Annette Feldman is turning 70, and she's determined to have the perfect family vacation to celebrate. But forcing her family onto a cruise ship for a week has unforeseen results. Annette's daughter, Elise, is hiding a shopping addiction while worrying over her two teenage children and her impending empty nest. Elise's journalist husband is making a major career shift, but he hasn't told Elise yet. Their father is hiding a secret of his own. And Freddy, Elise's brother, is proud of the career he's built, but worried his family won't approve. Elyssa Friedland (The Intermission) steers the whole clan through untested waters--often to hilarious effect--in her third novel, The Floating Feldmans.
Friedland's third-person narration shifts frequently between her characters, dwelling most often on matriarch Annette and straight-arrow daughter Elise. This approach allows Friedland to share background on vital family secrets, while keeping the cruise narrative sailing along. Her characters are true to type, but layered enough to (mostly) avoid caricature. Cruise director Julian provides occasional fresh, if sometimes biting, commentary on the Feldmans in particular and cruise-going families in general. But all of the Feldmans, and even Julian, are in for some surprises: not only the free fro-yo and the family trivia competition, but unexpected revelations and difficult truths. By the end of the week, it's anyone's guess whether the Feldmans will sink or swim--but it's a pretty sure bet they'll do it together. The Floating Feldmans is a fast, funny, surprisingly heartwarming ride on the high seas. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams