The Middle Sister: A Novel

by Bonnie Glover

“As Kwai Chang moved through the arid desert of the American West, I would move through the equally desolate ghettos of Brooklyn, and we would each he for his family and I for my father. . . .”The middle of three sisters, Pamela is a quiet, thoughtful girl with a huge hole in her life–the space her father used to fill before her mother kicked him out. Occasionally, Pamela conjures up Kwai Chang, David Carradine’s character, from the Western action series Kung Fu, to give her spiritual guidance and advice she would normally turn to her parents for. But with her father gone, her mother has fallen into a pit of confusion and mental disarray. So it is up to Pamela and her sisters, Nona and Theresa, to run the household. When their money runs out, the family must leave their beloved East New York house and move to the projects. It is a change that will alter their lives forever–and even wise Kwai Chang cannot alter their destiny. But as Pamela discovers, “Everyone searches. The real challenge is in the finding and the keeping.” In this powerful literary debut, vividly set in the 1970s, Bonnie Glover has written a marvelous story about a young black woman struggling to define her identity–and make her family whole.

Genres: Fiction, Middle Grade

189 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 31, 2005

Reviews

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kind of dumb not to give the book that I wrote 5 stars! I recommend it and hope that everyone within range of this email buy it! Available through all major bookstores, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.!

[Mya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved her struggle. The book did a good job of bringing this character to life.

[Debbie Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

The voice in this book is terrific, the pacing fast, the story excellent. A mother devolves quickly into psychotic depression after her husband leaves her, and three sisters raise themselves in the projects of Brooklyn.

It's a story about family, what family is, what a real family is (not what we are told by the family value toting crowd every election).
The lives depicted in the book are realistically presented. Bonnie Glover does a terrific job showing it like it is--this is survival when homes are broken, health care nonexistent, work begins at sixteen, the mother goes off the deep end. This is how you survive in a world with no hands reaching out to you, and violence is on every corner. This is what a family is and what values are. There is no definition other than love. Period.
Good book. Anyone who is thinking about shouting family values next election, then defining it on your own terms? Read this book first.

[Precious · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book was probably 'slept on' because I only discovered it by chance. I stumbled across an interview with the book's author, Bonnie Glover online. In the interview she seemed so delightful that I felt moved to email her and we struck up an email friendship. I then ordered her novel from Amazon and I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I think the novel is frankly fantastic. Moving. Evocative. Superlative dialogue and setting. I utterly empathized with the quirky, spirited main protagonist and the narrative rang true to the point where I wondered whether I was reading a memoir at certain points. My only complaints are 1) I'd have liked the novel to be longer and 2) I want to know how I can get my hands on Glover's next novel(s) because I think she is a very interesting author indeed.....

[Adriane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was by far an awe-inspiring raw tale of growing up amongst tragedy at an age when we are just learning who we are. Excellent, gritty, laugh out loud, good cry material and an overall great read. Kudos!

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ordered this book from the library a loooong time ago. When I checked on it last month, the librarian said, "We show 5 copies, all lost." I figured it was going to be really good based on that.

And it was. I started reading it around 8 pm, and closed the book somewhere during the middle of the night. It's a very satisfying read, with well-developed characters and an interesting plot. I even began to like the imaginary friend plot device by the end of the book. The story is emotionally involving, and covers a lot of territory. Recommended.

[Chrisiant · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another great book for jumping into a reality not my own. It's full of strong, struggling female characters who get dealt a crappy hand and find their way through. I feel like every time I read an AA novel my sense of modern AA culture is expanded. There are so many assumed cultural references that fly right over my head, or that I just didn't know were a 'thing', and I'm glad for these books ability to make some of this accessible to me.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just loved this book! From start to finish, the plot held my interest, but it was the characters that really made the book come alive for me--their troubles, their interactions, and most of all their love. The Middle Sister is a really fine read!

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVED this book. The voices in this book and Bonnie's ability to allow you to become another member of this family were amazing. Can't wait for another one, Bonnie!

[Tracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

i deeply enjoyed this little book

[Nicole Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Welllll

That was deep, in my opinion. I didn't know what to expect with this book, but it was so good, so real, so thought provoking.
I can't come up with anything else.
Excellent read.

[Yvonne Quarrels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moving

The journey through pain, sorrow and poverty. Never feeling as though she fit in. The only thing this story lacked was the wise elder to help guide everyone through there struggles.

[Darcia Scates · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I loved everything about it. I carried it with me wherever I went. The ending was great. It was timed just right. Everything about the story was believable. I hope there is a part two, three and four.

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haunting and well written.

[Racquel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. The storyline was good, the characters were easy to relate to, and some of the situations were hilarious! What I liked most about the book was how easily everything flowed. It didn't feel like other books where you can tell something was taken out or added. It was just a continuous storyline.

I felt like some points were repeated a bit too much. But I can understand how it tied the story together. The part I liked the least was the imaginary China man. The whole imaginary thing was big turn-off for me from the beginning.

This book is not a 'must-read'. In fact, there isn't really much to it. There was nothing unique about it. I feel like the title didn't really fit the book. It could have been 'The Sisters' or something like that because the story was more of the sisters collectively instead of just the middle one. It would have been almost the same story had it been titled 'The Oldest Sister'. Overall, it was just okay for me.

....Side note: When I was reading the Author's profile in the back of the book, it was interesting to find out she attended FAMU. Anyone who can survive the administration at 'FAM' has my respect!

[Ari · Rating 4 out of 5]

No family is perfect, and every human being has flaws. The grace in life is in loving our imperfect friends and family members, and in finding our joy regardless of hardships.

Bonnie Glover drives this point home in her debut novel, The Middle Sister, a sensitive and well-written story of a young girl growing up in urban America. Pamela's nearly idyllic life is rattled when her father leaves the family, and her mother begins a steady slide into mental illness. Pamela and her two sisters close ranks and take matters into their own hands, caring for their ailing mom and raising themselves.

This is a great novel for young female readers, as Pamela struggles with her emotions over the changes taking place in her life.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in a few hours and in some ways, related to it more than the author's other novel, Going Down South. Could this sense of the familiar be due to my youth spent growing up in the East New York section of Brooklyn, shopping on Pitkin Avenue, purchasing special occasion dresses from Abraham & Strauss 'downtown' and catching the Number 14 bus to the library on Eastern Parkway? Perhaps so, even though the particular family dynamics of the protagonists from this novel were completely removed from my own experiences the locations/settings and the emotions that these very human and flawed characters evoked brought back poignant memories of my childhood.

[Iejones · Rating 2 out of 5]

I plodded through it. A good story line about sisters and a mentally ill mother, however, the father was not fully explained. He had a proclivity for women and lots of them - that was not enough reason for his "change" that occurred in the story. I enjoyed how each sister " evolved" but there were some rough edges that could have been expanded. I LOVE detail and explanation this book had flirtatous moments with each but nothing that would make it pass second base.

[K.S.R.]

I just read the description of The Middle Sister. It sounds like a wonderful story. I plan to look for it right away. I noticed Meg loved it, so that makes me want to get it even more. She's a librarian, and I trust librarians as much as I trust my mother!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

It had me at page 1.

The voice of The Middle Sister is so honest and pure, expressing beauty and poverty with the same level of detail and passion. Characters are so well-developed.

[Kianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

i thought this book was ok but its not the type of book that makes you jump out of your seat !

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing up as the middle black sister in the 70's with a family that has the odds stacked against it. Raw and real.