The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg

I'm kind of surprised, but I don't think I've read anything by Elizabeth Berg before. I really enjoyed this book, though. There is an interview with the author in the back of the edition I read, and in it Berg talks about how her characters in this story are more flawed and less likeable than in her other books. I think that's one of the reasons I liked it.

Laura Bartone anticipates her annual family reunion in Minnesota with a mixture of excitement and wariness. Yet this year’s gathering will prove to be much more trying than either she or her siblings imagined. As soon as she arrives, Laura realizes that something is not right with her sister. Forever wrapped up in events of long ago, Caroline is the family’s restless black sheep. When Caroline confronts Laura and their brother, Steve, with devastating allegations about their mother, the three have a difficult time reconciling their varying experiences in the same house. But a sudden misfortune will lead them all to face the past, their own culpability, and their common need for love and forgiveness.