The House We Grew Up In: From the number one bestselling author of The Family Upstairs

This is my third Lisa Jewell book of 2021 after The Family Upstairs and Invisible Girl and is undoubtedly my favourite out of those, which is odd since it seems to the complete opposite for most people. But for me, The House We Grew Up In is an edge-of-your-seat read that feels very detached from your everyday family but also too close to home at the same time.I love Lisa Jewell’s writing but I’m finding that my enjoyment of her books comes down to whether I like the characters or not. I struggled to like any of the characters in The Family Upstairs or Invisible Girl because I didn’t feel like they redeemed themselves in the end, but I feel like I’ve just spent a week living through all this drama alongside the family in The House We Grew Up In and have found myself warming to each of them.What Jewell does best is that she shows the good and bad in all of us by delving deep into her characters’ hearts and minds. Her books are often dark and shocking, but not from using big twists or characters who are complete psychopaths. Instead, she uses very real characters and situations to show how even the most well-rounded person can have a streak of darkness running through them. It doesn’t have to be anything too serious and their actions can be done with good intentions, but we all make mistakes, we sometimes follow the wrong path, and we will all do whatever it takes to protect the ones we love.While every character in this book does something unforgivable, I felt a lot of sympathy for them all at the same time. They are undoubtedly a messed up family, but I have never met a family who doesn’t have something they want to hide. I was so ready to hate Lorelei but I was also heartbroken by her sole intentions to fill her children’s lives with happy memories. There’s nothing I fear more than my children growing up and resenting me for something, so I could really feel her pain.And of course there is the issue of Lorelei’s hoarding disorder. As soon as I realised that she was a hoarder, I was hooked. I love to get inside the heads of people with weird habits or dysfunctional mindsets. But of course I knew that people with hoarding disorder tend to have an emotional reason for doing so, so I was gripped to find out what secrets Lorelei was keeping.I have to admit, the build-up to the “big reveal” was much more nerve-wracking than the reveal itself, but I’m glad Jewell didn’t take things too far. It could have easily overstepped some boundaries just for the sake of giving a big impact at the end, but it instead feels more like a genuine mistake which is what makes it all the more heartbreaking. Jewell deals with the illness with great compassion and her author’s notes are well worth a read afterwards, too.The Birds are the definition of a dysfunctional family, but God I loved getting to know them. I know this isn’t a lot of people’s favourite Jewell book, but I found it painfully tragic, beautifully captivating and exceptionally moving. I’m still thinking about the lives of these characters days after putting the book down.

I love book's written by Lisa Jewell, I'm normally hooked by page 20 and finish the book within a couple of days. This book was no exception. The story follows the life of the Bird family, a family that should have it all. The mother Lorelei is determined for her children to have the best possible upbringing but things don't exactly go according to plan. The story follows the life of the family throughout the years and generations, the paths they take and the relationship they have now. The book cover's hoarding and how this effects a family that should be close and perfect yet aren't.Lisa Jewell has a way of describing things and I felt completely compelled to finish the book as quickly as possible. My weekend felt as though I was there with the Bird family, in the hot summer heat stifled by Lorelei the hoarding mother. I thoroughly enjoyed this book - an excellent read

I love Lisa's books, and was really looking forward to this one.I was mistakenly expecting a thriller like other books of hers I have read. I was sorely disappointed. The book was a bit too 'old' for me, and told a story that wasn't expecting or captivating.

I am currently re-reading all of Lisa Jewell’s books and I particularly like the way family relationships are written in this book and it shows how things can change and alter us over the years.I do believe there isn’t a huge revelation in the book but it doesn’t always have to be a huge hard hitting reveal to make you enjoy a book and I think that’s what Lisa does here. She tells us what happened and how small things can separate a family.I’m looking forward to starting another book by Lisa.

When Lisa Jewell writes a new book, I can guarantee that it will be written in an addictive page turning manner and that I will enjoy it thoroughly. The House We Grew Up in is no exception. This novel illustrates how diverse Lisa Jewell can be. With a wide range of themes that I won't elaborate on for fear of releasing spoilers, Jewell can turn her hand to any topic and with sensitivity too.The House We Grew Up in shows how the ripple effect of a stone dropped in a pond can ruin and fragment a family forever. In fact it wasn't until the last few chapters that I realised the stone had been dropped in the pond the day before everybody thought it did.Lorelei is a complex character whose story is told via her emails to her Internet lover, and from the descriptions of others. She inspires love and exasperation in equal measure, even in the reader, but eventually I understood her and my heart broke for this very tragic woman, who was in turn broken in many ways herself.This is no less than a modern literary classic that refuses to shirk away from very dark themes, but adds a chink of light to the future, slicing through the detritus of the Bird family's life.