Avis, the mother has been enthralled with pastries since she was a teenager and was left home alone frequently. She first developed a taste for cooking in general that transformed into a knack for concocting sugary masterpieces. Brian, her husband, is all business. As and real estate attorney his view the world in a very black and white manner which makes it difficult for him to see anything from others' view points. Brian is the son that has done everything right. He owns his own trendy organic food business and couldn't be happier. Then, there is Felice. The single crack in the perfect family structure.
Felice ran away for the first time at thirteen. Since, she has been coaxed into staying at home for days, even months at a time, but always goes off on her own again. Felice's stunning looks have opened the door to making a means of staying alive by doing random stints as a model. However, she definitely doesn't live the luxurious life of a model, instead sleeping in an abandoned house with other delinquents and skate boarding her way around town.
At first glance, it appears that Felice is simply a girl that has gotten into to drugs or wants to live a life on the edge, but as the story progresses the reader comes to understand the horrible events that led Felice to flee in the first place and the disjointed and disconnected manner in which each of her family members have dealt with the issue.
I enjoyed how the story was told from the various perspectives of each of the family members which gave insight into each of their ways of thinking and the ebb and flow of the family emotions that, while not entirely healthy, it seems, could work no other way. The food descriptions are reminiscent of the lavish descriptions of the spreads in Garden of Eded, by Ernest Hemingway, and will leave your mouth watering. The lush life paired with the sparse living of one family member are sure to bring to live the sharp paradoxes that are in any city and family, for that matter.
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