The novel, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, written by Anne Tyler has an abundance of characters with various experiences. Firstly, the Tulls, the family that the story revolves around, consists of a mother of three children after the dad leaves. His leaving has a great affect on the Tull children and living with their mother. This parallels my own upbringing because my parents are divorced, causing my two siblings and I to live with my mother for the majority of my childhood. Though I am the middle child, I register with the oldest, Cody, in our experiences and feelings growing up.

To start, Cody is very competitive with his siblings. “He absolutely insisted on winning any game he played. And he’d win too—by sheer fierceness,