The Sullivan Sisters

by Kathryn Ormsbee

From the author of the “intense coming-of-age story” (School Library Connection) The Great Unknowable End and the “beyond refreshing…irreverent” (Booklist, starred review) Tash Hearts Tolstoy comes an introspective, atmospheric novel about sisterhood, coming-of-age, and learning that it’s never too late to reconnect with those you love.

Time changes things.

That painful fact of life couldn’t be truer for the Sullivan sisters. Once, they used to be close, sharing secrets inside homemade blanket castles. Now, life in the Sullivan house means closed doors and secrets left untold.

Fourteen-year-old Murphy, an aspiring magician, is shocked by the death of Siegfried, her pet turtle. Seventeen-year-old Claire is bound for better things than her Oregonian hometown—until she receives a crushing rejection from her dream college. And eighteen-year-old Eileen is nursing a growing addiction in the wake of life-altering news.

Then, days before Christmas, a letter arrives, informing the sisters of a dead uncle and an inheritance they knew nothing about. The news forces them to band together in the face of a sinister family mystery…and, possibly, murder.

The Sullivan Sisters is an unforgettable novel about the ghosts of the past, the power of connection, and the bonds of sisterhood.

• ISBN10: 1534420533
• ISBN13: 9781534420533
• Publish Date: 23 June 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

Having sisters must be wild. In fiction and in reality, there is always a story with sisters. And with The Sullivan Sisters, there certainly is one. And it's changed over the years as the girls have gotten older, developed their own lives, and drifted a bit away from one another. But a chance letter revealing a relative they never knew existed thrusts them back into each other's orbits.

I absolutely loved that they had this chance to reconnect. There is a lot of love among these young women, of that I had no doubt. But there is also a lot of pain. Their mother works so much to provide that she's basically absent and each sister is on her own. Eileen, the oldest, is a mess, she's become an alcoholic, and sees pretty much no future for herself. Claire tries to overcompensate by being the best at all the things and assumes that she needs to be some perfect version of herself. Murphy, the youngest (and my favorite) is lonely and lost, but such a genuinely delightful character. So off they go to a quaint town on the water to an old, inherited house.

The atmosphere of this place is perfect for both a mystery and a rediscovery of sisterhood. As it's a small town, the sisters have little choice but to sort out their problems, and the clues of their ancestors. And while I won't say too much about either journey, it's wonderful to see the parallels between the mystery and their own reconnection.

It's obviously a very family-focused story, but also a story about self-discovery too. For the sisters will never be able to properly patch their relationships if they first cannot heal within themselves.

Bottom Line: Atmospheric and full of love and heart, this mystery-slash-sisterly love story is one not to be missed!