I did not enjoy "We Were the Mulvenys". I thought that the author tried too hard to be too detailed in her descriptions, and this made the book tedious and annoying to have to read. Seriously, why would we need to know how to drive to High Point farm? Anyway, the Mulveny's did have the perfect family. Each one of them was successful in whatever they were interested in and they were well known in the community. This was true until the family got older, and real adult problems began confronting these story-book people. Sadly, the family turned out not to be so perfect as they proved unable to come together and deal with the tragedy of Marianne's rape appropriately and supportively, or even in a healthy way. Patrick's plotting for over a year, and then attempting to kill Zachary Lundt is obviously not healthy. Disowning people is not healthy either. Believing that God just saves you from your problems without you yourself having to do or say anything to help yourself will not get you anywhere either. Although the book was poorly written, I suppose we can say that "We Were the Mulveny's" was an appropriate book for us to read in class because it shows that even the most perfect family is not perfect, especially if they don't even try.