Reviews

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

katie_holder's review against another edition

4.0

Twins as different as night and day. Two different stories about the exact same thing. One from “the good sister”, and one from the sister with a sensory disorder.

I immediately fell in love with Fern, the way she scheduled her life, her routines, and her “as a matter a fact” attitude. Rose on the other hand I could tell she wasn’t exactly what she was portraying herself to be.

I definitely couldn’t get enough of this book, I’d love to be friends with Fern. She is an amazing character.
There were moments I was laughing at loud at things she’d say or do. Although the ending was predictable it was an appropriate ending.

I recommend this book, read it.

jssummers's review against another edition

3.0

The Good Sister is a nice, easy fiction book for the beach or just whiling away some time. It is well written and I have enjoyed other books by the same author.

Looking at other reviews of The Good Sister, I think I am in the minority when i say, this book didn't grab me. The story of Rose and Fern, twins and best friends from birth sees the story from 2 perspectives, one from Fern in the present and one from Rose's diary. The twins have a secret and until now, no one else has known the truth. You find out the 'secret' near the beginning of the book and then more truths as you go through, but there is no big reveal or twist to shock you.

kmcneilly's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

bsmith27's review against another edition

4.0

A novel about twins. Fern is neuro-atypical and Rose is neurotypical. The story is told in two parts, flashing back and forth from Fern currently and also from Rose's diary. Fern has always grown up leaving that she killed a boy. Rose's diary tells of a troubled childhood where they moved a lot and their mother was not stable. However fern disagrees with this and thinks their childhood was fine. Fern works as a librarian and lives alone. Rose is married her husband are a estranged. Rose wants to have a baby but it's been told that it will be hard for her to get pregnant she mentions this in front of her sister who decides to help by getting pregnant for her. Burn me to man who comes to the library to use their showering facilities because he lives in a van. You learn that the man named Rocco but whom Fern calls Wally is not homeless but simply chooses this lifestyle. He's actually very wealthy because he developed an app and sold it. Fern becomes pregnant and under roses guidance breaks up with Wally. She goes through the whole pregnancy with the understanding that she will give the baby to her sister because she cannot be trusted with a child. Through the whole story Fern has visited their mother who suffered an overdose years ago and lost the power of speech. At the very end of ferns pregnancy her mother starts to be able to talk again and tell her not to give the baby to Rose. A few days later her mom dies. Fern goes into labor and begins the question to her sister. Rose had gone to Wally and ask for money and Rose's husband shows up and says divorced her because she lied a lot. Fern leaves the hospital with the baby and believe she is being arrested as a kidnapper. The police say that however that they believe that Rose killed their mother. Wally comes back into the picture at this point and Fern and Wally make it very happy little family. A great story about a successful neural atypical person

misshonalee's review against another edition

challenging tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

beengs's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

morgainzzz's review against another edition

fast-paced

4.25

mnesaw's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

steffany9's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

yolianniem2's review against another edition

4.0

Deeply enjoyed this book. As an OT, I enjoyed that the main character was neurodivergent and how she grew through the story. I liked the build up and how it kept me thinking the whole time and was slightly surprised that on the ending.
It was a good read for sure!