Family Affair

I've been a fan of Caprice Crane since her first book, "Stupid and Contagious," hit shelves in 2006. Her follow-up, "Forget About It," placed me firmly in her fan club. What I love about Crane is that her characters are perfectly flawed. They bumble through life, as most of us do, with their share of baggage and neurosis, in a way that is both endearing and entirely relatable. I have a hard time reading a book full of perfect characters, who always say the right thing at the right time, and always know how to react in any given situation. I want my love stories to seem as if they might actually last past the last page of the book.

Crane's new release, "Family Affair," has many of the same elements that endeared me to her first two novels. Layla and Brett Foster have been together since...well, forever. They were high school sweethearts who got married shortly after finishing college. Now almost thirty, Brett is struggling with the marriage, feeling like their relationship has gotten stale. Layla has been a part of his family since her mother died in the tenth grade, but lately Brett is beginning to feel as if Layla is more of a sister than a wife. She spends more time cooking with his mother, playing poker with his father, owning a business with his sister, and serving as a confidant to his brother than she does attending his football games (he's the coach). One night at dinner, while Layla is thinking that Brett is going to announce that he wants children, Brett instead announces that he wants a divorce.

Layla is understandably crushed- how could you not be? However, she is determined not to lose both Brett and his family. Over the years, they have come to see her as a part of the family, and she isn't about to lose everything she has simply because her husband no longer wants to be married. Brett becomes increasingly angry and jealous of Layla, especially when he finds that his family (along with most of his friends) have taken her side in this dispute. He becomes absolutely livid when Layla files for joint custody of his family, and becomes determined to push her away by any means necessary.

The insanity that follows Brett's announcement is, in equal parts, both heartbreaking and hysterical. Both Brett and Layla are perfectly aware of how immature they are being, yet seem incapable of rising above their conflicting emotions in order to be the bigger person. "Family Affair" showcases all of the mistakes people make in dealing with loved ones, and how the power of family can overcome (almost) any obstacle. Within Brett and Layla, one can see the answers to the question of what goes wrong in a relationship.

I will admit that the ending is a bit more abrupt and storybook-ish than what seems reasonable for the amount of damage each party has done to the other (after all, Brett DID bring another woman to Christmas with him, knowing Layla would be there. This isn't something that's likely to be easily forgiven). All in all, however, Crane has produced an incredibly realistic, touching, and entertaining story about marriage, family, and love.

--Jenn C.