This is an excellent book I picked up on a whim and enjoyed very much.

The blurb: The family you want isn’t always the family you need.

ALL RIGHT HERE is the first in what looks to be a new series about the Darling Family. I know, I know, it’s almost too cute, but the writing isn’t cutesy or twee or precious. The book is by Carre Armstrong Gardner.

ALL RIGHT HERE is the story of Ivy Darling and her husband Nick. They can’t have children and become instant guardians to three children from next door when their mother abandons them. Nick is determined not to get attached. Ivy dives in and is soon busy with her home, her job, and her new kids. Nick isn’t actively mean or neglectful, just more disinterestedly observant.

As Ivy becomes more involved in her own life and Nick disengages more, even sometimes belittling and demeaning Ivy, their lives head toward a seeming breakdown.

My only complaint is that in the beginning, Ivy seemed too passive. She just took Nick’s family’s disrespect and didn’t stand up for herself at all. She got better as the book went on, so I concede that her passivity was part of her character arc.

The children are real enough to walk off the page and into your minivan. There’s the tough-exteriored and protective older brother, the younger sister who loves all things girly and the youngest brother, still needing security and food in his life, as well as some Pull-Ups.  

The book is excellently written, with a depth of emotion rare in a debut author. The story issues are real and heartfelt. I highly recommend this one!