Housebreaking, by Colleen Hubbard
I picked up this book at the library because it is the March pick for the library book club, which I want to check out next month. I knew nothing about it, or this author.
Del is a 24 year old woman with a failure to launch. Her parents divorced after a long ago scandal, and have both now passed away. She lives with a friend of her father’s, works a dead end job that she can’t be bothered to keep, and her roommate wants her out so his partner can move in.
One day Del gets a call from a cousin she hasn’t talked to for years, not since she left her hometown after her mother’s death. He has a proposition. Del’s uncle wants to buy the house that her mother left her, a rundown house that hasn’t been lived in for years. He’s a developer who wants to build new houses on the land where Del’s house sits.
Del, of course, can’t just take the money and run. She’s bitter at her family for ostracizing her and her mother, and wants to get even. She has a plan to sell him the home, get the money, and stick it to her uncle too.
Del is not a likable character. She’s lazy and angry, anti-social and unconcerned with her own hygiene; her only focus is getting her revenge. It takes her months, and along the way, she builds some connections with a few people from her hometown.
I was not a fan of this book. I’ve always had trouble with people who aren’t willing to work towards improving their lot, and Del is a good example of the victim mentality. Sure, she’s been dealt a raw deal, but her uncle’s offer is very good, and her revenge plan basically cuts off her nose to spite her face.
It also makes no sense from a logical perspective, and it even requires the reader to suspend disbelief to accept that she would have any chance at pulling it off. That said, it was an easy read, and made me feel like a super high achiever.
2 stars.
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