Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on
This was a tale of two sisters - one very dramatic, the other quite pragmatic. They had their ups and downs with each other, but their relationship was the heart and soul of the story for me.
I adore the exploration of the sibling bond, and this one was indeed, very special. Plum had always felt overshadowed by her sister. She thought Ginny was more attractive, popular, intelligent, and likable, and she was often tired of being compared to her sister. However, via flashbacks and tender and humorous interactions between the two in the present, I got to bask in the beauty of their sisterly love. I had so much fun at their movie nights, and greatly enjoyed their shared love of Romantic period literature. Yes, literary references abound in this novel, and they were so well placed, never failing to delight me.
During the time of this story, the family was under more stress than usual. The house was falling apart, cash flow was becoming an issue, and Ginny was often in a state of hysteria involving her college plans. Plum found an escape from the chaos via the oddest source - Tate Kurokawa, one of the "loud sophomore boys" she usually tried to avoid. Their odd friendship was one of the most precious parts of the book for me. I wore a stupid grin on my face almost every single time they shared the page, and could not get enough of their sweet and awkward encounters.
One of the biggest things plaguing this family was their grief. They had lost their father a decade ago, but still hadn't really come to terms with that loss. This pain of it ran deep and it festered within the family, finally coming to a fever pitch at one point during the book. It was quite a profound moment, and I found it very moving.
Ordinary Girls was a delightful tale filled with interesting family dynamics, sisterly affection, first love, and two young women finding their own sense of self. It was charming, witty, amusing, heartwarming, heartbreaking, and throughly entertaining.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
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Reading updates
- Started reading
- 26 May, 2019: Finished reading
- 26 May, 2019: Reviewed