Solid 4.5 stars - what a beautifully written book! It's not a particularly pleasant book, which you don't actually realize, until you do. There's an amazing subtleness to the writing and the storyline that makes the "aha" moment sort of sneak up on you, rather than hit you over the head. The characters could basically be anyone we know, which makes them so amazingly real and relatable. Adam was probably my least favorite; he was more of an important but minor player in a story that was otherwise all about Abby, Ken and Steph, and I loved all three of them, flaws, dysfunction and all.

My only complaint to this book was the ending. Without giving anything away, I was missing closure for Abby. There was a missing piece to an otherwise deeply emotional story, and that really bothered me. Nothing was left out, but I was disappointed in how the family dynamic was handled at the end.

The Story: Ken and Abby Gardner lost their mother when they were very young and grew up with a semi-stable father who is a professor who studies whales. It’s coming up on Adam’s 70th birthday and the Gardner clan is getting ready to throw a big party. But all is not well. Ken is a successful businessman/ hopeful politician who is married to Abby’s best friend. Abby is an artist who lives in her deceased mother’s art studio —that Ken owns and has no intention of signing over to Abby. Adam is slowly losing his grip on reality. And this is just the start of it.

My thoughts: This is a summer hit for me and will be on my best of the year list. This is not a cute, whimsy light read. It is a family drama/lit fiction with characters you will love or hate who jump off the page. It reminded me of The Best We Ever Had, which I also adored. The characters are complicated; the issues are real. Loved it. There is also a topic that is not explicitly addressed, but a plot point nonetheless, that is the first I have seen in fiction lately. It’s a tough one to address, but Brodeur does it well.

I really enjoy family dramas, and this one didn't disappoint. The Gardner family, Adam, the dad, and his two adult kids, Ken and Abby, have complicated relationships with each other. Ken and Abby's mom died shortly after Abby's birth. The three remaining Gardners survived over the years, but I can't say they thrived, at least not mentally or emotionally. As Adam's seventieth birthday party grows nearer, more layers of drama come to the surface. The story is told from multiple points of view with Cape Cod as the backdrop. Oh, and it's set in 2016, so the lead up to that year's election is discussed on multiple occasions, adding to the tension I felt when reading.

With complicated and unlikable characters, I'll be thinking about this family dynamic for a while!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Whale scientist father Adam approaching his 70th birthday and retirement. He is more than a little off when he messes around with his meds.

Brother Ken exuding serious Kendall Roy vibes.

Smart scrappy artist sister Abby, on the verge of her big break.

Outsider cop Steph with her own secrets.

Told mostly from the perspectives of these main characters, the story is layered, building both the family background and the tension as the drama creeps forward towards the big 70th birthday bash. All in the months leading up to the election of 2016 [still triggering, duh] which is woven into the narrative.

Everybody's hiding something. The male characters are less than sympathetic, Ken in particular is practically cartoonish, he's mean and petty. Luckily the women fare better and have each other.

Set in Cape Cod, there's lots of whale action, which was cool because my sister and I had JUST SEEN HUMPBACKS the weekend I was reading this book. Flukes, fins, barnacles, singing... all the whale imagery landed. Majestic.

The story gained momentum, even if some of the characters were one-dimensional and the feelings around that election are still a little raw. It was still compelling, a quick read. I'd watch the movie, especially if Jeremy Strong was in it.

My thanks to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for the ARC.

I loved everything about this family drama: the setting, the characters (good and bad), and the evolution of the story. Everything…except the ending. It felt unresolved, even though there was a resolution. There was a great build-up, and I anticipated a wall-shaking RECKONING. Instead, the big AHA! seemed to happen “offstage,” and I was left watching the puzzled reactions of the remaining characters. So much was left unanswered, unaccounted for, unexplained.

Unsatisfying.

This is sad because the rest of the book (95% of it) had great depth, dialog, and interactions. Interesting people, art, science, family drama. It was shaping up to be a great story until it just ended.

So many people loved it. Please weigh in here. What did I miss?

Thanks, NetGalley and Avid Reader Press, for the Digital Review Copy.

A story of a family defeated by the loss of a mother and a bipolar father. Abby has secrets she wants to release in a painting. Ken is driven to succeed. His family is a mess. Their father is off his medication and an surprise half sister arrives. Well written, but kind of a downer.
Thanks, NetGalley.

"Little Monsters" tells the story of a dysfunctional family living on Cape Cod. Adam Gardner, an oceanographer, has raised his two children, Ken and Abby, practically independently after his wife, Emily, passed away shortly after Abby’s birth. Dealing with bipolar disorder, Adam has immersed himself in his work, hoping to claim fame as a scientist before he dies. He has more or less left his kids to fend for themselves.

It is now 2016, and Ken and Abby have grown into adulthood with their own lives. Still, the two siblings have shared an inseparable and unconventional connection since childhood. Ken is married, showing an all-to-perfect family, and is trying to work his way to attain a political career. Abby lives and works in a small cottage Ken owns while she works as a teacher and creates her artwork, though Ken actually supports her. Before long, the sibling’s closeness cools as Ken becomes domineering and demands everyone to be like him, causing friction with his wife and children. Also, he’s angry with Abby over a childhood fault and believes she is trying to outdo him. Essentially, Abby wants to have her own life and explore her creativity. Yet, the chasm between her and Ken widens.

Nearing his seventieth birthday, Adam is frantic in his research. He stops taking his medication and becomes even more estranged from his children. Meanwhile, Ken and Abby’s relationship tends to cool off as both hope to inherit the family property.

Meanwhile, Steph, married to Toni, lives together in South Boston, and Steph gives birth to a son. During her pregnancy, she learns she has a genetic disease, which makes her search for her biological father, who is no other than Adam Gardner. They decide to rent a place on the Cape so she can learn more about her father and her half-siblings and father, but she remains incognito when they visit Abby’s shop. Striking up a friendship with Abby, they click, and Steph wants to know how she can connect with the Gardners.

Secrets run amok within the family, and the added appearance of a newcomer adds more questions. There is a great divide between the sexes, with the men believing they know everything and trying to control every situation. There are inferences to specific events, which are left to the reader to presume, leaving some parts of the tale unfinished yet speculative. Though the back story is somewhat drawn out, making this an intense family study, it all ties in. The complex characters show their individuality, showing how their uniqueness adds to the flavor of the story. However, the conclusion more or less ties the mysteries of this complex family together.

If you like a Cape Cod setting, family drama, and character-driven novels,you may want to read Little Monsters. The cover is gorgeous. I really enjoyed the writing style. The author has written a memoir, and I am interested in reading it based on my appreciation for her writing.

The characters in Little Monster are flawed but still relatable (some more than others). The whale-expert patriarch of the family has bipolar disorder, and his point of view is really interesting. I am curious to know if anyone who is living with bipolar disorder has opinions regarding how this character was portrayed in the novel (accuracy and sensitivity).

Secrets are slowly revealed throughout the story and everything comes together in the last quarter of the novel. One piece of the story left me feeling uneasy, but I don’t want to give away any spoilers. However, that one piece affects the way I think about the novel and overshadows some of the other aspects of the novel that I really enjoyed.

Synopsis: Ken and Abby were raised by their famous marine biologist Father in Cape Cod. Although Adam tried his best to be a good father, he suffers from bipolar disorder and his kids had to learn early on how to care for themselves and each other. Now as adults, Ken has a beautiful family and is planning to run for senator but struggles with abandonment issues he refuses to confront. Abby is an artist who has issues with men and can’t bring herself to commit. They all have love for each other but also hold deep resentment that may be too strong to overcome.

Review: This one is a verrrrrrry slow burn. It was written well and addresses very serious and interesting issues but it was a little too slow for me. Although the ending was a little anticlimactic, I think it was also realistic which I respect. Trigger warnings for mental health and abuse (of basically every kind).
Thank you to Avid Reader Press and NetGalley for my copy!

Little Monsters, Adrienne Brodeur's stunning novel, takes us back to the summer and fall of 2016 when Hillary Clinton still had a 91% chance of winning the Presidency. In retrospect, what hopeful halcyon days they were for both Feminists and Democrats!

Adam, the father, is a bipolar scientist specializing in whales. He is about to turn 70 when he decides to go off his meds to allow him to finish a long dreamed of paper on humpback whale communication. His daughter Abby, an artist, just discovers she is pregnant at age 38, while her older brother, Ken, plans a run for Congress. He has just struck it big by selling investors on a retirement property for the uber-wealthy on the Cape. Ken is married to Jenny, Abby's best friend from RISD who has given up her own art dreams to be the perfect Republican Congressman's wife. And she's dealing with it by drinking.

Steph and her wife Toni have just had a son and Steph, a NYC police detective, has just discovered a secret in her own family. They are vacationing on the Cape.

There are deeply buried family secrets, of course, a talented therapist, and differing memories of what happened. In the lovely language of her writing, Brodeur has created an immersive and fascinating book. The characters, even the minor ones like Ken and Jenny's twin daughters, are three-dimensional and the scenery is to die for. This one is worth your time.

The cover features a beautiful beach…but Little Monsters is not your stereotypical beach read! Along with the beautiful Cape Cod setting, there’s lots of drama, deep-seated pain, and family secrets.
Adam’s turning 70 and looking for his one final big discovery, and a great birthday party to celebrate him and the discovery. He’s a noted marine biologist, and has raised his two kids, Ken and Abby, after his first wife died while they were very young. At the same time, he was dealing with the challenges of having bipolar disease and maintaining his medications.
Ken and Abby have followed paths that are very different from their father. Ken is a successful real estate developer who married into a family with money, and he has political aspirations. Abby lives a quieter life, teaching at the local high school while trying to make a success of her artistic talents. And then there’s Steph, who enters the picture and we gradually learn why. They’re all dealing with messy lives and with concealing some of that messiness.
The story is told by five different narrators and unfolds over the months of April through August, 2016, building a crescendo to Adam’s birthday party.
Little Monsters is a fascinating glimpse into the life (and mind) of someone with bipolar disease and especially to when they’re without their medication. You’ll learn a lot about whales and ocean life, although my favorite part is a scene with seals and a great white shark towards the end of the book. The descriptions of Cape Cod are beautifully written.
I loved all the women: Abby, Jenny and Steph (and the twins) were all such interesting and complicated characters, and I wanted to read more about each of them. The primary male characters, Adam and Ken, were equally complicated but definitely not as likable.
Thanks to Netgalley and Avid Reader Press for the opportunity to read Little Monsters in exchange for an honest review. I look forward to reading more by Ms. Bridegroom!

I love novels like this - family with complex individuals within a complex relationship. There are lots of books like this yet this one is different.

Strings are dangling at the end - the author doesn’t spoon feed the reader to understand the flaws and stories. Readers are left to sit in the discomfort of the family. It’s not often that a book about a dysfunctional family leaves a character who is unlikeable “on read” - without any resolution other than the reader knowing they’re trying to figure things out responsibly, with therapy. Nothing is more clear at the end of the book, which I liked. And we all know how the 2016 election ended despite the world expecting the opposite (Great metaphor for this novel). Lots to think about here - get this for your next book discussion group. Thanks to Avid Reader Press for the copy.

LITTLE MONSTERS is a beautiful portrayal of a deeply flawed family comprising of compelling characters going through all the emotions. Brodeur gifts her reader with a moment in the Gardner’s life filled with heartache, joys, complex relationships, and a secret long hidden.

Here is the thing. There are books like this out there. However, the way the author navigates the murky waters of this family is outstanding. The writing is eloquent, impactful, and smart as the characters come to life. In the present, Ken, Abby, Steph, and their father, Adam, all have their demons and blessings. The difficult moments are balanced with those of joy. However, it is what is lurking in the past which slowly creeps into where they are now that makes this such a compelling read.

I will say I truly loved Abby, Jenny, and Steph. It is not that I didn't like Adam or Ken, but I felt as if these three women embody the transformation occurring in this book. They learn about who they want to be and by the end, embrace what they want from life.

The complexities of family relationships are never an easy thing for an author to develop. And yet, Brodeur nailed it. I loved the candid way she created this story. The emotion packed within these pages is nothing short of perfection. LITTLE MONSTERS is a ride of ups and downs, but there is never a moment I didn’t enjoy.

What did I think of this one...


I liked it! Way better than Paper Palace 👌

I had planned on listening to this one on vacation but I started it last week and flew through it - audio was definitely the way to go, thank you @libro and @netgalley !
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Complex family dynamics make this an unusual book, exploring the various reasons why the characters do what they do. Brother and sister Ken and Abby struggle with understanding of their brilliant father and his choice to stop his bipolar disorder meds in a bid to prove his own relevance. Poignant and well written fiction.

I don't typically read a lot of family drama-type books, but I always like to read a couple in the summer. Somehow it is just fitting, and it's often a reflecting time for me.

I wasn't sure about Little Monsters at first, but it grew on me. Each family member (father and siblings) have issues they are facing. I really loved the Outer Cape setting as I've spent a lot of time there. The book tackles a lot of issues, like grief, sibling rivalry, and mental illness.

It didn't quite have the wrenching Paper Palace feel as promised, but some readers found that book too much. If you did, try this one instead.

A solid read that would make a good book club book!

This book was amazing and will stay with me for a long time. Dysfunctional family story with all the feelings. Highly recommend

Siblings Ken and Abby Gardner have always stayed involved in each other’s lives, once close, yet feeling adrift after losing their mother when they were young children. Ken is a successful businessman with political aspirations and Abby is an artist. Their father, Adam, is a smart oceanographer although at times, wasn’t always the best father.

Now as Adam’s 70th birthday approaches, Ken and Abby have to confront secrets they’re both keeping and as it turns out, they aren’t the only ones.

Told through multiple POVs, Little Monsters has the right balance of family drama, flawed characters and the coastal, summer setting of Cape Cod.

Adam Gardner, a brilliant oceanographer. was widowed right after his wife gave birth to his daughter Abby, leaving him to raise her and her older brother Ken on his own. Growing up, Ken and Abby had a complicated, and somewhat too close relationship, which has led to their estrangement several decades later. For the most part, the only time they see each other is when the entire family gets together. The novel starts with the planning of Adam's 70th birthday party and it ends shortly afterwards. In between, told in alternating viewpoints of the different characters, this family saga will have you hooked until the very end.

The characters all felt so real to me. Adam was Bipolar, and not wanting to take his meds because he felt like it interfered with his research, he was full-on spiraling towards the end of the book. Ken had a lot of issues - too many to list. He was not a likeable person. Abby was a free spirit, who was using her art to work through some of the trauma she experienced as a child at the hands of her older brother. Steph, who is introduced a little later in the story, discovers that Adam is her biological father. Rather than going and meeting him, she begins stalking each member of the Gardner family, and ingratiating herself into their lives. That doesn't sound like someone you would like, but you do. All of the drama, in each individual family unit, and the family as a whole, kept me captivated and I did not want to put the book down. I would caution that this may trigger someone with child sexual abuse issues in their past, but other than that, I highly recommend this one!

It’s rare that you don’t like a single character in a book but this was one of them. Egotistical people, emotionally wounded, the best part of the book for me was the location and the description of the location. A painful read that has won lots of accolades. A family of secretive people who are wounded. A tough read. Although I’m interested in reading the authors memoir after hearing an interview with her on Fresh Air.