It was an ok book even though I pretty much despised all the characters and just really wanted to beat the dickens out of them all. The Parker Family is quite the unhappy bunch. You have the parents..The father is a pretty decent guy and probably would be perfect if he could keep his head out of the clouds, keep a decent job, and spend more time in reality. The mother has spent way too much time with this man and his empty promises. Then you have the kids, Stephen, the main character is their 16 year old son. He doesn't have many friends and then you have the daughter, Jenny who is 14 and wants desperatly to be part of any accepting group. The story starts off with the Parkers moving to Salt Lake City, UTah in mormon country. Stephen & Jenny are out walking their dog one afternoon when Stephen gets beaten up and his collarbone broken by a rich mormon kid. Stephen's father manages to wrangle a nice tidy sum from the kids father for medical bills and pain & suffering. It doesn't take long for the family to go through all the money. First they buy things that they really need, then his father starts to go through this money buying crap thatis not needed. One example was when he went to the grocery store and bought all sorts of food that "rich people eat" like caviar etc, but wind up throwing it out because he did not like the taste of it. So the money disappears at an alaming rate so the mother goes out and gets a job at a nursing home as a nurses assistance. Then this is where the book takes a turn and just really bothers me. All of a sudden the mother meets another man and decides to leave her husband and move in with him and taking the kids with her. Stephen goes off the deep end and causes a bunch of trouble. The other man and his mom won't allow him to live in the big mansion so his father is called and he goes back home with his dad.The ending was terribly rushed and to me, not very thought out. There is no indication that the mother meets a man where she is working or that they are having a relationship. It just shows up and no background explanation is given except that the man is the son of oneof the residents she takes care of. In addition she just drops it on the kids and expects them to go along with it. I understand her frustration with her husband and the situation, but you can't just drop something on a kid like this and expect them to just ease on into the situation. Of course Stephen has issues and because of this he is banished from the house and back to his father where the story abruptly ends. WTF??Why I hate everyone in this book except the dog. The father is a loser. A nice guy, but he has about as much ambition as a pet rock. Sorry buddy niceness and dreams don't get you squat. The mom - I felt sorry for her at first having to live with dead beat dipstick, but in the end when she chooses her new beau over her son that just pissed me right the hell off. Stephen - I hate how he makes everything seem so hunky dorry just to keep everyone together. I know the break up of a family is not the best thing in the world, but sometimes you have to weigh the issues and see where you are better off at. The crap he pulls in the end is just way out of hand, but I can understand why he did what he did. I can't say that I, at that age, would not have done it any differently. Jenny - The girl needed to grow some kahonas. Trying to hide behind her little rich cheerleader friends was not going to solve anything. Anyways in the end she choose wealth over love anyways. It's a good read if you don't mind hating all the characters and family dysfunctions are your thing..
