Family Game Night and Other Catastrophes

A novel about throwing things out -- and letting people in.

Annabelle has a secret . . . a secret so big she won't allow friends within five miles of her home. Her mom collects things. Their house is overflowing with stuff. It gives Annabelle's sister nightmares, her brother spends as much time as he can at friends' houses, and her dad buries himself in his work.So when a stack of newspapers falls on Annabelle's sister, it sparks a catastrophic fight between their parents--one that might tear them all apart--and Annabelle starts to think that things at home finally need to change. Is it possible for her to clean up the family's mess? Or are they really, truly broken?Mary E. Lambert's moving and heart-breakingly funny debut novel about the things we hold dear--and the things we let go--will resonate with anyone whose life has ever felt just a little too messy.

Mary E. Lambert is a middle school English teacher at a charter school in Tempe, Arizona. Last summer, she graduated from the Vermont College of Fine Arts with an MFA in children's writing. This is her first novel. Visit her at MaryELambert.com or on Twitter at @MaryUncontrary.