What the Family Needed

Steven Amsterdam's latest book is again a series of interconnected short stories that form the loose structure of a novel. Starting with a family absconding an alcoholic and abusive father and taking us through the next three decades in the lives, loves, triumphs and dramas of everyone involved, the book is wry, human and bittersweet.

And that's before we even get to the superpowers.

Giordana and Ben arrives at their aunt's house and their cousin Alek asks them both a simple question: 'Would you rather fly or be invisible?' What follows is how each member of the family discovers then learns to control their superpower and how that affects their family life. The superpowers, whether they read as metaphors for personality traits they must master, or are real manifestations of the next stage of humanity all bring the family members out of themselves. As they grew apart and come together, and their lives move beyond the family home, we see them test themselves.

Amsterdam writes with a tenderness and ease of touch. His writing is funny and sweet and sad all at once and What the Family Needed is an endearing tale of a family learning to come together.