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A Sister Like You
Ella and Ari always knew they had a sister...they just didn't know it was each other. A heartwarming story about friendship, family and sisterhood, from award-winning author Sarah Hagger-Holt.
When Ella and Ari start at St Hilda's secondary school, they both feel alone. But after a chance meeting at auditions for the choir, they become friends.
When they discover that not only are they both adopted, they're actually sisters, their worlds are turned upside down. While Ari is excited, Ella doesn't know how to respond, and the differences between Ari's laid-back dads and Ella's old-fashioned Mum only adds to the tension.
Then Ella's faced with the challenge of her Grandma's sudden illness, and when she leans on Ari in her time of need, the two families decide to try and make the relationship work, finding harmony together despite their differences.
When Ella and Ari start at St Hilda's secondary school, they both feel alone. But after a chance meeting at auditions for the choir, they become friends.
When they discover that not only are they both adopted, they're actually sisters, their worlds are turned upside down. While Ari is excited, Ella doesn't know how to respond, and the differences between Ari's laid-back dads and Ella's old-fashioned Mum only adds to the tension.
Then Ella's faced with the challenge of her Grandma's sudden illness, and when she leans on Ari in her time of need, the two families decide to try and make the relationship work, finding harmony together despite their differences.
- GenresLGBTMiddle Grade
370 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 7, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A Sister Like You
By Sarah Hagger-Holt
Published by Usborne Publishing Ltd
Sarah Hagger-Holt writes to include us all. Her characters reflect real people, experiencing real life so her audience recognises themselves. Priceless!
Ella and Ari start at St Hilda's secondary school at the same time and they both feel alone. So after auditioning for the school choir, they become friends.
Two very different girls.
Two very different families.
Both adopted - who would have believed they had such a common bond.
But when they discover that they're actually sisters, their worlds are turned upside down and emotions run high.
Ari is excited!
Ella doesn't know how to respond!
And the differences between their families only adds to the tension.
Mixed in with teenage friendships, finding out who you are and the challenge of Grandma's sudden illness, the two girls and their families NEED to make this new relationship work, working through life together despite their differences.
A heartfelt story about teenage friendships, that celebrates families in all their make ups. This beautifully written story should be readily available in all our classrooms, for todays children to read, seeing themselves, knowing they matter.
Joanne Bardgett - teacher of littlies, lover of Children’s literature.
#Netgallery
By Sarah Hagger-Holt
Published by Usborne Publishing Ltd
Sarah Hagger-Holt writes to include us all. Her characters reflect real people, experiencing real life so her audience recognises themselves. Priceless!
Ella and Ari start at St Hilda's secondary school at the same time and they both feel alone. So after auditioning for the school choir, they become friends.
Two very different girls.
Two very different families.
Both adopted - who would have believed they had such a common bond.
But when they discover that they're actually sisters, their worlds are turned upside down and emotions run high.
Ari is excited!
Ella doesn't know how to respond!
And the differences between their families only adds to the tension.
Mixed in with teenage friendships, finding out who you are and the challenge of Grandma's sudden illness, the two girls and their families NEED to make this new relationship work, working through life together despite their differences.
A heartfelt story about teenage friendships, that celebrates families in all their make ups. This beautifully written story should be readily available in all our classrooms, for todays children to read, seeing themselves, knowing they matter.
Joanne Bardgett - teacher of littlies, lover of Children’s literature.
#Netgallery
June 15, 2026
Ella and Ari have both just started at St Hilda's secondary school, and quickly hit it off when they both join the Find Our Voices choir. But when it turns out that the two adopted girls are actually birth sisters, they have to work out how to deal with this new development in their relationship.
My favourite thing about this book is how natural all of the representation felt - we have gay dads, a single-by-choice mum, adopted children, a character coming out... But none of it feels forced for the sake of diversity, but instead a realistic representation of the world.
What keeps this from being a 5 star is the ending - throughout the book, we get lots of little side plot elements dropped in (Ella's coming out and crush, the relationship between Ella's mum and Ari's dad's, etc.), and at the end of the book none of these are resolved, so we skip to the epilogue, and they've all been magically resolved in the 6 months we skipped. It felt like a real missed chance to explore some of these more complex issues, and I'd almost have preferred them to have remained imperfect and unsolved than wrapped up so (too!) neatly.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eArc!
My favourite thing about this book is how natural all of the representation felt - we have gay dads, a single-by-choice mum, adopted children, a character coming out... But none of it feels forced for the sake of diversity, but instead a realistic representation of the world.
What keeps this from being a 5 star is the ending - throughout the book, we get lots of little side plot elements dropped in (Ella's coming out and crush, the relationship between Ella's mum and Ari's dad's, etc.), and at the end of the book none of these are resolved, so we skip to the epilogue, and they've all been magically resolved in the 6 months we skipped. It felt like a real missed chance to explore some of these more complex issues, and I'd almost have preferred them to have remained imperfect and unsolved than wrapped up so (too!) neatly.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eArc!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is about two biological sisters adopted into two different families at a young age, who meet unexpectedly. Their families are very different, in fact - one where the parents are a gay male couple, and the other consisting of a single mother and a beloved grandmother.
Unsurprisingly, Ari and Ella - adopted by these very different parents - are also quite different in many ways. But they do have one very important thing in common: a passion for music. So, when they accidentally end up in the same school and its very special choir, can it really succeed in bringing them closer to actually feeling more like sisters?
This is a lovely read with strong themes of friendship, diversity, adoption, and what makes a family a real family. It will be enjoyed by readers in the target group.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Unsurprisingly, Ari and Ella - adopted by these very different parents - are also quite different in many ways. But they do have one very important thing in common: a passion for music. So, when they accidentally end up in the same school and its very special choir, can it really succeed in bringing them closer to actually feeling more like sisters?
This is a lovely read with strong themes of friendship, diversity, adoption, and what makes a family a real family. It will be enjoyed by readers in the target group.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Sarah Hagger-Holt is one of my favourite Middle-Grade authors, but this isn't her finest work. It's a lovely concept, and both characters are likeable and engaging - especially vibrant, reckless Ari - but I can't help feeling that she skirted the more difficult topics that came up and went for safe, easy resolutions to conflicts. It must also be challenging to portray kids of two different ages (11 and 13) realistically while still appealing to younger readers, and it did make Ella, the older girl, feel rather young.
May 29, 2026
A story about adopted sisters finding each other, reminiscent of Jacqueline Wilson books.
I loved the characters, though I feel like the last quarter of the book relies too heavily on jumping forwards which damaged my enjoyment.
Content warnings for bullying, casual homophobia, and some medical plots (broken leg at the beginning, Parkinson's and strokes affecting an elderly relative).
I loved the characters, though I feel like the last quarter of the book relies too heavily on jumping forwards which damaged my enjoyment.
Content warnings for bullying, casual homophobia, and some medical plots (broken leg at the beginning, Parkinson's and strokes affecting an elderly relative).
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I like what this had to say about families. Lovely stuff from Sarah Hagger Holt (much as I expected it would)
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews