Lillian convinced me to take this out. I had read reviews that weren’t so good but she said they were mixed.
I enjoyed this book a lot. It’s a mini look at what is happening in the UK (and US) today in that there are the haves and have nots and not so much in between. Rowling is worried about the lack of empathy for those that need a leg up. The story is of two towns that sort of overlap, one solvent the other not, and the vacancy on the town board can be the swing vote to give relief where needed.
She features many families and their interactions are interesting and sometimes amusing. On the whole, most of the families are a little strange, have something to hide, and range from functional to barely so. It has some teenage angst, which she does very well. The overall tone is something of a downer but when I finished it there were flashes of hope.