Therese Walsh's poignant and mesmerizing novel is a moving tale of family, love, and the power of stories. After their mother's probable suicide, sisters Olivia and Jazz are figuring out how to move on with their lives. Jazz, logical and forward-thinking, decides to get a new job, but spirited, strong-willed Olivia, who can see sounds, taste words, and smell sights, is determined to travel to the remote setting of their mother's unfinished novel to say her final goodbyes and lay their mother's spirit to rest.
Though they see things very differently, Jazz is forced by her sense of duty to help Olivia reach her goal. Bitter and frustrated by the attention heaped on her sunny sister whose world is so unique, Jazz is even more upset when they run into trouble along the way and Olivia latches to a worldly train-hopper. Though Hobbs warns Olivia that he's a thief who shouldn't be trusted, he agrees to help with their journey. As they near their destination, the tension builds between the two sisters, each hiding something from the other, and they will finally be forced to face everything between them and decide what is really important.
My Thoughts:
A hauntingly beautiful novel. The Moons Sisters is an adventure in grief. On one hand we have Olivia who was very close to her mother, her mother was her center and she is very much aware of her loss. Needing something more, some magical good-bye, she heads out to find find it. While her sister Jazz is licking her wounds in private, filled with regrets and confusion over her loss to a mother she was not close to. As Olivia takes off on her adventure, Jazz is pressured to yet again be her sisters keeper-a job she doesn't want.
I was captivated by The Moon Sisters. The struggle with the loss, the grief for their mother--a mother who may have actually chosen to leave them. Their pain haunted me, I knew it too well. As a daughter who has lost her mother and as a sister I related on different levels to both young women. Nothing can tear sisters apart and bring them together like the loss of a mother, a woman's center. Grief exposes us to our core, makes us raw.
A breathtakingly beautiful story of two sisters trying desperately to find a way to live in a world their mother is no longer a part of. Olivia is a story of a daughter's devotion, Jazz is a story of a daughter's rebellion. Will Olivia's quest tear them apart? Can they find themselves? Find each other? Can they say goodbye?
As I closed The Moon Sisters and wiped tears from my eyes, I wanted nothing more than to hug my sister. I will not soon forget this novel. Highly recommending.
Therese Walsh’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:
Monday, March 3rd: Lit and Life
Tuesday, March 4th: Beth Fish Reads – “Today’s Read” guest post
Tuesday, March 4th: Book Club Classics!
Wednesday, March 5th: Book-a-licious Mama
Thursday, March 6th: girlichef
Friday, March 7th: Books in the Burbs
Monday, March 10th: Bookchickdi
Tuesday, March 11th: Traveling with T
Wednesday, March 12th: Patricia’s Wisdom
Friday, March 14th: The Book Barn
Monday, March 17th: Book Snob
Tuesday, March 18th: Fiction Addict
Wednesday, March 19th: Time 2 Read
Thursday, March 20th: Bibliotica
Monday, March 24th: Mockingbird Hill Cottage
Wednesday, March 26th: A Novel Review
Thursday, March 27th: A Bookish Affair
Tuesday, April 1st: Suko’s Notebook
Wednesday, April 2nd: A Reader of Fictions
Tuesday, April 8th: Books a la Mode
TBD: 5 Minutes for Moms
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This book is going to the top of my TBR list right now - what an amazing review!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for being a part of the tour.
Wonderful review, Charlotte. I am so sorry about your loss. I was also captivated by this novel.
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