Sunday, January 26, 2025

Book Review - What Happened to the McCrays?: A Novel by Tracey Lange

 



What Happened to the McCrays?: A Novel by Tracey Lange is about Kyle McCray returning home to care for his father and to deal with the fallout of him leaving unexpectedly two and half years ago. Kyle wasn’t expecting to return home to Potsdam, New York, after leaving without telling anyone. He wasn’t expecting a warm welcome from the people he abandoned, especially his father and his beloved ex-wife of sixteen years, Casey. However, he knew that he had to be there for his father after he had a stroke.

Kyle planned to lie low and help his dad heal and recuperate before he could leave again, especially after Casey made it clear that she didn’t want him there.  As Kyle helps his father heal, he realizes the impact he made when he left abruptly.  He decides to redeem himself when he is offered a coaching position for a middle school hockey team. As he teaches the children to believe in themselves, he finds compassion and hope in unexpected places. Kyle even contemplates staying in Potsdam, and repairing the bond he and Casey had. Will Casey and Kyle be able to move forward and find peace with each other?

The book was an okay read. I had a feeling about what drove Casey and Kyle apart even though the book took a while to get there. I thought the book had a lot of unnecessary details that made the book feel like a chore. The book is narrated by both past and present Casey and Kyle. It was interesting because we could see the beginning of their relationship and how it began to unravel. I have read the author’s book “We Are the Brennans”, and I feel like both of her books are focused on family dynamics, grief, and forgiveness. For both books, I found the “twists” to be predictable and the book to be long-winded. I might read more books by the author in the future, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to get their next release.

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