Based on the description, I thought this book had an interesting concept. Not to mention that I have read a lot of crime and psych thrillers lately, so a novel about three sisters whose fates change and who have to figure out new lives sounded appealing.
While the premise remained interesting, the book as a whole did not live up to my expectations. I liked the set-up (a sick girl asks her grandmother to read her a story). It reminded me of The Princess Bride (one of my all-time favorites).
I also liked how each of the sisters had a distinct personality as well, with Livvy as the dreamer, Georgie as the fighter, and Evey as the practical one. These fit the stereotypes of where kids often fall in age-order (youngest to oldest). I thought the author did an admirable job of creating events in each girl’s life that illustrated their character traits.
In addition, I appreciated how each of the girls found their path in life and how each path differed, but how they all realized that money wasn’t everything. That was a good lesson that was well-illustrated.
However, there were times when I felt like the author did not know where to go with the story. The action flipped back and forth between each of the girls multiple times, making it sometimes challenging to keep up with who the focus was on at the time.
Some extra characters and events seemed to have no purpose other than to stretch the story. I understand that there had to be conflict along the way, but some things muddied the plot and were unnecessary to the general development.
The other thing that struck me right from the beginning was poor grammar in a few parts. It almost seemed as if an editor missed parts of the manuscript. For example, there was one section at the beginning written in the past perfect tense, which led to multiple uses of the word “had.” It was awkward and clunky…and the English teacher in me was dying inside.
There was a unique twist at the end that I guessed early on. But there were a lot of uneven parts which made it difficult for me to get through smoothly. Better editing and some tightening of the plot would improve this story significantly. As a whole, the book was just okay.
