by Emma Straub.

A contrivance of topical LGBTQ themes with overarching misandry. Set in an Upstate New York town where everyone knows everyone for generations.

Widowed matriarch Astrid owns the town’s Big House. A stately relic. Her three children come with a myriad of issues, none particularly interesting. Astrid stuns them when she finds love with her hairdresser who eventually becomes her wife. Never got any sense of their chemistry.

Astrid’s son Nicky & French wife live in Brooklyn. Their daughter Cecelia gets caught up in rescuing her middle school friend from an internet stalker, and her parents send her to live with grandma Astrid. She becomes close with her aunt and uncle who also live in town. Cece befriends a trans-girl who surprises the town when she tops the annual parade float as the Harvest Queen.

Fine themes, but it all seemed so forced. None of the characters were developed well nor interesting enough to care about them. Dysfunctional family dynamics as dull as can be. This one not for me.