Dear Great Book Guru,  We Were in Brooklyn’s Carroll Gardens for a great birthday party with delicious treats and a fabulous pirate theme. Many of the partygoers were talking about a new book they had read recently.  It was about three sets of families that come together over the years for holidays, birthdays, vacations with varying outcomes.  Have you heard of it?  Brooklyn Birthday Party Fan

Dear Brooklyn Birthday Party Fan,  I just finished reading Eleanor Brown’s latest book ANY OTHER FAMILY . When their grandmother dies, Phoebe and her siblings are adopted by three sets of parents. The adults decide on a novel arrangement - they will form a super family so that the children will continue to see each other regularly. They will live near each other and be together for holidays - large and small - throughout the year.  We meet them as they begin on their first vacation together and we soon see the challenges that arise. The mothers have very different parenting styles and expectations.  Tabita is a perfectionist who enjoys controlling all aspects of this family adventure.  Ginger is an older single woman who prizes her privacy and has strong feelings about how she wants to raise her daughter.  Elizabeth finds coping with an infant overwhelmingly difficult but is reluctant to let the others know of her struggles.  The book is told in alternating chapters that allow each of the women to voice her thoughts to events in a Rashomon fashion, offering us a fascinating look into parenting and the myriad meanings of family.  A quick read and highly recommended!