https://booksaremycomfortzone.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-family-ship.html

A link, above, to a longer review on my blog. I really enjoyed this one- 4/5!

I'll share only a few details to see if this is for you. The Vergennnes family is large by any standards, the mother being pregnant in her 40s with #10. The story is told from random rotating points of views, so you do have to keep track of all the names. The ship is used as symbolism in this book, and also as their navy-retired, strict, demanding father's way of controlling the kids. The older ones have to take care of the younger ones because the mother is always pregnant and can't manage alone, though she worships each and every child as a gift from above. Their dad in turn worships the mother and is actually dependent on her, so you see the flow of things in their family life. He is not warm and affectionate with the children. Think: Sound of Music. Note: this isn't Christian fiction, not that that would've mattered to me. 

This is a character-driven, many characters-driven plot. Most of it takes place on the ship, so it's a claustrophobic study of a family in flux. The oldest kids want to abandon ship- a minor pun- and the parents want everyone to stay the same and stay together. Do yourself a favor and read this now.

The Family Ship could easily be one of my favorites, if not very favorite book of 2021!  When I was first reading it, I didn't feel a connection with the family.  I didn't care abot the ship and the silly navy game.  Then I started to bond with the characters and couldn't put it down.  By the end, I had tears in my eyes and I wanted it to never end.  So beautifully heartbreaking and wonderful at the same time.

I was so excited to receive an ARC copy of The Family Ship because I loved Sonia Yoerg's previous novel, Housebroken.  Thank you so much to Lake Union Publishing for the chance to review this book.  Family Ship was very different but even more wonderful  So many books I've read lately in the Women's Fiction category seem to deal with untold secrets, missing people, and romance at every age.  This book is nothing  like that. It is a novel that grabs you in the heart from the first chapter and doesn't release you until the final word.

It is about a large family and by large I mean 9 children.  Amazingly enough, Yoerg makes each individual child just that, an  individual that you don't confuse with the others.  The parents, Maeve and Arthur and their kids live in an old house by the river way outside of a small town in Virginia.  Maeve is pregnant with her 10th child.

When they bought the house, it came with an abandoned boat in the yard.  Arthur, being retired Navy, turned the boat into The Ship and all the children had roles in the running (playing) of it. Arthur believed it would help teach discipline, cooperation and responsibility. 
 
The Commanding Officer is Verity, the eldest girl.  Each child holds an important office like cook or meteorologist.  Jude, the oldest, has had a falling out with his father and does not live at home.. The family dynamics are affected by Maeve's illness and Arthur's difficult, somewhat paranoid personality.  

I grew to care for these people and watched the development of their story which leads to a chilling episode during Hurricane Earl which hit inland Virginia in 1980 with disastrous results. I've never read a book quite like this. the concept of the ship is truly original.  The novel asks and answers many questions about personality, mental illness, family relationships, love and hope.  Kudos to Sonia Yoerg for producing this engrossing tale.

I am glad I picked this one up. In this heart-wrenching family drama set in 1980 Chesapeake Bay, family loyalty is prized above all else. The Vergennes family is a large one--nine kids in total. Shirking family duty is an unforgivable offense, as the eldest son, Jude, finds out. On the night the youngest child, Nellie, is born, the unthinkable happens. Jude has a friend over who brings two acquaintances. One of those “acquaintances” attempts to rape Jude’s oldest sister, Verity. Their father, a former Navy man and resident control freak, goes off on Jude and blames him for what happened. Unable to reconcile with his father, Jude strikes out on his own.

The glue that holds the family together is the HMS Nepenthe and its captain, Verity. On the oyster boat turned make-believe ship, the children are given respective roles. The ship essentially acts as a metaphor for the family itself. When everyone takes on their appropriate roles, it is a tight-running ship. When one of the crew members struggles, it is deeply felt: 

“The ship, she realized, was a perfect metaphor for what her life had become. She was stranded with her siblings, drifting out to sea, the home they longed for forever out of reach.”

Verity often struggles with her identity after the attempted rape. She feels ugly in her own body, gains several pounds, and does not have many friends. She is expected to be a second mother to the children, but that role means she has to sacrifice much. She is a brilliant and highly gifted student who dreams of going to a four year university. She decides to apply behind her parents’ backs. Her father, inflexible as ever, takes personal offense to her decision to keep this a secret and is not supportive of Verity’s dreams.

Their mother, Maeve, is a stark contrast to their rigid father, providing nurturing to all the children. She is a quiet ally for the children at odds with their father (Verity and Jude). The family’s world is turned upside down when their mother becomes gravely ill. The children must use the skills they learned on the family ship to keep faith and family together. The premise of the family ship was intriguing, and I couldn’t put it down. If you are looking for an emotional family drama, this is a good one to pick up.

The following review was posted on my blog (blogginboutbooks.com) on 03.03.21:

"The ship, Verity realized, was their true church because they went there to show respect for order, for diligence, for their higher, more disciplined selves.  Sure, it was made-up, but what difference did that make?" (quote from an uncorrected e-ARC of The Family Ship, 11%)

When Arthur and Maeve Vergennes bought their home on an isolated inlet of the Chesapeake Bay, an old oyster boat came with the property.  They christened the grounded vessel Nepenthe.  Over the years, Arthur has used it to teach his nine children some of the discipline he gained while serving with the Navy in Korea.  Not only has it served as an elaborate playground for the kids, but through their many imaginary voyages they have formed themselves into a tight crew that values duty, dedication, and their father's family-first approach to life. 

Unlike her 14-year-old sister, who's grown embarrassed by the childish doings on Nepenthe, 18-year-old Verity still spends a lot of her time entertaining her younger siblings by planning and executing daring escapades.  Lately, though, she's feeling the weight of her responsibility.  Unbeknownst to her parents, she's applied to an out-of-state school.  She knows her father—who values family over everything else and intends for her to live at home while attending a local community college—will see it as a betrayal.  Especially since Verity's older brother, Jude, has already abandoned them.  Between Arthur's unwillingness to let her go and her mother's newest pregnancy, which is becoming increasingly worrisome, Verity feels trapped between duty to her family and her desire for a life of her own.  When tragedy strikes, she starts to realize just how alone she and her siblings really are.  Can they keep the family together when everything around them is falling apart?  Can the teamwork that unites them on Nepenthe save them as things go hopelessly awry?  If family love is supposed to cradle you in its protective arms, why does Verity feel like she's being suffocated by the very people who are supposed to love her most?

There's a lot to love about The Family Ship, the newest novel by Sonja Yoerg.  The idea of an old ship as both playground and school is a fun one.  The warm, large-family chaos described in the book rings true, especially for someone who's part of a big brood, like me.  I definitely relate to Verity's plight.  While Arthur's a complicated character, his dedication to his family makes him admirable, if not always understandable.  His wife is unrealistically angelic (I mean, c'mon, no stay-at-home mom adores all of her children every second of every day) but still likable.  While the kids all kind of blend together at times (which is true-to-life in a large clan), they have distinct personalities which make them feel like a believable bunch.  Their story involves some tough subject matter, but overall it's a hopeful tale, something I always appreciate in a family saga.  

My biggest problem with The Family Ship is that it drags on and on and on without really going anywhere.  I kept checking how far I'd read and being shocked when my Kindle said only "30%" or "47%."  Although the action picks up toward the end of the book, the story definitely drags and gets dull.  So, even though I enjoyed being enveloped in the Vergennes' lively household, I still wanted their tale to be more dynamic and exciting.  It's compelling, don't get me wrong.  It just takes Yoerg a loooonnnggg time to tell it.  In the end, then, I liked The Family Ship, but its wordiness and lack of plot made reading it more of a slog than it should have been.  Bummer.  I really wanted to love this one.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me a little bit of The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah and If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch)

Grade:  C+

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG-13

for language (a few F-bombs, plus occasional milder expletives), violence, and disturbing subject matter (including a brief attempted rape scene)

To the FTC, with love:  I received an e-ARC of The Family Ship from the generous folks at Lake Union Publishing via those at NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this advanced reader copy. 
 	I LOVED this book! The novel follows the Vergennes family, two parents and their 9 children, who live out in the marshland of the Chesapeake Bay and have an old ship docked in their yard. Each character had their moment to shine in the novel. You instantly connect with each of their stories. Each twist and turn brought heartbreak and showed how the power of family can heal all wounds. My only critique was the end of Maeve’s story but otherwise this was a major 5 star novel. I am shocked more people are not talking about this and will do my best to circulate it to all reader’s I know. I look forward to reading many more from Sonja Yoerg!

I am such a huge fan of this author so this pains me, but I just could not get into this book. Initially, I was intrigued by the setting, the family, and especially the idea of the ship and all it symbolizes. But after starting this, putting it down, and picking back up again - I finally gave up at around 60%. I rarely DNF a book but this just moved too slow for me. The author's amazing character development and descriptions are present in this novel but I just couldn't invest in the story. 

*Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Family Ship was an excellent, unexpected, unique novel about a large family. I was amazed how the author delicately introduced each person in the family to the reader, even though there were so many souls in the family, in such a well developed manner and perspectives, holding different maturity and developmental phases in order to build the story as a whole, well rounded unit. The ship in the backyard, utilized to entertain the children, was very unusual, molding the children into a responsible and well oiled team. The love connections between the husband and wife, then the parents and children, as well as the kids' roles as secondary care takers was just fascinating. I really enjoyed and appreciated this wonderful book. Thank you NetGalley, publisher and Sonja Yoerg, the author for the e-reader for review. All opinions are my own.

Another amazing book by this author. Every time I finish one of Sonja Yoerg’s books I say I liked it more than the last one and I’ve decided I just love them all but this one nearly broke me. It’s 1980 and the large Vergennes family lives on the Chesapeake Bay. When I say they have a large family I mean nine children! Since they live out of town and have no money for outside activities the children play together on an old ship abandoned in their yard. This is such an elaborate game and pastime that the kids even have uniforms and military ranks. Their father was in the Korean War and passed down his rules of responsibility and respect down to the children. After the oldest son Jude fails to watch his siblings and something terrible happens to his sister Verity there is a massive falling out with Jude and his father. Jude, now 17, ends up leaving the family for the next few years. After tragedy strikes the family again Jude returns and the family dynamic again shifts. Among all this we get the POV of the children which was so great to hear. Verity has struggled the last few years, now being the oldest, and too many responsibilities have been placed on her shoulders. This is an amazing story about family through hard times and good times. Ultimately when things look beyond repair can this family put itself back together. This book is so beautifully written. The children all had a unique personality and voice. If you love a family drama story be sure to read this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this fabulous book by Sonja Yoerg.  5 glowing stars!

in the 1980s, the Vergennes family of parents Arthur and Maeve and their 9 children, live in a rural area of Chesapeake Bay Virginia.  An old oyster boat was on the property when they bought it, and the family turned it into an imaginary destroyer called the USS Nepenthe.  Envisioned as both playhouse and a way to teach the children discipline and responsibility, each of the children had strict roles to play daily on the ship.  The oldest, Jude, had gotten into a huge fight with his dad 5 years ago and had left the family to live with an uncle.  Verity, the next oldest, yearned to go off to college and start her life without all the responsibility of her siblings.  But life for all of them didn't turn out as planned.

I had never read anything by this author before and only requested this book because of an instagram recommendation.  After the first couple of chapters, I wasn't sure exactly what I was reading but as it went on, I absolutely fell in love with this book and its characters.  The story is told from different points of view of some of the children and their mom, so we get to see the family dynamics from other perspectives.  This story will break your heart and then put it back together again with hope and love.  This is a must read novel available now!

The Vergennes family, is quite large, nine children large, and this story takes place before the age of the internet stole our children away. 

Their parents bought a remote home near an inlet of the Chesapeake Bay and upon its property was an old oyster ship. The children use this ship as a plaything whee their imaginations can soar and where discipline and rules apply. The story is told in the third person mostly by the two oldest children, Jude and Verity, and we learn how parental duties often fell onto the shoulders of the oldest children. Their ship, the USS Nepenthe, not only became their playhouse, it became their guide. It defined them and in it they could work and play, and become dependent on one another, all in their own backyard. 

This was a fine story of family and was a great literary fiction event.
Thank you to Sonja Yoerg, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this wonderful tale.

This is not the type of book I normally read but I really liked it. A family saga of trials and tribulations where you really get to know each member and when it ends you feel like you have left some good friends behind. I will definitely read more books now from this author. Thank you to Netgalley and the author for allowing me to be taken on this journey.

Arthur and Maeve own a house by the Chesapeake bay. When they purchased this home it came with a ship in the back yard. Instead of getting rid of it Arthur and Maeve kept it for their kids to play on. Verity is the captain of the family ship by default. Her older brother Jude has stormed off and left the family. This leaves a rift in the family. But, when tragedy strikes, Jude is the life saver. However, Arthur still has issues with Jude’s presence.

When I started this read I thought I would read a few pages and abandon it. But…holy cow! What a fantastic, heartwarming, heartbreaking, all the feels book this is! This book is about a family with 9 children…yep…NINE! I thought there is no way I will keep up with all these characters. But the author did such a great job. And every single one of these children captured my heart.

There is so much encompassed in this story. I had to put it down for a moment to breathe…but I couldn’t leave it down long…I had to find out what happened! Do not miss this one! You will be captivated from start to finish! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Set in the 80s, The Family Ship is the thoroughly engrossing story of the Vergenne's family. The father was a Navy man and when they move into a house with an oyster boat in the backyard he decides to make each child a crew member with their own job and responsibilities. I loved getting a glimpse into the unique dynamics of such a large family. The characters were beautifully developed and the plot kept me turning pages long past my bedtime. 

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this novel.. My review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.

This book is challenging to read, but if you give it time you will become embroiled in the Vergennes Family. Verity is the oldest daughter of many siblings and she feels that she has to remain to help the family. The eldest is Jude, but he left the nest five years ago after a dispute between father and son. 

Verity has so much on her young shoulders and then a catastrophic tragedy has taken place and she wonders now how she will ever escape? Jude has a weight of if he would have handled things differently in the past would it be possible for life to have been altered? 

This family is bogged down with what if’s and then to have a father who is a man of strict order that there seems to be no room for talking about a relationship or situation. It’s black or white and no gray.

The author does a fantastic job of delivering development of the children, but the overall experience with the book is too much of nothing and it should be more cohesive. I had to put it down and come back to it several times because I was losing interest. However, after about 15 chapters in the book perked up and flowed , but it was still a slow read.

The Family Ship is the first novel I've read from Sonja Yoerg, but it definitely won't be the last. I was quickly drawn into the story of the Vergennes family and was impressed with the author's ability to include the viewpoints of each of the nine children as well as their parents'. Coming from a very small family myself, it was fascinating to observe the dynamics of such a large family. Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing me with an advance copy to read and review.

I have enjoyed each of the previous five of Yoerg's books, but the sixth, The Family Ship, may be her greatest story yet. This is no fluffy, easy read - it has teeth that grab and do not let go until the very end. There were times when I found myself needing to stop and take a breath just to take in everything that was going on, but the breaks were never extensive, for I couldn't bear to be away from the Vergennes family for too long. It was all too easy to become enmeshed in their lives and I have no doubt I will be thinking about them and wondering where their lives have led for a long time to come.

I was provided an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In THE FAMILY SHIP, Sonja Yoerg takes us on a journey that is unexpected and in a way that is so unusual it really shouldn’t work. Seriously. But, in Yoerg’s hands, it not only works but succeeds on such an amazing level that you will remember it for years to come.   
Yoerg takes us into the lives of the members of the Vergennes family in the 1980s. When Arthur and Maeve Vergennes needed a place to move their growing family, the house and land near the Chesapeake Bay, removed from town and accessed by a bridge, seemed perfect, with plenty of space for their kids to run and play. It even has an old oyster boat that Arthur initially plans to fix up and sell, but ultimately becomes a place for him to bond with the kids and teach them about responsibility, using his past in the Navy as a template for their “assignments.”  With nine kids, it’s one way to keep things running smoothly and combat the chaos. The most responsibility naturally falls on the oldest kids (as happens in large families) and the oldest boy has been estranged for several years, with both him and his father to stubborn to talk to each other. This leaves Verity in charge, and she’s ready to give up her responsibilities, but isn’t sure how, with Jude gone and another baby coming. It’s only when Maeve’s latest pregnancy becomes a difficult that Jude comes home to help out and deal with the family dynamics that have changed since he left years before.
Family dynamics are key here, and Yoerg uses the multiple points of view to unravel and lay them out for the reader, helping us understand and navigate the different relationships within the family. It could be confusing with so many points of view, but Yoerg handles them easily and they fit perfectly into each segment of the story. The story is about the family, but it is Jude and Verity, the two oldest, that bear the brunt of the responsibility and the story. When tragedy strikes, in more ways than one, it is their strength and trust in each other and the family, that will get them through.
There are so many layers to this story and Yoerg has taken each aspect and woven it together into an unforgettable story that is, at its core, about family. In her masterful way, she has given us a realistic novel that will pull you in and keep you floating along, immersed in the lives of the Vergennes family, until it deposits you on the shore with a beautifully satisfying end. 
 Thank you to the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy of this novel. All opinions are my own and freely given.
#TheFamilyShip #SonjaYoerg #LakeUnionPublishing

The Family Ship is a deeply woven remarkable, unique family saga that explores a family in crisis when tragedy blindsides them. It’s a beautifully written story that pulls you into the heart of a family while exploring the dynamics of love, tragedy, grief, loyalty, healing, and hope.

The story is set in 1980’s when children needed to use their imaginations to entertain themselves, and the Vergennes family of nine children are a very imaginative, quirky close-knit bunch. They live on a small island property with a docked oyster boat they spend hours going on imaginary voyages. The ship is used to teach discipline and responsibility, with the oldest Verity as the ship captain and her siblings the crew.

The story is told through a few family members giving a well-rounded perspective of the family dynamics. The pace is slower to start as we get to know this large family, which helps keep them apart. I felt for each of the children and wanted to take care of them, and they tugged at my heart-strings in different directions with the emotional pull to the story.

For me, the center of the story was the father and son complicated dynamics between Arthur and estranged oldest son Jude, who comes back home when tragedy consumes the family. Sonja Yoerg has a way of emotional pulling you into the conflicts the family faces and at times I was shouting at them both and angry at Arthur with how controlling he was and how he treated Jude. Through their actions Sonja Yoerg shows us a deeper understanding of family relationships and I enjoyed the love, and hope that shined through the story.

“I used to think hope was something you had because you didn’t have what you really wanted.”
“hope is more important than what you actually have in your hand. You can lose what you have, but there’s always more to hope for” ~Verity

I loved this unusual hopeful story that shows how grief can break us apart and bring us together. It’s a thoughtful, insightful and unforgettable story. I highly recommend it.

Writing a review for The Family Ship is not going to be easy.   I loved the book so much that I want to share everything, but I do not want to include any spoilers.  

A family with 9 siblings lives in a house with a ship in their backyard.   It has become the children’s playground, their safe place, their place to escape to.    Each child has their own title and job to do during their adventures on the ship and they work together just as a crew would.  

Their parents have given them love, support, and toughness while requiring them all to participate in the family and the day-to-day life of keeping a house and family going.   Arthur, the father, is a Korean War Vet who runs his household like a drill sergeant.   The mother, Maeve, tends to be more loving and a buffer between Arthur and the kids.  

Verity and Jude, the oldest children, are forced to take on more responsibilities when their mother becomes sick, they step up to run the house and take care of their siblings.    As the burdens continue to come to the family things get extremely tough and Verity and Jude do all they can to keep things as much the same as possible. All the children show their strength and unselfishness as their world spirals out of their control. 

The Family Ship is a developing story.   With each chapter, I learned more about the characters, their history, and what their futures would hold.    It is a story of a family coming together and being there for each other.