REVIEW: All the Best People by Sonja Yoerg

ALL THE BEST PEOPLE by Sonja Yoerg is a deep study of illness and its effect on a family. What we did to those who were different in the past is disturbing, which is reflected powerfully in this story. Sonja Yoerg defines regret and acceptance, then joy, through three generations of women who lived it.

Carole Gifford remembers as a ten-year-old, her father telling her that her mother Solange was sent to Underhill State Hospital for a rest. Carole was forced to grow up fast and take responsibility for her baby sister, Janine. Solange currently can’t imagine her daughter Janine as anything but the baby who was torn from her years ago. Now that Carole is married with a family of her own, the questions of her childhood begin to surface. Will history repeat itself, or is there something more?

ALL THE BEST PEOPLE is an absorbing story. Told through the eyes of the women in the family, each has their own version of what happened. There’s a definite line between lower class and the wealthy explored here. I couldn’t help but be invested in the outcome for these characters, hoping that happiness would finally be theirs.

This is the first book I’ve read by Sonja Yoerg and I immediately ordered another while reading this one. I loved the way the mystery of Carole’s experience unraveled while telling other characters’ stories as well.

I was disappointed by the end of this book because it felt rushed and inconclusive. Not that the story wasn’t concluded in a satisfactory manner, because I did enjoy it. But I wanted to know more about Carole’s life. It seemed sewed up too quickly and we get to see her future, but I wanted more details about her adaptation. Maybe there was too much emphasis on her mother, which left Carole a bit of a mystery. And Janine – what happened to her? She was such a neurotic, evil person that I wasn’t sure if I missed her wrap-up, or if it was left unsaid.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed this novel’s emotional journey, but I wanted more situations clarified in the end. Perhaps there’s a sequel planned? I’m looking forward to reading HOUSE BROKEN, the next book by Sonja Yoerg on my TBR pile.

Review by Dorine, courtesy of The Zest Quest. Digital copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.