{ "item_title" : "Perfect Little World", "item_author" : [" Kevin Wilson "], "item_description" : "Wilson'sambition alone is exciting. . . .His] writing has a Houdini-like perfection, wherein no matter how grim the variables, each lovely sentence manages toescape with all its parts intact. --BostonGlobeThe eagerly-anticipated follow-upto the New York Times bestseller The Family Fang--a warm-heartedand moving story about a young woman making a family on her own terms.When Isabelle Poole meets Dr.Preston Grind, she's fresh out of high school, pregnant with her art teacher'sbaby, and totally on her own. Izzy knows she can be a good mother but withoutany money or relatives to help, she's left searching.Dr. Grind, an awkwardly charming child psychologist, has spent his lifestudying family, even after tragedy struck his own. Now, with the help ofan eccentric billionaire, he has the chance to create a perfect littleworld--to study what would happen when ten children are raised collectively, without knowing who their biological parents are. He calls it TheInfinite Family Project and he wants Izzy and her son to join.This attempt at a utopian ideal starts off promising, but soon the gentleequilibrium among the families disintegrates: unspoken resentments between thecouples begin to fester; the project's funding becomes tenuous; and Izzy'sgrowing feelings for Dr. Grind make her question her participation in thisstrange experiment in the first place.Written with the same compassion and charm that won over legions of readerswith The Family Fang, Kevin Wilson shows us with grace and humor that the best families are the oneswe make for ourselves.", "item_img_path" : "https://covers3.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/0/06/245/032/0062450328_b.jpg", "price_data" : { "retail_price" : "26.99", "online_price" : "26.99", "our_price" : "26.99", "club_price" : "26.99", "savings_pct" : "0", "savings_amt" : "0.00", "club_savings_pct" : "0", "club_savings_amt" : "0.00", "discount_pct" : "10", "store_price" : "" } }

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Unconventional parenthood

When it comes to oddball families, no author puts the “fun” in “dysfunctional” quite like Kevin Wilson. Having previously explored the indelible influences of nature and nurture in his cheeky debut, The Family Fang, Wilson wades deeper into the complexities of child-rearing and family life in Perfect Little World.

Pregnant by her emotionally unstable high school art teacher, Izzy Poole finds herself facing single motherhood at the ripe old age of 18. So when Izzy meets Dr. Preston Grind, a child psychologist who tells her a study he’s launching will cover all of Izzy and her child’s needs as well as provide them with a built-in family, it seems like a dream come true. The only catch? Izzy must cohabitate with nine other families for 10 years and agree to co-parent and love their children as though they were her own. Reasoning that if two parents are better than one, 20 must be even more of an advantage, Izzy agrees.

In light and lively prose that practically tap dances on the page, Wilson shrewdly probes the intricate tensions and machinations that lie at the core of this eccentric family unit. Throughout the narrative, there is the ever-increasing sense that all families—like all systems—are ultimately trending towards chaos, yet Wilson’s story is infused with a tenderhearted hopefulness. For fans of whimsical family dramas and character-driven novels, Perfect Little World is a provocative and uplifting read.

 

This article was originally published in the February 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.