16. The Burgess Boys

By Elizabeth Strout (352 pp)(ebook)

Elizabeth Strout is such a great writer. These characters and their relationships are so complex and sad and funny and relatable. The story starts with a freak accident that happens when the main characters are children and it's a ghost over their whole lives. The oldest sibling is a successful attorney, the sister has hard edges. The youngest son is good natured non-profit attorney who I wanted to hug every few pages. Susan's son is a loner who inadvertently gets himself into big trouble and in the process of helping him, the siblings have to go through a lot. Really good.