Family & Other Calamities, Leslie Gray Streeter (Review by Stephanie Rowitz)

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Dawn Roberts is an entertainment journalist who has to return to her Baltimore hometown not just to deal with her late husband’s ashes but to come to terms with some unresolved issues with her family and career choices. At the center of her chaotic trip home is Joe Perkins, her former mentor, whose exposé is now being turned into a movie that paints Dawn as a villain. Determined to reclaim the story she ran away from, she enlists the help of a rising journalist and iconic R&B singer to help her set the record straight. Will Dawn find closure and a way to move on from her complicated past?

This novel is packed with drama, humor, and many heartfelt moments. The author’s writing is sharp, witty, and engaging, but I struggled to connect with the characters and their journeys. I sometimes felt like I didn’t know the sister, Joe, or even Dawn, the main character, that well. Their choices were just that bizarre and seemingly out of character. The novel juggles the topics of grief, redemption, and revenge in an interesting way, but at times, it didn’t give me anyone to root for. The pacing was also a bit uneven. Some moments seemed to drag, while there were others I wanted to linger in longer. I liked that everything got resolved at the end, but some of the plotlines got resolved a bit too conveniently for my liking, while others didn’t get as fleshed out as I hoped.

Overall, Family & Other Calamities is a fast-paced, character-driven story with several twists and turns. The author balances humor with grief well, making for an entertaining read even when the subject matter gets heavy. If you’re a fan of family drama, media intrigue, messy relationships, and personal redemption, this book might be for you.