This novel details the inner workings of a family with a husband, wife, three daughters, and a son. Gwen, the oldest daughter, wants nothing but to leave their small town to live in the city. Betta has always longed to take over the family general store, going so far as to leaving college to return home, caring for her dying grandfather, and waiting for the store to be hers. Ezmerelda is trying to figure out adolescence, high school, boys, mean girls, and how to be her own person. Of course, Van – the only boy – has been with the same girl forever, is a football star, and loved by all. Combine all of this with their mother Wanda thinking the Dad, Harvey is cheating on her – this equals a lot of drama, heartache, and emotion.
This is one of those reviews where I could probably type away for hours and still not say everything that is going on in my head and heart. But I will begin with saying that this is a good book. Not just the story, but the writing. J. Mercer did nothing but impress me throughout the entire novel with her raw emotion, imagery, and how she completely exposed her characters down to the bone – even when it wasn’t in a positive way. She made all of the characters human in a way that was at times refreshing and at times, almost cringe-worthy. Nevertheless, she held nothing back.
Considering my only sibling is an older brother, I couldn’t personally relate to Gwen, Betta, or Ez. Each of them desperately wanted something of their own, longing to be independent and make their own mark separate from one another. However, along with this came so much whining and angst that I wanted to scream. Although they all felt tied to each other, getting each others’ seconds, and so on – they were so incredibly self-centered it blew my mind. Out of the sisters, I think that Betta was my favorite, yet I still struggled with her because of their obsession with either being like the other or being completely different to make a point.
Nevertheless, I was completely engaged in this novel and was burning up the pages. I have to admit that a few things felt unresolved at the end, but after some thought, I am assuming that is how the author intended it to be. I do wish I could have gotten concrete answers regarding Harvey and Mae, as well as, what happens with Betta and either Brennan or Gage. But I still enjoyed this novel a great deal. I definitely recommend this to fans of women’s fiction and especially anyone out there with sisters!
*Thanks to Xpresso and the author for providing this review copy in exchange for my honest review!