Bookish Review: The Monsters of Templeton

This book is a bit of a love letter to Cooperstown, NY, and a fictionalized version the Cooper family (Think James Fenimore Cooper). I have only been to Cooperstown once, but it was fun to read a book that was so tied into the fabric of the town. The book features the creature that is supposed to live in the lake. Willie returns to her hometown in disgrace and extreme crisis. SHe has gotten herself into a situation where she thinks she will not be able to finish her graduate degree and her mother's dreams for her will be dashed. She comes home to find that her hippie mother has found religion--and a pastor to date, to boot. Her best friend is dying from lupus, and and her mother reveals that the story of her paternity is completely false. As she searches for the truth of her parentage and digs deeper into her family tree, the story of the town and the family unfolds through different viewpoints. Groff has a very interesting writing style, and the way the story is told adds interest.