Sisters

Skye and Summer are twins who are as different as night and day. They grew up in a bohemian household, with a mother who didn't seem to have any maternal feelings at all. Her lifestyle was such that they didn't even know who their father was. When their mother finally settles down with a man and has one more daughter, Jane, this is the child that receives the love that Summer and Skye never had. But of all the children, it is Jane that runs away and leaves behind the only family she knows.

It is years later, and their mother Ginny is in a coma. Summer hasn't been back home to Dahlia Springs in over twenty years. But when Skye calls with the bad news about Ginny, Summer makes a surprise visit to the mother she had turned her back on. When the two sisters finally see their mother in the hospital, and she finally comes out of her coma, Ginny ignores the two daughters present and asks for Jane, the daughter that has been missing for all these years. Ginny's request is to have all three daughters together in one room, and asks Summer and Skye to help her locate Jane. It’s a request that has both sisters angry and upset.

SISTERS is the story of their adventures as they find their missing sibling Jane, who was born nearly twenty years after the twins. But it is also a time spent with a mother they really didn't know, until now. Ginny delivers them some very shocking information, forcing them to accept the truth about their pasts. There is a lot of anger and feelings of betrayal throughout the story, but ultimately it's a story of rediscovering family and learning to accept each other for who they are.

For those who love stories about family, SISTERS is a good example of that. As are all the NEXT series of books, this novel does a good job with depicting a real family with all the problems and heartache that come with a not-too-perfect parent. It’s depiction of the single mother, raising her two children as best she knows how, is at the heart of the story. What makes this novel even more interesting is that the mother comes from the sixties generation, living life to the fullest with a somewhat bohemian flair. Readers may feel appalled at Ginny’s irresponsibility, and the near abuse she gave to her twins. But as adult children, Summer and Skye know that they survived their dysfunctional childhood, and that they now need to learn to let go in order to move on. What is important is not what happened in the past, but what is left of their family and their future, and to find the missing prodigal sister that their mother cannot forget.

SISTERS is that type of story that will make one laugh, but will also bring tears to one’s eyes. This reviewer enjoyed SISTERS for the story about family, the issues the sisters had, and the journey the three of them make in order to reunite their family maybe for one last time. It’s a story that most readers can relate to, and is highly recommended.

October 2006