The Sister Diaries

by Karen Quinn

[Leah]

Amanda, Laura and Serena Moon are three sisters who, while they don’t always get along, are always there for each other.

When their mother, Sunny, dies, they all think they are getting an equal share of her mother’s fortune.

However once the will is read, it turns out Sunny left everything to Serena. Amanda and Laura are furious and the sisters set off on a journey to find out why their mother left everything to Serena…

This is the third Karen Quinn book I’ve read and I think it’s her best yet. I love reading books about sisters. I particularly loved the quotes at the beginning of each chapter about sisterhood – they were all so true.

The plot of the book is a good one and works very well as a focal point of the book. It stretches the bond between the three sisters as well as helping them become closer to each other. The journey to finding out the paternity of Serena was an enjoyable one as well as finding out exactly why Sunny left everything to Serena – was it guilt or something more?

The book alternates chapters between the three girls, Laura, Amanda and Serena as well as a couple from Serena’s husband Elliott and Serena’s son Sebastian. The chapters are substantial enough to carry off the alternating chapters, and it works great.

My favourite sister was Laura. She was sweet and unassuming but could also hold her own when neccessary. She’d spent the last 6 years caring for Sunny and thus had to put her music career on hold. I loved her interactions between herself and her bandmates – the Off Our Rockers Trio. I loved her character and was pleased for her that she got her happy ending.

I liked Amanda, too and felt sorry for her when, after years of paying for everything for Sunny and her two sisters, she got zip from the will. Especially when everyone thought she had enough money anyway when then was so far from the truth.

I have to say, for the bulk of the book I couldn’t take to Serena. She was horribly selfish and because of that neither of her sisters felt they could confide in her without her laughing in their faces. However, after her night spent on a cold floor in the Hamptons, I began to like her. She realised she’d become selfish and a momzilla and decided to change her attitude and save her marriage.

I mentioned Elliott and Sebatian also provided chapters to the book and I really liked both characters. Elliott and Serena’s change of roles really made them a stronger couple. I found Sebastian hilarious. He definitely was a very smart four-year-old! There are more minor characters in the book, Richie, Charles, Violet, who all added to the book and were really enjoyable to read about.

Overall it was a really well written and enjoyable book. Sunny’s reasons for changing her will made sense when we finally found them out. I quite enjoyed reading Sunny’s notes to her daughters, it made us able to picture Sunny. The Sister Diaries is a must-read – especially if you have sisters!

Rating: 5/5

I’d like to thank Simon & Schuster for sending me a copy to review!