Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Good Sister

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The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

69 reviews

mino88's review against another edition

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.0

The Good Sister was a fast paced read about a complicated sister relationship. Fern and Rose are twins who had an unhappy childhood at the hands of their unstable mother. Fern has some social difficulties and as a child was involved in the death of a young boy. Rose has always looked out for her and when she can’t become pregnant Fern decides to have a baby for her.

Loved the pacing of this, and the way the author uses the unreliable narrator trope. We hear from Fern directly, while Rose’s perspective comes via her journal which she is keeping at the behest of her therapist. Ever so slowly discrepancies start to arise between the accounts of the two sisters, forcing the reader to question their suppositions, and which if either sister they can believe. There were enough twists to keep me interested but not so many as to be unbelievable or for me to feel manipulated. A great escapist read.

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msennflinn's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

2.0

This is the second book I read by Sally Hepworth and probably the last. I thought I would give her another go after being slightly disappointed by her book, "The Mother-In-Law". This one was even worse.

The setup for the plot was intriguing, but it ended up being trite and predictable. Basically, instead of having carefully curated twists, the author simply has her characters tell you exactly who the bad person is and why they're bad. They quite literally spell it out. There was no mystery.

I guess I can now say that I'm just not a fan of this author.

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marlenealina's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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cait_reads_and_drinks's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This was such a heartwarming and also deeply troubling story. I'm a sucker for unreliable narrators and this one did not disappoint.

The Good Sister is the story of Fern and Rose, who are fraternal twins. Fern works at the local library, dislikes crowds and loud noises, and is adamant about her routines. Rose for most of her life has taken on a sort of guardian role to Fern due to her sensory and social anxieties, and when Fern learns that Rose is unable to have a baby, she sees this as the perfect opportunity to repay her. Little does she know that her routines and life as she knows it will never be the same because of it.

The story is told from both Fern and Rose's perspectives, Rose's in the form of journal entries. I loved the dual perspectives and trying to determine which narrative was the truth. The storyline has a bit of a slow build but really takes off once it gets going.

Overall I really liked this one. It gave me major Eleanor Oliphant meets Gone Girl vibes and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoyed either of those books.

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