Brand New Human Being
by
Emily Jeanne Miller

My " in a nutshell" summary...

Dysfunctional family, stay at home dad, wife starting to stray, dad takes son and runs away!

My thoughts after reading this book...

You never really know what is going on in people's lives. They can look happy and settled and the truth can be quite the opposite. Logan and his wife Julie and their son Logan are adjusting to the death of Logan's dad just four months ago. Logan doesn't get his 4 year old's regression and trouble More...

While I thank Ms. Miller for giving me the opportunity to read this book, I had trouble finishing it. I was looking forward to reading about a family in trouble. The idea made me think of my own life (my parents going back to court for 14 years following their divorce). Thus, the thought of another story based off of a messed up home life made me smile. Then I opened it and began reading. I kept waiting for more events promised to me in the summary! Page 100... still waiting. As my old AP US His More...

Almost immediately this book reminded me of Fathermucker. I keep reading books written in a dad's point of view hoping I would get some insight into what goes through Matt's head, but still I feel like I'm not quite getting it. Nonetheless, this book is good. It has a subtle humor to it and if you're a parent you'll get it. You will know the frustration Logan feels when his son goes through a baby phase, for example.
Anyone who is married is going to relate to Logan and Julie. Though the ended u More...

I have got to say - really, I absolutely MUST SAY - that I loved this book. Loved, loved, loved it.

Reading Brand New Human Being is kind of like watching a supermodel slip and fall on the runway, knocking out one of her teeth. You are filled with a mixture of horror, gratitude that it isn't you, and a wee tad of schadenfreude, because, let's face it, who doesn't like seeing other people miserable? So long as it isn't you, right?

Or maybe that's just me.

Here we have Logan August Pyle, whose father More...

Brand New Human Being
Emily Jeanne Miller

In order for me to really enjoy a book, I need to like the characters. In this book, I didn't care for any of the characters, not even four year old Owen.
Logan Pyle, father to Owen and lead in this story, just didn't have much about him that I liked. His tone of voice was harsh with his son, I know by the end of the
book he started to turn it around but the author really didn't give me anything to work with. So many times I just wanted to smack him. To me, More...

I think that Brand New Human Being was a well-written book with well-drawn characters that had depth. However, all of the characters, especially Julie and Logan, were so deeply flawed that I didn't like any of them and spent most of the book wanted to reach in and shake them. I think it's speaks well of the author when she can cause such a strong reaction in a reader. However, when I read a book with those kinds of characters, there needs to be at least one likeable character to balance things o More...

Brand New Human Being, the debut novel from Emily Jeanne Miller, is the story of a man who is having a difficult time transitioning from the role of son, to that of father, which is due in part to the odd (and often distant) relationship he had with his own father. It also depicts the attachment a child sometimes feels to his/her parents–in this case an only child of a single parent–in which the child (even a grown child) wishes to feel that no one will ever be as close to the parent as s/he is, More...

"I'm thinking about how you are in the world. And your sense of humor. And what makes you happy - and sad. And then there's your big heart - don't get me started on that." She looks down. " All those things, I know they're abstract, but they're important. They're what make up a human being. And they're the things I loved him for, and they're in you, too."

Beautiful. You just can't read this book fast. There's just too much to think about. Each character has this depth, a personality uniquely thei More...

Book Review: Brand New Human Being by Emily Jeanne Miller

Brand New Human Being by Emily Jeanne Miller (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 272 pages; $25).


"My name is Logan Pyle. My father is dead, my wife is indifferent, and my son is strange. I'm thirty-six years old. My life is nothing like I thought it would be." Thus begins Emily Jeanne Miller's fast-paced and deeply heartfelt debut Brand New Human Being.

Miller has worn many hats in her life. At Princeton University, from which she graduated, she More...

On the plus side, the characterization and central conflicts in this story were strong, but I found the pacing uneven and plot resolution less than satisfying.

However, my biggest gripe is with the expectations set by the jacket info, and I realize the author may have had little control over this.

Firstly, it's not "fast-paced," at least, not for the first two-thirds of the book. Curtis Sittenfeld sets Ms Miller up for poor reviews through this endorsement. And secondly, I really object when I ha More...

A first novel by this author and it was good...and that's really about all I can say about it. It held my interest, but didn't really grab me the way some books do, but I read the entire thing which doesn't always happen if books don't grab me within the first 40 pages.

We meet Logan Pyle, a lapsed grad student and stay-at-home dad...and his life is not going exactly the way he thought it would by now. His dad recently died, he and his wife are struggling in their relationship, and their 4 year o More...

Deciding to branch out in my reading so picking random new books in the library that seem interesting as I wait for books on hold. Of course I have about 700 other books on my TBR pile, but I will get to those too. So yesterday I finished 3 books-her is the new book. It is called "Brand new human being" by Emily Jeanne Miller. Logan Pyle's father has died and he and his wife and con have moved into his childhood home. Logan is not adjusting well, so goes on a "journey" to find himself. It is wel More...

There was a very interesting and compelling story at the core of this book. I wish I hadn't so intensely disliked the main character, and felt he was one of the worst fathers in the world, so I could have rooted for him at any point. I also hated the character of his wife and felt so much pity for their son that it was impossible to root for their family to make it thru the rough patch. All that being said, I still read the whole book so clearly it was compelling enough to keep me turning pages. More...

This is one of those books that is probably lovely, but since it isn't my tastes, I just couldn't connect or really engage with it. Logan Pyle, a young (30ish?) father is married to Julie, a work-minded lawyer, living in a house he inherited from his father, raising his nearly four-year old while Julie works on the case of a lifetime. When Logan catches Julie with another man (not a spoiler; the jacket blurb shares this), he takes his son and flees to his father's widow, a woman only a few years More...

Very well written -- I actually thought the author was a guy until I was about a quarter of the way through, which is a HUGE compliment. But I found the awful parenting so disturbing that I couldn't enjoy it. I realize that this is a tribute to the good writing, but it was almost unbearable reading about a dad who does exactly the wrong thing every time when dealing with his poor messed-up four-year-old. I see these immature, self-absorbed parents every day at Target and in at the park and I jus More...

I found this to be an engaging story and because it had a quick pace, it kept me focused to find out what would happen next. Ms. Miller did a fine job of explaining the dynamics of the characters and their relationships with each other. That being said, I have to admit that there were a few characters that I didn't like very much. Julie being the one that stood out the most for me. I didn't like her dismissive attitude towards Logan and how she could make him feel as if his opinions didn't measu More...

Exploring themes such as grief, marriage and parenthood, Brand New Human Being is an entertaining and thought provoking novel. The death of lawyer and environmental crusader, Augustus Pyle has left his family reeling. His son Logan, is struggling with his grief and a failing business, his daughter-in-law and protege, Julie, is drinking too much and working too hard, and their four year old son seems to be regressing, demanding a bottle and sucking his thumb. After witnessing his wife's drunken i More...

Tons of emotion and things happening, ordinary things, in this book. At times the story was frantic, but very realistic. I kept wanting to shout things at the main character (whose name I forget-. That is, Logan August Pyle)! While the everywoman inside me scoffed at the skinny, red-haired, lawyer-wife, I found the characters generally to have depth and texture, if no common sense whatsoever. I would have been happy if the story had been twice as long, but the actual length and moment of ending More...

I would probably give this book a 3.5. Overall I enjoyed reading it, but I found two things very unsatisfying. The first is that Logan apologizes for everything to everyone yet no one else seems to take any accountability for their actions or choices. Which leads me to the second thing. Not once did his wife apologize for her indiscretion and there was never any resolution to the situation. The ending seemed abrupt without any closure.

This book wasn't bad, but in my opinion it could have been so much better. The story was interesting, but it took forever to get to the tipping point of the story. There was no action until you made it nearly two thirds of the way through the book. I thought the flashbacks were interesting, but there was simply too much information and not enough action initially. Beyond the slow start the story was quite good. The characters, while not necessarily likable, were frustrating and stubborn-the perf More...

From June 2012 Real Simple magazine 7 addictive summer novels -

"This fast-paced tale of family life follows stay-at-home dad Logan Pyle as he tries to save his floundering marriage, find personal fulfillment, and figure out why his nearly five-year-old son wants to to be treated like a baby - all while addressing the comical and quotidian quandaries of parenthood." -Julia Edelstein

I agree with this book was awfully hard to get into at first. It did get better at the end with a little bit more happening. The dysfuntional lives of others = fun to follow. My thought process is that the ending really doesn't match the book as the main couple in this book are barely talking to each other, he is sleeping by himself and then she is all of a sudden pregnant. Maybe a sequel to answer.....dum...dum...dum, "Whose baby is it???"! Overall entertaining. Loved the boy.

Emily Jeanne Miller's debut novel tackles the meaning of fatherhood in the modern world, giving readers a flawed protagonist, Logan, who is doing the best he can to keep his family together. The scenes between Logan and his young son are heartbreakingly beautiful as Logan tries to be the kind of father he himself did not have, and yet he never quite hits the mark.
Introspective and honest, this novel focuses on the small dramas inside Everyman's living room: the way all parents intend on being b More...

If there was a half star, I'd go 3.5 for sure. I appreciated the depths that Miller's male protagonist Logan scales but I also wanted him to demonstrate a wee bit of strength & conviction. Which he does eventually, but it's pretty late in the game by then. All in all an arresting debut and definitely worth a read.

When I first heard about Brand New Human Being by Emily Jeanne Miller, I thought it would be a perfect book to review for Father’s Day. And then, like a complete doofus, I forgot and scheduled it for the day after Father’s Day. *head hitting desktop* Other than that, this is still a story about marriage, family, parenting, and growing up that’s going to appeal to anyone who’s a parent and some of us who aren’t parents but have them. Read the rest of my review at htp://popcornreads.com/?p=4093. More...

I enjoyed this book for its fast pace and interesting plot. Unfortunately, it was glaringly obvious that this man needed psychological help, and not once did anyone suggest this. Seemed utterly unrealistic for people of this age and educational background.

Great story, disappointed in the ending. Definitely thought it would go a different way. I think the ending could have been much better. Was still a good story - one I haven't read before. Just thought the ending could have been better.

This was a random book I picked up and I was drawn in by the description on the back cover. When I finished I was sad that the story was over. A good story that was well written.

The story took a while to get started, so the ending felt a bit rushed. There were several beautiful moments, though--an exploration of fathers and sons, grief and love and learning how to be human.

I loved this book. The story was messy, like real life, and i couldn't wait to see what happened next. I did not expect the ending, but it was beautifully written, as was the entire book.