The Year We Left Home

My goal is to read 100 books by the end of 2013.  I just finished book 64.

The Year We Left Home by Jean Thompson

Summary:
Beginning in 1973 and ending in 2003, this book tells the story of an Iowa family from the perspective of siblings Anita, Ryan, Blake, and Torrie and their cousin Chip.

My Opinion:
This book is a perfect example of why I always finish the books I start; the beginning through the late 70's was a slow start but then it took off and I really liked the rest of the book.  
The author does a fantastic job setting a scene and she has lovely phrasing (describing working construction as "work that used your body up like one more tool").  Her words combined with the fact that I'm an Iowa girl made it easy to lose myself in the pages.  I knew these characters, such as the farmer trying "exotic foreign food "...a burrito...for the first time, or the church ladies preparing their casseroles after a death, or the small town chitchat exchanges.  There was heartache and strife but underneath it all there was familiarity and a sense that everything would turn out alright.  
This book isn't for everyone but there definitely is an audience for it and I will read more books by this author.    

Quote from the Book:
"When he was younger he had wished to see the world, and then he had wished to change it, and then he had been afraid it was passing him by."