"The Monsters of Templeton"

Lauren Groff needs to keep writing; this was her first novel and it's been successful with critics and readers. The story takes place in the fictional town of Templeton, where Willie Upton returns after having an affair with her professor, and then trying to run the professor's wife over with a small plane. Upon her return, a dead monster is discovered in the lake, bringing news crews and scientists to the town and leaving everyone totally baffled. In the midst of this, Willie's hippie mother decides to tell her that she's been lying all these years: Willie's father is not a hippie that her mother hooked up with once at a commune in California; he's a citizen of Templeton, and someone Willie knows. But that's as much as her mother will say, so Willie obsessively researches her family's history, going back to the founder of the town hundreds of years earlier, of whom she is a direct descendant.
     This story has tons of layers, twists, and lovable characters. Willie herself is flawed but endearing, and her interactions with her old high school classmates that she tries so hard to avoid are funny and memorable. Willie's mother is probably the best character, and adds a ton of humor, wit, and originality to the story. I appreciated the ending, which completely did justice to the rest of the novel. I hope Groff's next novel comes out soon.