sisters

The Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia is ravaged by the opioid epidemic. One sister, Mickey Fitzpatrick, patrols the streets as a police officer. The other sister, Kacey Fitzpatrick, works the streets and succumbs to addiction at an early age. The sisters keep their distance from one another now. Their relationship is strained but each hopes a reunion is right around the corner, just as soon as Kacey can get clean.  

Mickey narrates her harrowing and heartbreaking life in "Now" and "Then" chapters that unveil the slow, never ending battle against addiction as she watches her sister and

Nefertiti follows the titular character through the eyes of her sister, Mutnodjmet, from their early life through Nefertiti's swift ascent to the throne as one of history’s most powerful women. Headstrong, cunning, and limitlessly ambitious – Nefertiti defies tradition to become Egypt's first female co-regents during one of its most tumultuous and unique periods, with Mutnodjmet as her near-constant, often reluctant companion and advisor. All the while, Mutnodjmet—a  thoughtful, intelligent young woman with a passion for healing and nature—yearns to find her own destiny, away from the courts

The Boston Girl is told by 85-year-old Addie, who revisits her long life of memories during an interview given by one of her grandchildren.  It’s an incredibly intimate one-sided conversation that completely ensnares the reader.  This storytelling style made me feel as if Addie was my grandmother.  Like other special books with superb storytelling, The Boston Girl envelopes the reader inside a bubble.  While reading it, you feel like you are living the story and your real life is just an inconvenience that exists outside of the bubble. 

Addie Baum is both fiercely independent and endearingly

Wanna hear a ghost story? A fabulous tale about sisters, secrets, family, fire, death, and ghosts?

I'm not usually a fan of scary or horror stories, but The Thirteenth Tale is a mystery with many twists and turns that I find quite intriguing and just a little spooky. Follow biographer Margaret Lea as she discovers the true past of reclusive author Vida Winter. Piece together the hints and secrets as she reveals her extraordinary existence. Is Vida Winter who she says she is? Who set fire to the house? Is there really a ghost?

Notes: I listened to this book and the narration is very well done

"After their English aunt dies, listless American twins Julia and Valentina travel to London to live in their aunt's now empty flat overlooking Highgate Cemetery. There they become embroiled in the day-to-day sagas of their eccentric neighbors. But soon they discover that something is alive in Highgate--something unable to move on."

A haunted, aging apartment in north London, bordering one of the most famous cemeteries in the world, complete with an unusual set of inhabitants and a bit of London's darker history sprinkled throughout . . . no one had to convince me to pick this one up. 

Un

Flynn Berry's Under the Harrow is a murder mystery turned inside-out, where "Whodunnit?" is overshadowed by "How do you process tragedy and loss?" It's a dark, haunting ride, with a few twists you may not see coming. (I didn't.)

When Nora goes to an English village to visit her sister, only to find her brutally murdered, she immediately decides to investigate the murder herself, despite the police doing everything they can to solve the murder. What Nora doesn't realize, but what quickly becomes apparent to the reader, is she's in no psychological state to do this. The book flashes back and

Growing up in a rural British Columbia is difficult enough for Jess, Courtney and Dani Campbell before their mother dies.  But after their mother passes things really get difficult. One night things get really bad; Jess grabs the shotgun and accidentally shoots and kills their dad.  Afraid of what will happen, the girls hide the body and take off for Vancouver before anyone can realize what has happened. When the truck breaks down in the middle of nowhere they reluctantly accept help from two young men who are passing by and things go unbelievably downhill from there.  Because they fear a

Writer Taisy Cleary moves into the pool house at her father's house, invited there after two decades of silence. Wilson, her absent and hateful father, is recovering from heart surgery and wants her to write his memoir. Taisy's presence is at first greatly resented by Willow, her little known half-sister. Willow is sixteen and after being homeschooled her whole life, is forced to attend high school and is struggling to fit in. Up until now, Willow's world has been tightly controlled by her father.

Taisy secretly hopes her return to her hometown will bring her into contact with Ben, her first

The Waverley family, Claire and Sydney, both have the gift of helpful magic. They live in the charming town of Bascom, North Carolina where it’s autumn and as temperatures fall, everyone and everything grows restless and problems flourish.

Claire runs Waverley’s Candies out of her kitchen, making handcrafted confections. Business is so good she can’t keep up with demand on her own. When someone offers to buy the business, Claire is stuck in a quandary.

Sydney owns a successful hair salon and knows what hairstyle will look best on anyone. But she’s reluctant to fire a new hire who isn’t

Maud, in her eighties and suffering from dementia, can't find her dear friend Elizabeth. She knows Elizabeth is missing because her phone calls go unanswered, she's never home when Maud visits, and Maud has left herself notes in her pockets and throughout the house to remind herself that Elizabeth is missing. 

Maud retains the ability to recall details of her past with unfailing clarity. She often forgets what has happened five minutes ago, but constantly brings up details surrounding her sister Sukey's disappearance years ago. 

Maud tries to figure out the two mysteries, Sukey's

Growing up on one of the South Carolina outerbanks islands, Eleanor was a wild child who knew no fear and who loved to play the piano.  Her sister was the beauty queen.  Now in her 30's, Eleanor lives with her sister, brother-in-law and mother in a small house on the mainland.  Eleanor works in an office and moonlights as a piano player in a bar to help make ends meet.  When Eleanor is offered extra work by her boss to be a companion to his elderly aunt that lives on the island she grew up on Eleanor snaps up the opportunity not only to make more money but to get out of the house and away from

Kate and her twin sister Violet were born with what they called “senses”-certain psychic abilities that they are aware no one else they know has. Throughout their difficult childhood, Kate runs from these abilities, while Vi embraces them. For Kate, her relationship with Vi is one of embarrassment due to Vi’s choices and lifestyle, but equally one of great need for the one person who really understood her.

Each chapter jumps between their childhood with a detached father and a mentally unstable mother, to many years later with Kate as a married mother of two young children and Vi a single

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd tells thte story of Lily Owen. In the summer of 1964, Lily was 14 years old and living in South Carolina. When she was very young, her mother had died under mysterious circumstances. Lily was raised by her abusive father and by Rosaleen, an African-American woman her father brought into their home to look after Lily.

1964 was an intense time for the civil rights movement. One hot summer day, Rosaleen gets into trouble with some of the white men in town. Before they knew it, Lily and Rosaleen find themselves on the run. Lily decides to follow a clue on

In Allen's debut novel we meet the Waverly sisters Claire and Sydney in their hometown of Bascom, NC. The Waverly family has lived in Bascom for generations and their unusual garden is the stuff of legends in the area. The Waverlys and their garden have somewhat of a curious reputation due to their garden and its plants that have special powers.

Claire Waverly has turned her unique and magical garden into a successful catering business. Sydney who left Bascom as soon as she graduated from high school has just returned to Waverly with her 5 year old daughter and a secret.

Claire and Sydney

Children of first generation Vietnamese immigrants, Van and Linny grew apart when their mother bought a house allowing them separate bedrooms. Once close, as adults they are now bound together only by their traditional father who has called them home to celebrate his finally having applied for U.S. citizenship.

As the two women work through their separate problems, and cope with the eccentricities of their demanding father they reach an understanding of what it means to be sisters.
Fans of Gish Jen’s Typical American will appreciate this story of one family’s immigrant experience.