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A Friend of the Family
A Friend of the Family | Lauren Grodstein
14 posts | 19 read | 17 to read
Pete Dizinoff, a skilled and successful New Jersey internist, has a loving and devoted wife, a network of close friends, an impressive house, and, most of all, a son, Alec, now nineteen, on whom he has pinned all his hopes. But Pete hadnt expected his best friends troubled daughter to set her sights on his boy. When Alec falls under her spell, Pete sets out to derail the romance, never foreseeing the devastating consequences. In a riveting story of suburban tragedy, Lauren Grodstein charts a fathers fall from grace as he struggles to save his family, his reputation, and himself.
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TheLudicReader
A Friend of the Family | Lauren Grodstein
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My favourite reading spot. #bestfriendsummerhome

Caroline2 That view!!!!! 😲 💖 4y
Tamra Love it! 4y
MyNamesParadise Beautiful! And I remember really enjoying that book when I read it! It‘s been a while though. 4y
23 likes3 comments
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Butterfinger
A Friend of the Family | Lauren Grodstein
Panpan

How far will a father go to protect his 21 year old son from a mentally unstable woman who brutally killed her newborn baby ten years ago? I didn't like it and I will never recommend it. The author clearly wanted the reader to pity the girl. To a degree, I did, but not for killing her baby. I hated the ending because it made the overprotective father the villain.

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wallacereads
A Friend of the Family | Lauren Grodstein
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Back from our travels and only plans are to unpack and read.

34 likes1 stack add
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TrishB
A Friend of the Family | Lauren Grodstein
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Pickpick

It‘s a pick because I can‘t stop thinking about it! So many moral dilemmas in this. So many times I just wanted to say NO!! I found Pete was not a likeable parent....
Read two books by this author now and she‘s great!

Reggie OMG!!!! I‘m so glad you liked it. This goes under parent‘s worst nightmare kinda stuff. To work so hard, have everything, and give your kids the good life just to have them be crazy. I really loved Joe. Cotton ball Joe. 5y
Reggie Also, as a woman who wrote a whole book from a man‘s pov, I believed her/him. I never once thought, oh yeah, that‘s a woman writing a man. 5y
TrishB @Reggie she‘s turning into a great author - can‘t wait for more! I liked Joe - good guy. It would have been interesting to have different POVs wouldn‘t it? One of the women. What did Joe/Iris really think about Laura and what did Elaine think about Alec. So many conundrums. Off for a glass of wine and a ponder now! Another great recommendation - thanks 👍🏻 5y
See All 9 Comments
KarenUK Oooh... Sounds good..... stacked! 👍📚@Trishb @Reggie 5y
TrishB @KarenUK it‘s a great little read! 5y
Reggie @KarenUK I hope you like it. I devoured it when I read it. @TrishB yes, I do because I want to know if Elaine knew about her husband‘s secret desire. And last question..... where‘s Laura? You think she‘s in France? 5y
TrishB @Reggie probably! Turn up again in a few years when she has no money. 5y
Cathythoughts Sounds really interesting! Stacked 5y
TrishB @Cathythoughts it was a good read and you definitely questioned everyone‘s motives! 5y
108 likes4 stack adds9 comments
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TrishB
A Friend of the Family | Lauren Grodstein
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After discussing whether they think their son is gay, this is the reason why they don‘t want him to be - because they‘d have no grandchildren.....what a selfish view. Grandchildren are not a parents right.

saresmoore I‘ve heard this argument so many times. It‘s infuriating. 5y
TrishB @saresmoore I just want my kids to be happy, if they choose to have kids that‘s their choice not mine! 5y
Susanita Erm. Some of the best parents I know are same sex couples. 5y
See All 20 Comments
Leniverse Yeah, there are ways of arranging that. I guess what they mean is that they want grandchildren who share their DNA and that‘s less likely to happen. And what if their son married a woman and it turned out they couldn‘t conceive? Not to mention he might not want children anyway. People like that talk as if their kids can and should alter their sexuality to suit their parents, and like they have the right to demand they breed. 5y
kspenmoll So so sad people think that way! 5y
Suet624 Two of my grandchildren are from a same sex marriage. 💕 5y
ejgbooknerd I‘m straight and I‘m not giving my parents any grandchildren. 5y
TrishB @Susanita yep ❤️ 5y
TrishB @Leniverse as parents it‘s not our decision whether our kids have kids, no matter their sexuality! I disagree with the assumption so much. (edited) 5y
TrishB @kspenmoll exactly 😔 5y
TrishB @Suet624 my son and his bf have been together nearly 4 years now, they talk about maybe adopting in the future. Maybe they will, maybe they won‘t. It‘s still not my expectation that they give me grandkids. It‘s wrong to think that. 5y
TrishB @ejgbooknerd and that‘s totally your decision 👍🏻❤️ 5y
Suet624 I agree with you completely. 5y
CouronneDhiver I think every parent has *some* set of expectations for their children... and part of the battle is laying them aside (opening your mind) to allow your child to be themselves. 5y
tracey38 It's very sad. My husband and I couldn't conceive, even after yea4s of infertility treatments. It's heartbreaking. Sad people think this way about life. It's not all about them. 5y
CarolynM Couldn't agree more 5y
TrishB @CouronneDhiver yep- that hard bit about letting them go/be themselves! 5y
TrishB @tracey38 sorry to hear that. Exactly, not all about them! 5y
Reggie When I came out to my parents we didn‘t talk for 2 months. And then later that summer my dad told me he was just disappointed because he always wanted to see what my kid would be like. Then I told him I could always adopt and this guy, who is not my biological father, told me it wouldn‘t be the same. Lolol wtf, Dad!!!! I still love him, and he‘s my favorite parent, but we all have our blind spots.lolol 5y
TrishB @Reggie you‘re a much nicer person than me to put that aside and laugh at it! Maybe I‘m not maternal enough as I haven‘t stressed about grandkids ever!! 5y
96 likes20 comments
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LitsyWelcomeWagon
A Friend of the Family | Lauren Grodstein
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Repost from @BookishTrish Welcome to the Litsy Family @neggers #LitsyWelcomeWagon

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Welcome to Litsy @neggers !! 🎊🎉☺️📚🙌🏻 6y
neggers Such a wonderful and warm welcome I‘ve received here! Thank you! 6y
Ddzmini Welcome to Litsy happy reading 📖 😋 6y
See All 8 Comments
AsYouWish Welcome to Litsy @neggers 📚🎉📖🎊 (edited) 6y
CampbellTaraL Woo! Welcome to Litsy. 📚☕🍵🍪 6y
neggers @AsYouWish @taraWritesSci thanks guys! 📚🎈☕️ 6y
neggers @Ddzmini thanks!! Happy reading to you too! 6y
ReadZenRites Welcome to Litsy! ✨📚✨ 6y
46 likes8 comments
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DebbieGrillo
A Friend of the Family | Lauren Grodstein
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My son bought this book last spring when his grad class was having a fundraiser at the bookstore. #noteworthynovember #family
@Jess7

Reggie This book is great. I do not have children, but this would be in my top ten of parental nightmares to have. 6y
69 likes1 comment
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Victoriahoperose
A Friend of the Family | Lauren Grodstein
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Pickpick

I have some mixed feelings about this book. I want to start off by saying that I think the writing was really very good. I liked that the time was so unreliable in some ways as it bounced back and forth to different stories at different times. I strongly didn‘t like the characters and some of the premise was just a little bit hard to digest. Overall, I thought this was good and fans of The dinner by Herman Koch should definitely read this one!

11 likes1 stack add
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Reggie
A Friend of the Family | Lauren Grodstein
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Laura Stern, having been found not guilty of killing her baby behind a library after a secret pregnancy when she was a young teen, will come back to town over a decade later and remain #theunforgiven. Told by her parents best friend, the neighbor, whose son becomes infatuated with Laura, this quickly becomes suspenseful and every suburban parent‘s worst nightmare. Characterization and writing make this book a winner. #rocktober

Cinfhen Sounds great! And another winning #ReggieBite ❣️❣️❣️I see I've already stacked it, but now I need to find it! 7y
minkyb #ReggieBite oh how I love this! 7y
47 likes4 stack adds2 comments
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Reita325
A Friend of the Family | Lauren Grodstein
Mehso-so

It was okay if you like soap opera type of stories.

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killamkath
A Friend of the Family | Lauren Grodstein

Engrossing

1 like1 stack add
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Reggie
A Friend of the Family | Lauren Grodstein
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Pickpick

Wow. Sometimes you read a book and you almost have to put it down because the things its drawing out of you are almost too much... sadness, regret, sometimes desire even. This suburban tale is told from the point of view of a 50 something Dr.Pete, and tells of all the decisions he makes as a parent, a husband, as a best friend. He just doesn't see the destruction down the road from some of these decisions. Very engrossing. Very good.

16 likes1 stack add
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Reggie
A Friend of the Family | Lauren Grodstein
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Started this today and yikes!!!!! Tragedy in suburbia. Hardworking, successful people who want nothing but to give their kids the best, only to have their kids be crazy. Really good so far.

Cinfhen Yikes, sounds right! These books scare me...I'll await your full review, although it sounds excellent (edited) 7y
minkyb Ditto @Cinfhen ! 7y
19 likes1 stack add2 comments
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LitHousewife
A Friend of the Family | Lauren Grodstein
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Pickpick

I'm really excited to meet Lauren Grodstein today. My very first eBook was Friend of the Family and I loved it. She has such an interesting voice and I'm looking forward to reading Out Short History.

QuietBookReader Great pic! 7y
LitHousewife @TheBookDiver Thank you! She is such a happy person. I ❤her. 7y
Megabooks 😎!!! 📚📚 7y
Suetara Friend of the Family was my first ebook, too! 7y
57 likes2 stack adds4 comments