives that were most unusual-almost as if she just learned these new words and wanted to put them in a story. Seriously, how often do you ever use the word inchoate? Quindlen used it at least twice. I don't think her "fancy" adjectives added anything to the story-just took me more time to read because I had to look up obscure words. I did like her character development of Skip, the caretaker, and Lydia, the estate owner. I felt sorry for Skip. He had a group of deadbeat friends and always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Lydia was a great old crusty lady who lived in the family estate. I did like the secrets that were revealed about her family, although I was able to figure them out on my own. No real shocking twist.

This book does not require much effort to read. Everything slides along in a fairly predictable way, so much so that even that bigger moments in the story sometimes slide by without being noticed. Don't look to this book for a gripping plot or very-compelling characters (although Skip, the main character, is very sympathetic) but read this book for a nice story, and you'll enjoy it.