Family Ties by Gary Paulsen

Family Ties is one of five books in this series written by my favorite author, Gary Paulsen.  The other books in this series written by Gary Paulsen were:  Vote, Crush, Flat Broke, and Liar, Liar.  All five books have Kevin Spencer as the main character and he is about middle school age.  He lives in a family of five - a mom, a dad, a brother, and a sister.  He is the youngest of the three children and plays the part of the glue that keeps the family together.  Each book is about a specific family/friend adventure.  Keven is hopelessly in love with a girl by the name of Tina.

In Gary Paulsen's book Family Ties, Kevin has been struck with the idea of reconnecting his dad with his brother Will.  Will and dad had a falling out in the past and has not been restored.  Kevin emails his Uncle Will and he agrees to come over to the house.  Will brings his new wife and the adventure begins.  Kevin recommends that his Uncle and new Aunt get remarried and Kevin begins the planning.  It turns out that their Aunt who lives above the garage has considered getting married also.  Kevin goes into high gear to organize the two weddings.  There are new characters introduced into the Spencer family and bring about some interesting, and funny, dynamics.  In the end, Uncle Will and his wife have to take their dog to the veterinarian because it was going to have puppies.  Kevin's Aunt who lives above the garage gets married and the Spencer family is there as the witness.

MY TWO CENTS WORTH:
If you like Gary Paulsen and his many youthful books you will enjoy this book.  In fact, I would recommend the series because the build upon one another.  Each book brings you into the life of Kevin and his desire to solve family problems.  You are left chuckling and laughing out loud because of some of the situations Kevin gets himself in.  I have read all five of the books in the series and enjoyed each one.

AR Quiz: 90%