{read: coming of age, finally} The Sleepy Hollow Family Almanac by Kris D'Agostino

I enjoyed this story of Calvin Moretti, a 20-something guy with a college degree, tons of student debt, and no real plan for his life now that he's dropped out of graduate school. He's living at home, trying to figure out what to do with his life.

Yet aside from his own personal struggle, his family is faced with a series of challenges and he has to decide whether to step up and help them or opt out and save himself. Will the small amount of money he's saved up make a difference in the end? Is it important to make the gesture anyway? Will he be stuck forever at home? Should he try to make it on his own? Can he stand living at home for one more minute? He wrestles with all of these questions and more as events unfold around him.

I was afraid this would end up being whiny, but the narrator's voice ended up being mostly engaging and sometimes funny. The conversations and arguments around the dinner table and the description of some of the scenes with the mother and grandmother are hilarious. This is a great read that made me laugh out loud. Yet if the first line, "I work with retards," offends you, it's probably not for you. I was immediately drawn in.

The Sleepy Hollow Family Almanac by Kris D'Agostino (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2012)
My rating: 3 stars