The story is told from the perspective of Elizabeth McNair, one of four children, and she is 11 years old when the story begins. We meet the family on the day that Mom and Dad have signed the papers to buy the first real house for the family. It is over 100 years old and out in the country in Oregon, and everyone is excited. As Mom says, "Let The Wild Rumpus Begin," and the family does a wild things parade and dance through their new house. This story pulled me in immediately. We very quickly see however that all may not be as rosy as it appears. After some initial very happy days the Dad is killed in an accident at work. The Mom does not handle his death. The story gets very twisty after that. Not a happy story. Although there is an aura of sadness there are bits of sweetness too. The cover says it is "a novel of suspense." It is, but more than that since there's a bit of a ghost story or a haunting wrapped around coming of age tales for the children. I liked seeing the kids grow up and finding their strengths and callings.

One of the things that I really liked is that even the small minor characters are really brought to life and described well. No cardboard cutouts here. It is a well told story from a gifted storyteller and I really enjoyed it. ( )

A bittersweet story of the McNair family that has finally gotten their dream and decided to settle down into a permanent home. A sudden tragedy befalls them when their father dies, and their mother cuts off all connection to the outside world. She's bitter and lost without him, leaving the children isolated from their community. When yet another tragedy strikes, the children must learn to face the world on their own, and in their own way. They have a secret that nobody can know, and brings paranoia, suspense, and plotting on their part. In this coming of age story, each of the four children will find their own way in life, but the youngest will have the hardest time of all. It's a well told story of the ties of the family, but the need to be an individual as well and grow. I gave this a 4/5 and had a good ending. I would also recommend the Tillerman Series by Cynthia Voigt (First book is called Homecoming) If you are looking for a similar kind of reading. ( )

Oregon, USA, ca 1998
Liz (ca 11 år), Brian (6 år), Kevin (15 år), Amy (14 år) flytter sammen med faderen Warden McNair og moderen Leeanne McNair i et gammelt hus i Oregon. Warden har aldrig kendt sin far og flyttede fra moderen som 17årig og droppede al kontakt. Leeanne blev efterladt i en papkasse som spæd. Så begge forældre indskærper børnene at det er meget vigtigt at holde sammen som familie.
Men få måneder efter indflytningen dør faderen ved en arbejdsulykke. Han havde forsikringerne i orden, så der er sørget for familien rent økonomisk, men moderen går i spåner over det.
En dag falder hun ned fra en stige og dør.
Hun var ikke god til det praktiske i økonomien, så det har de to ældste styr på.
Af frygt for at blive splittet holder børnene mund, begraver moderen i haven og lader som ingenting.
Leeanne var ung, så den ældste pige Amy kan udgive sig for hende, så Kevin fx kan tilmelde sig køreprøve og lovligt køre bilen.
Den yngste, Brian, tager det tungt og ser hele tiden moderen for sig, hvilket skræmmer Liz, men de holder spillet kørende. Liz er fortælleren i historien, så vi hører mere til hendes overvejelser end til de andres.
Der går et par år. Kevin er 18, Amy 17, Liz 14 og Brian 9. Det går stille op for de ældste at der sikkert ikke ville være sket andet end at deres sagfører havde udpeget en husbestyrer, men nu er det for sent.
For at komme ud af situationen, arrangerer de at moderen forsvinder. Politi og sagfører hopper på limpinden og et par voksne bliver sat på som husbestyrere Elina Inglewood og Willam Radix. Men Brian mener stadig at Leeanne er der hele tiden. Tiden går og da Kevin til sidst foreslår at de graver moderens knogler op og fx begraver hende til søs, bryder Brian sammen. Han bliver indlagt som sindssyg og fyldt med psykofarmaka. Liz kan ikke klare at se på det, så hun kontakter Radix og de får befriet Brian og rettet op på tingene.
Undervejs kommer det frem at Brian formentlig var skyld i moderens død. Liz og Radix er blevet forelskede og måske ender det hele til sidst på en god måde.
Ganske fængslende fortælling om nogle børn, der bliver sat i en urimelig situation. ( )