The Whole Thing Together

Starred review from January 30, 2017
Brashares (the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series) traces the tangled threads that connect two households in this moving novel set in and around New York City. Before Ray’s parents met, his mother was married to a man named Robert. That marriage ended in a bitter divorce, but one good thing came out of it: Ray’s older half-
sisters, Emma, Mattie, and Quinn. Remarried, Robert has another daughter Ray’s age, Sasha, whom Ray has never met. Ray often wonders about Sasha when he stays at the Hamptons summer house both families share; he and Sasha stay in the same bedroom during the weeks their respective families are there. Then one eventful summer when Emma gets engaged and Mattie discovers a buried family secret, Ray finally meets Sasha and there’s an instant mutual attraction. Both funny and tragic, this sharply observed drama recognizes the complexity of split families trying to heal and the ill effects of longstanding grudges. Brashares’s masterful orchestration of plot, multidimensional characters, and intriguing subplots will delight her fans and newcomers alike. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, William Morris Endeavor.

February 15, 2017
A torn family reunites years after a bitter divorce.Lila and Robert's divorce resulted in shared custody of their three daughters and their Long Island beach home. Eventually each remarries and has a new baby--Ray and Sasha, respectively--who grow up sharing their half sisters and a vacation-house bedroom, though their parents' continued hostilities prevent them from meeting. Consequently, both children create imaginary playmate versions of the other based on objects left in their shared room. Both also privately grapple with their relationship, finding themselves not-quite twins, not-quite siblings, and not-quite roommates, though other characters seemingly use these definitions to avoid examining the messy family dynamics. Eventually a new, shared summer job initiates an email exchange between mixed-race Sasha and white Ray, increasing their mutual fascination, which is then complicated when their chance meeting ignites romance. Meanwhile, their half sister's engagement party forces the extended family together, with predictably disastrous results. But soon family tragedy creates a tentative truce. Injections throughout of additional issues of race (brown-skinned Robert was adopted as a toddler from Bangladesh by white parents, and Lila is also white) and class (Robert's "new money" versus Lila's "old money" values) attempt profundity but more often just distract from Sasha and Ray's potentially interesting connection. The large cast of angst-y characters with their equally daunting number of angst-y issues impedes deep exploration of any particular character or idea. (Fiction. 14-18)

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March 1, 2017

Gr 7 Up-A winning novel exploring complicated family relationships, love, grief, and forgiveness. Although readers may need to refer to the Thomas/Harrison family tree a few times when starting Brashares's new YA title, they will quickly recognize her familiar style and be engrossed in this emotional story of two teens claiming their places in their complex and fractious families. Following a contentious and extremely bitter divorce, Lila and Robert and their three very young daughters take weekly turns at their beloved shared vacation house in an exclusive beach town in Long Island, NY. Lila and Robert each remarry and have another child only weeks apart, and teens Ray and Sasha grow up sharing the same bedroom in the beach house on alternate weeks but have never met face-to-face. That is, until one day, when they unexpectedly meet at a New York City party and are instantly attracted to each other. As they try to explore their feelings while navigating their families' tensions, a tragedy interrupts a planned celebration. The author's legions of fans will gravitate to this well-plotted work with mostly believable, thoroughly developed, and relatable characters. VERDICT A priority purchase for most collections serving teens.-Susan Riley, Mamaroneck Public Library, NY

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2017
Grades 8-11 In a world full of increasingly nontraditional families, Sasha and Ray have a particularly complicated situation. They share three sisters and a bedroom, but they've never met and aren't related. Ray's mom, Lila, was once married to Sasha's dad, Robert. Three daughters later (Emma, Quinn, and Mattie), their marriage disintegrated. Despite the volatility of the divorce, neither parent would give up the family beach house, and they live there on alternate summer weeks. When Emma gets engaged, the families may have to coexist for the first time in decades. For Sasha, it's a chance to meet the boy who's always felt like her other half; for Ray, it means meeting the girl he's always dreamed of. But all families have secretsthis family, perhaps, more than othersand this summer may be more explosive than anyone could foresee. The end is shocking and abrupt after the quiet unspooling of the earlier narrative, but at its heart, this is quintessential Brashares. Introspective questions of heritage are tied together, ultimately, by the bonds of family and the magic of summer. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: National author appearances, advertising, and book club promos should bring all the Brashares fans back to the beach.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)