By: Natalie Standiford
Copy received from publisher
Summary (from Goodreads):
The Sullivan sisters have a big problem. On Christmas Day their rich and imperious grandmother gathers the family and announces that she will soon die . . .and has cut the entire family out of her will. Since she is the source of almost all their income, this means they will soon be penniless.
Someone in the family has offended her deeply. If that person comes forward with a confession of her (or his) crime, submitted in writing to her lawyer by New Year's Day, she will reinstate the family in her will. Or at least consider it.
And so the confessions begin....
My Review: This is one of the best examples I know of a character driven novel. Everything lives and dies by the characters. This is also a good example of why you shouldn't always judge a book by its title, cover, or even synopsis.
When I received this book in the mail from Scholastic, I kind of pushed it aside. I don't like the Gossip Girl type books that portray women as catty, mean-spirited, and back-biting sleazes. This book had much less of that type of material than I was expecting, and I think a lot of people that may be turned off from the vibe that this book gives out should at least give it a shot.
Each sister had a completely different personality that shown through the pages. Norrie's story I had a hard time getting into at first. I found her plot extremely dull and found myself forcing my way through the first 20 pages. I think once I got past my prejudices, Norrie shoved her way through, and I really enjoyed it.
Sassy was easily my favorite character in the book, and the one I related to the most. She had a heart of gold, and was a nice medium between the two sisters. Her tutoring sessions were awesome, and she really just rocked.
Jane's story was the funniest, but man, stay far away from her, or whatever you say might end up on the internet. Don't we all know someone like that?
I read in another review that Almighty, the rich and powerful grandmother was like Lady Catherine from Pride and Prejudice. And I must agree that their personalities are quite the same. Althought, you know if they met in real life they'd probably hate each other.
I would recommend this book for someone who'd like to try a book in the vein of Gossip Girl, but without all the you know, Gossip Girl stuff in it. It's quite clean, fun, lively, and has a very quirky ending. I haven't read HOW TO SAY GOODBYE IN ROBOT yet, but it is definitely going on my list.
My Rating:
