The House We Grew Up in

When I read the summary I thought that this book wasn't for me, the story of a hoarder, etc. But I downloaded an extract, out of curiosity. And I was hooked from the start. It is so well constructed, so well written, the characters become real people, with their weaknesses and their strengths. The story and events are so real also. And so sad and dark, like their house. But there is always hope. In family and friendship bonds. In brightness and rainbows. In life. I just loved it.

I really like lisa jewell's novels, characters are so deep and lively, looking forward to read more from lisa jewell

This was a modern, intricate and psychological tale of such deep sadness. The ending, of course, was rushed as it seems all authors run out of steam, however the epilogue addresses some issues. It was compelling reading for me, so well done Lisa. Please put more into the endings.

Me encantó. No podía dejar de leer.

This is my third Lisa Jewell book of 2021 after The Family Upstairs and Invisible Girl and is undoubtedly my favourite out of those, which is odd since it seems to the complete opposite for most people. But for me, The House We Grew Up In is an edge-of-your-seat read that feels very detached from your everyday family but also too close to home at the same time. I love Lisa Jewell’s writing but I’m finding that my enjoyment of her books comes down to whether I like the characters or not. I struggled to like any of the characters in The Family Upstairs or Invisible Girl because I didn’t feel like they redeemed themselves in the end, but I feel like I’ve just spent a week living through all this drama alongside the family in The House We Grew Up In and have found myself warming to each of them. What Jewell does best is that she shows the good and bad in all of us by delving deep into her characters’ hearts and minds. Her books are often dark and shocking, but not from using big twists or characters who are complete psychopaths. Instead, she uses very real characters and situations to show how even the most well-rounded person can have a streak of darkness running through them. It doesn’t have to be anything too serious and their actions can be done with good intentions, but we all make mistakes, we sometimes follow the wrong path, and we will all do whatever it takes to protect the ones we love. While every character in this book does something unforgivable, I felt a lot of sympathy for them all at the same time. They are undoubtedly a messed up family, but I have never met a family who doesn’t have something they want to hide. I was so ready to hate Lorelei but I was also heartbroken by her sole intentions to fill her children’s lives with happy memories. There’s nothing I fear more than my children growing up and resenting me for something, so I could really feel her pain. And of course there is the issue of Lorelei’s hoarding disorder. As soon as I realised that she was a hoarder, I was hooked. I love to get inside the heads of people with weird habits or dysfunctional mindsets. But of course I knew that people with hoarding disorder tend to have an emotional reason for doing so, so I was gripped to find out what secrets Lorelei was keeping. I have to admit, the build-up to the “big reveal” was much more nerve-wracking than the reveal itself, but I’m glad Jewell didn’t take things too far. It could have easily overstepped some boundaries just for the sake of giving a big impact at the end, but it instead feels more like a genuine mistake which is what makes it all the more heartbreaking. Jewell deals with the illness with great compassion and her author’s notes are well worth a read afterwards, too. The Birds are the definition of a dysfunctional family, but God I loved getting to know them. I know this isn’t a lot of people’s favourite Jewell book, but I found it painfully tragic, beautifully captivating and exceptionally moving. I’m still thinking about the lives of these characters days after putting the book down.