Review: The Descendants

 The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings

Here's my review of The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings:

      If you want to read a book with a thoughtful story and characters that you feel like you know, then you should definitely read The Descendants. Published in 2007, it tells the story of Matt King, a man who, from the outside, appears to have it all. He lives in the island paradise of Hawaii and is high profile lawyer. He's already rich, but he's also a descendant of Hawaii royalty, which means he and his family is kind of set for the rest of their lives. However, Matt is different from most people thrown into riches and an elite status. That is, he doesn't care that much for it. As he says in the novel, "You give your children enough money to do something, but not enough to do nothing." As you can see, he's wise about spending his money, and isn't about to turn his kids spoiled rotten. Despite these facts, this might have been the reasons for driving his wife, Joanie away. 
         When the book starts, the reader finds out that Joanie, who was just in a boating accident, is now in a coma, and things are not looking good for her. This event is what drives the story, and essentially pieces these broken characters back together again. As Joanie's condition begins to deteriorate, Matt brings his family together to be with her, for however much longer she may have. His two daughters, Scottie and Alex, deal with their mother's accident in different ways. Scottie, who just can't seem to talk to her mom and searches for an interesting story to tell her how she's been, probably to prove she's just as exciting as her mother once was. And Alex, who wants absolutely nothing to do with Joanie, but doesn't avoid her. No, she goes right up to her bedside and gives her a piece of her mind, curse words and all. Well, there's a reason for Alex's actions and these hated feelings towards her mom, and that's because Joanie was cheating on Matt, with realtor Brian Speer. When Alex tells Matt this confession, he is shocked, and feels betrayed. His Joanie, with another man? Did Joanie even love him at all? These are the thoughts and questions that race through his mind. Should he be mad at her when she is dying or love her because she is? Surely he doesn't know how to feel during this time, but he does know one thing. He needs to find Brian and bring him back to Joanie, to let him say goodbye. And maybe to ask him if he ever loved Joanie at all too. So as the King family, along with Alex's "friend" Sid, (who is great comic relief by the way, and offers Matt some great reflection) search for this Brian Speer, they basically are able to find themselves and what it means to be a family.
     What's so great about this book is that although it's a tough topic to deal with and at times it could be really heavy, it's also hilarious. I found myself laughing and crying at parts, something I've rarely done when reading a novel. It will tug at your heart strings and make you question your own beliefs about family and love. I just love that it takes Joanie's coma, to wake Matt up from his own and actually become the parent he was always meant to be. He's not perfect, but are we?
     I give this book 4 stars and you should definitely read it! I would also recommend checking out the film version, which is equally as brilliant. It stars George Clooney and Shailene Woodley and was nominated for 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Check out the trailer below: