The House we Grew Up In - Lisa Jewell I have now read all of Lisa Jewell's books and I think I can categorically say that this is my favourite. The book starts by giving the reader an almost idyllic view of the Bird Family as they gather for the annual Easter egg hunt. With years worth of children's drawings on the walls, an overflowing craft box and punctured paddling pools in the garage it would appear that the Bird's are a loving, caring family...but scratch the surface and flaws appear.... Mum Lorelei, eccentric hippy homebird, always the life and soul of any gathering who wants to make a happy home and life for her four children and husband but who has an obsession with collecting things. Her husband is Colin, definitely the quieter and more grounded of the parents but who is nevertheless led by Lorelei's quirks and urges, more than he would like but who daren't interfere for fear of the consequences. Meg is the eldest daughter, sensible and determined, she is outspoken about her mother's spiralling problem with keeping things and the only one who will openly admit there is a problem in the family. Beth, the second eldest, is quiet and lacks confidence, happy to go along with what others want for an easy life and hiding from truths that may damage her own life. Then there are twins Rory and Rhys who couldn't be more different. Rory is the strong popular one whilst Rhys has always been the weak one, geeky and unpopular who worries all his family in different ways. It is Rhys' actions one Easter that set the family on a definite road to ruin. There are things happening beneath the surface that outsiders don't see and that, once the rot has set in, spread and spread. What makes one woman so obsessed with 'things' that she becomes a compulsive hoarder and what is it that makes one family member slightly more off kilter than the others? Why does Ryhs do what he does and could anyone have done anything to prevent it? Whilst some people pretend things are normal and fine, others fight to make sense of it, to make others see what is going on but the damage to the Bird family is done and throughout the years events conspire to make their family more estranged yet more entangled in one another's lives than they care to admit. This is a fantastic and fascinating story of the intricacies of family life; how a family that appears to be normal and happy can disintegrate so thoroughly. Lisa Jewell tells the story of the Bird's with compassion and insight. The characters are maybe not characters that you will instantly like for they are without exception flawed, but that makes them very realistic and empathetic. The story had me totally gripped from the very start and I read it on one sitting because I simply could not put the book down, staying up into the early hours to finish it. What makes this book so compelling is that the Bird's could be any family in any street in any city, even your neighbours! It is an absolutely brilliant read.