Yona Zeldin McDonough-A Wedding in Great Neck

This was overall a good read.  It was the story of a family getting together to celebrate the youngest child's wedding.  My initial interest in the book was that it was set in Great Neck, on Long Island.  I teach in the next town over and thought it would be fun to read a book set in a town I'd spent time in.

The book centers around the bride's family and the drama that ensues.  The entire family gathers at the home of the mother of the bride and her very rich second husband who is paying for the entire wedding and in fact pays for many things in these children's lives.  The mother is a woman who went from being married to an alcoholic no-gooder (the father of her four children) to marrying the man of her dreams who is rich beyond belief and treats her like a king.  Her life often centers around her very nervous tiny dog that to some extent causes grief to all the children.  Her ex husband, father of all the children, has moved to Calif

  The oldest daughter is separated with twin pre-teen daughters.  She is in the midst of marital angst because her husband cheated on her with a student (university level) and the drama that comes around that.  Her daughters are very much dealing with both the issue of being a pre-teen in general and the fact that their father is no longer living with them.  They are being shielded from the worst as they don't know that their father has cheated and will be potentially starting a new family with his girlfriend.  He's a fun character with an Irish accent.  The eldest daughter is definitely a character with a lot of flaws, some real and some perceived but is an interesting character.  Their two daughters are also interesting characters.  One is especially going through a hard time, both with her parent's separation and general teen girl drama.  She is also somewhat in love and somewhat in hate with her aunt's fiance, soon to be husband, an Israeli who served in the military.  On the one hand, she thinks he's super nice and sweet but on the other hand, she's learned about the conflict in Israel and is afraid that he's killed innocent Palestinian children.  She also has some sort of issues with her aunt.

The next eldest, a son, is there with his girlfriend and honestly is a somewhat blah character.  He and his girlfriend had some drama but really not enough to merit much in the book.

The third child, another son, is there with his newish boyfriend.  This is the first time that his family is meeting his boyfriend but there is no conflict between the family and the fact that he's gay.  There is however conflict between him and his boyfriend.

The bride herself is a bit of a pain in the butt.  She's seems very entitled but also very talented.  She's the baby and especially to her father, that is a big deal.

Overall, this was a good novel but not one that I would rave about.  Definitely an entertaining read worth a look if you don't have other amazing books on your list.