Book Review: Little Big Love

Although Katy Regan has written four books published in the UK, Little Big Love is her US debut. I will look for more from this author. She deftly portrays the emotional struggle of weight issues for women and their children. Since I have a son whose BMI indicates he is heavily overweight, I could relate to Juliet Hutchinson's angst concerning her son's size and the ensuing bullying. Even when a parent longs for a healthier lifestyle and choices for an overweight child, it is often difficult to implement because food is more than simply what we put in our bodies. It comes with emotional associations and it often plays a role in relationship-building.

Zac Hutchinson is frustrated with his family. Everyone seems to conspire to keep him from the truth about his father and his father's whereabouts. Plus, he can sense the tensions surrounding the issue. When his mother admits to lingering feelings for his father, Zac is more determined than ever to play detective, along with his neighboring best friend Teagan, to find Liam and establish a relationship with him. In Juliet's bid to increase her son's happiness and self-esteem, they begin to tackle his weight issue and to talk more about the taboo subject of his father.

Despite being slow in parts, I eagerly awaited the final word on why Liam disappeared from their lives and whether he would step in and father his son now. The novel, told from three distinct voices (the grandfather, the mother, and the son), creates realistic characters facing an event from a decade ago still impacting their relationships in the present. Regan does a great job of stirring the reader to root for the little guy (or would that be the big guy). Little or big, love comes in different forms and sizes and has the potential to create both moments of simple joy and moments of substantial grief.