Siracusa is one of those books where not much happens but so much is going on. It focuses on character development, and Delia Ephron did an A+ job on the creation of dynamic, interesting, and believable characters. I felt a connection to all of them and bought into their personalities, their backstories and histories, and their decisions and justifications. 
 The book is told from the points of view of the four major adult characters (Lizzie, Michael, Taylor, and Finn); Snow is the daughter of Taylor and Finn, and even though we never see her point of view, we still see her through the eyes of the four adults, and she becomes this constant factor that keeps all of the characters connected. She adds a new and exciting element. 
 And while we're on the topic of Snow... 
 (view spoiler)[At the very beginning, I thought she was simply shy and quiet. And perhaps Taylor coddled her a little bit. But I quickly caught on that there was something not quite right about her. I really did think that Snow would turn out to be a psychopath who would eventually go on to shoot up her school, kill her parents, or both. However, the whole time I thought these scenarios would be left to the imagination. I thought Ephron gave us great context clues about the warped mind of Snow, and I liked being lead to believe that we would never know exactly what was up with her. A great mystery. So when we discover that Snow murders Kath, I was shocked. In a way, I'm glad this happened in the story. It confirmed my suspicions that Snow was psycho. But at the same time, I think I would have enjoyed a little bit of a cliffhanger in this regard just as much. (hide spoiler)] 
 The story was paced well, too. This easily could have turned into a bunch of whiny adults constantly sulking over the same issues. It happens all too often. But Ephron kept the story moving. She didn't linger on the melodramatic any longer than needed, and she kept the marital issues interesting by constantly introducing new insight and background to the characters and relationships. 
 I just thought Siracusa was really well done. Well written. Great execution. A well-rounded look into the themes of marriage, friendship, parenthood, and travel. I give the highest recommendation.