Inside the O'Briens

Library Journal Review Genova (Still Alice; Love Anthony) has in her fourth novel elegantly constructed a tale of a Boston police officer who learns that he has Huntington's disease. In his early 40s, Joe O'Brien starts experiencing sudden, violent changes in his temper and muscle movements and is eventually diagnosed with the genetic disease that gets progressively worse and as yet has no cure. Joe's four children each have a 50 percent chance of inheriting the illness, and his youngest daughter, Katie, who is just starting her life as a yoga teacher and with the man she loves, grapples with whether to test for the gene. Genova takes us on Joe's hellish personal journey, alternating between his point of view and Katie's. VERDICT This is a gut-wrenching and memorable read, most similar to Genova's Still Alice in its detailed portrayal of the disintegration and rebuilding of a family in the face of a horrible illness. [