Book Review: The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray

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BOOK INFO
Title: The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls
Author: Anissa Gray
Publisher: Berkley
Publish Date: February 19, 2019
Genre: Contemporary
Goodreads Ratings: Me 3.0 / Community 3.73

BOOK BLURB
from Amazon:
The Butler family has had their share of trials—as sisters Althea, Viola, and Lillian can attest—but nothing prepared them for the literal trial that will upend their lives.

Althea, the eldest sister and substitute matriarch, is a force to be reckoned with and her younger sisters have alternately appreciated and chafed at her strong will. They are as stunned as the rest of the small community when she and her husband Proctor are arrested, and in a heartbeat the family goes from one of the most respected in town to utter disgrace. The worst part is, not even her sisters are sure exactly what happened.

As Althea awaits her fate, Lillian and Viola must come together in the house they grew up in to care for their sister’s teenage daughters. What unfolds is a stunning portrait of the heart and core of an American family in a story that is as page-turning as it is important.

MY REVIEW
Althea and her husband Proctor are arrested. Althea’s sisters, Lillian and Viola, step in to take care of Baby V and Kim, Althea’s teen daughters. The family is in upheaval after Althea and Proctor’s arrests, and everyone handles the aftereffects in their own way.

Told from alternating viewpoints, the family drama unfolds as consequences of past actions are dealt with. Althea is the eldest sister and an upstanding citizen. Until her arrest. Lillian and Viola each have their own stories, in addition to dealing with Althea’s arrest and taking care of her girls. As for the teens, Baby V and Kim are handling things in very different ways.

Unfortunately, this book never fully captured my attention. I did not connect with the characters… and not connecting with the characters meant I didn’t really care what happened to them, especially Althea. I was most interested in Lillian’s story, and I was curious as to how things would end with Baby V and Kim. Overall, this was an average read for me.

The women in the story are battling past and present secrets, loyalties, and guilt. It’s full of family drama and strong women, so it will appeal to many readers. Emotional, contemporary, and hopeful.

I received a free eARC of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.