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marceelf's review
5.0
http://www.anurseandabook.com/2016/02/the-prodigal-sister-by-laura-elliott.html
This book came right when I needed it. I've been a little resistant to my blog lately, because I've been feeling like reading was work vs. fun. Then I opened this book and fell right into the story of four orphaned sisters.
A lot of times, books aren't able to skip through time well, but this story followed Cathy's life from age 5, when her parents died all the way through adulthood, and I really didn't feel like any part of her journey was skipped. I knew her as a sad child writing letters to her mother in heaven, then as an awkward pre-teen who morphed into a Goth as a way to belong, and then as teenage runaway, then finally as a stable, yoga loving mother.
For me, Cathy was the main character, but looking back, any of the sisters could be your main character, because all of their stories were given time and attention.
I read A Stolen Child last year and I really enjoyed it. But this one just cemented Laura Elliott as a go to author for me. She reminds me of Lianne Moriarty in her ability to write about women who persevere through life even after bad things happen. The story and characters are relatable, but in the end, always inspiring.
Right now two of her books are free on Kindle unlimited and two are $2.99! It's the perfect time to try her!
So this is a gift that book blogging has given me, an author I may never have read otherwise.
This book came right when I needed it. I've been a little resistant to my blog lately, because I've been feeling like reading was work vs. fun. Then I opened this book and fell right into the story of four orphaned sisters.
A lot of times, books aren't able to skip through time well, but this story followed Cathy's life from age 5, when her parents died all the way through adulthood, and I really didn't feel like any part of her journey was skipped. I knew her as a sad child writing letters to her mother in heaven, then as an awkward pre-teen who morphed into a Goth as a way to belong, and then as teenage runaway, then finally as a stable, yoga loving mother.
For me, Cathy was the main character, but looking back, any of the sisters could be your main character, because all of their stories were given time and attention.
I read A Stolen Child last year and I really enjoyed it. But this one just cemented Laura Elliott as a go to author for me. She reminds me of Lianne Moriarty in her ability to write about women who persevere through life even after bad things happen. The story and characters are relatable, but in the end, always inspiring.
Right now two of her books are free on Kindle unlimited and two are $2.99! It's the perfect time to try her!
So this is a gift that book blogging has given me, an author I may never have read otherwise.
sarahs_bookish_life's review
4.0
The Prodigal Sister is a gentle story of 4 sisters who had to grow up very quickly after losing their parents in a tragic accident.
The story starts off switching between letters that are written by the youngest sister Cathy to her dead parents and Rebecca the oldest sisters journal. This time in the sisters lives is a very hard time, growing up without the guidance of loving parents, the sisters all struggle to carry on with their lives whilst coming to terms with their loss. When Cathy reaches the age of 15 something happens in her life which could destroy her older sisters world, Cathy decides to run away with her secret thinking its best for everyone involved.
Years later Cathy gets in touch with her sisters to invite them to New Zealand where she is living for her wedding. The three sisters then embark on a road trip of discovery and sightseeing while on their way to see Cathy.
The author does a wonderful job in describing all the different places that the sisters travel to as I almost felt like I was on the very trip with them.
My favourite part of the book is the letters between Cathy and her parents, at times they are funny and sweet and at other times heartbreaking.
I liked all the sisters in the book though I felt more drawn to Cathy and Lauren in the story. Not having any sisters myself it was nice to see the relationship between the four women.
The Prodigal Sister is a heartwarming, emotional story which I think many readers will enjoy, another great read by Laura Elliot.
Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review.
The story starts off switching between letters that are written by the youngest sister Cathy to her dead parents and Rebecca the oldest sisters journal. This time in the sisters lives is a very hard time, growing up without the guidance of loving parents, the sisters all struggle to carry on with their lives whilst coming to terms with their loss. When Cathy reaches the age of 15 something happens in her life which could destroy her older sisters world, Cathy decides to run away with her secret thinking its best for everyone involved.
Years later Cathy gets in touch with her sisters to invite them to New Zealand where she is living for her wedding. The three sisters then embark on a road trip of discovery and sightseeing while on their way to see Cathy.
The author does a wonderful job in describing all the different places that the sisters travel to as I almost felt like I was on the very trip with them.
My favourite part of the book is the letters between Cathy and her parents, at times they are funny and sweet and at other times heartbreaking.
I liked all the sisters in the book though I felt more drawn to Cathy and Lauren in the story. Not having any sisters myself it was nice to see the relationship between the four women.
The Prodigal Sister is a heartwarming, emotional story which I think many readers will enjoy, another great read by Laura Elliot.
Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review.
pgchuis's review
4.0
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley.
The Lambert sisters, Rebecca, Julie, Lauren and Cathy lose their parents in a car accident (in which Lauren is also badly injured) when Rebecca is 17 and Cathy is just eight. Rebecca keeps the family together. Julie gets pregnant and marries her long-term boyfriend, Paul. Rebecca marries Jeremy, who had ditched her when the crisis struck, but returns and apologizes. Lauren goes to London and becomes a poet. Cathy runs away when she is 15 and does not contact her sisters again in any meaningful way for another 15 years. At the beginning of the novel she has invited them all to New Zealand, to her wedding and to meet her 15 year old son.
The story is told in different time frames and by different methods. We learn about the girls' past through letters Cathy was encouraged to write to her mother in heaven and through Rebecca's journal from that period. The present day sections are told from many different perspectives, including that of Cathy's son, Conor. I found the gradual revelation of what went on in Cathy's child and adolescence well done. The descriptions of the effect the bereavement had on each of the sisters were realistic and very sad. The author was able to make us sympathize with Rebecca (who sacrificed almost everything for her sisters) while at the same time condemning her for the mistakes she made along the way.
The present-day sections worked less well for me. Lauren and Julie were fairly consistently drawn, but Rebecca behaved oddly. Without giving away too much of the plot, I failed to understand why she didn't want to confront Cathy about exactly what had gone on when they met at last. With the benefit of all she had learned about her husband and the fact that Cathy was a child for whom she was responsible, I found her total lack of sympathy disturbing. She then proceeded to run away herself with Tim and refused to explain to the poor man exactly what was going on.
On the other hand, Cathy's character barely seemed to exist in the present day sections. What on earth were she and Kevin thinking? What did she really feel for Kevin? What did she expect poor Rebecca to do? Would she have told the truth if it had not become apparent? I liked the endings for Lauren and Julie, but for the other characters the conclusion seemed rushed and the emotions undeveloped.
3.5* rounded up.
Most of the Goodreads reviews for this novel seem to be of a completely different story.
The Lambert sisters, Rebecca, Julie, Lauren and Cathy lose their parents in a car accident (in which Lauren is also badly injured) when Rebecca is 17 and Cathy is just eight. Rebecca keeps the family together. Julie gets pregnant and marries her long-term boyfriend, Paul. Rebecca marries Jeremy, who had ditched her when the crisis struck, but returns and apologizes. Lauren goes to London and becomes a poet. Cathy runs away when she is 15 and does not contact her sisters again in any meaningful way for another 15 years. At the beginning of the novel she has invited them all to New Zealand, to her wedding and to meet her 15 year old son.
The story is told in different time frames and by different methods. We learn about the girls' past through letters Cathy was encouraged to write to her mother in heaven and through Rebecca's journal from that period. The present day sections are told from many different perspectives, including that of Cathy's son, Conor. I found the gradual revelation of what went on in Cathy's child and adolescence well done. The descriptions of the effect the bereavement had on each of the sisters were realistic and very sad. The author was able to make us sympathize with Rebecca (who sacrificed almost everything for her sisters) while at the same time condemning her for the mistakes she made along the way.
The present-day sections worked less well for me. Lauren and Julie were fairly consistently drawn, but Rebecca behaved oddly. Without giving away too much of the plot, I failed to understand why she didn't want to confront Cathy about exactly what had gone on when they met at last. With the benefit of all she had learned about her husband and the fact that Cathy was a child for whom she was responsible, I found her total lack of sympathy disturbing. She then proceeded to run away herself with Tim and refused to explain to the poor man exactly what was going on.
On the other hand, Cathy's character barely seemed to exist in the present day sections. What on earth were she and Kevin thinking? What did she really feel for Kevin? What did she expect poor Rebecca to do? Would she have told the truth if it had not become apparent? I liked the endings for Lauren and Julie, but for the other characters the conclusion seemed rushed and the emotions undeveloped.
3.5* rounded up.
Most of the Goodreads reviews for this novel seem to be of a completely different story.
leahmichelle_13's review
4.0
When Carla Kelly marries Robert Gardiner after a whirlwind romance, their happiness is complete when Carla discovers she's pregnant. Tragedy strikes two days after baby Isobel is born, though, when Isobel is snatched without reason. Meanwhile, Susanne and David Dowling are celebrating the birth of their miracle child Joy. However Susanne is hiding a terrible secret and in her bid to keep her secret a secret, she rears Joy in near-isolation. As Carla and Robert begin the search for their daughter, their marriage begins to crumble under the strain. Carla refuses to move on, believing that her baby is still out there somewhere, waiting for her to find her. As the years pass, Carla's determination to find her daughter never wanes, despite the dwindling hope whereas Susanne carries on rearing Joy by shielding her from the world. As secrets come to the fore, can either mother find the strength to face their demons?
Stolen Child is Laura Elliot's second novel under that name but she's had many books published under her real name of June Considine. I picked up her first book under the name of Laura Elliot, The Prodigal Sister, last year but I haven't yet gotten around to reading it. When I saw the synopsis for Laura's second book Stolen Child, I couldn't wait to read it. I've read a few books about missing children - the one that stands out is Little Miracles by Giselle Green - and they intrigue me, not to mention we're always hearing about children going missing in the news, so it's interesting to see how authors tackle such a subject.
I don't want to spell it out, but I think it's kind of an open secret what happens to Carla's baby; the blurb on the back of the book is told in such a way that it kind of gives it away. It's not a problem, because that's probably not the issue. The issue is how long it all spans out and how deep each person involved gets in the whole thing. I liked how both stories of both women run parallel to each other and they almost blend into one. There's Susanne's story of joy, of hope, of knowing that despite the odds, she has her miracle baby, despite the dubious circumstances within which she 'got' her daughter. And then we have Carla's despair and determination; her despair at the loss of her daughter and her determination to find her baby no matter what. As Carla searches and searches, we see as Susanne tries hard to keep her secrets secret, and the two such contrasting stories blend so well together. It must have been fairly hard to pull off two different set of emotions and two different writing styles, but it's done with aplomb.
I must admit I'm finding it very hard to articulate fully what I thought of the characters. On the one hand, I can understand absolutely everything Susanne does but on the other hand it disgusts me so much. I think we're past the point where I just can't not mention the fact Susanne stole Isobel. And how can I ever like someone who is willing to do something so so terrible? Yet I could, in a totally strange and surreal way, empathise with her plight. I don't agree with what she did, but I could feel for her and she didn't seem too terrible a person. I know she stole another person's child and that does automatically make her terrible, but excluding that, she didn't seem too terrible. I didn't like Carla in the beginning, I thought she enjoyed the publicity and everything surrounding herself and her pregnancy was a bit full on. But after Isobel goes missing, and Carla sees just how invasive the press and media can be, and she realises just how much she hates it, I began to like her a bit more. Not many people would have the will to go on after a child goes missing, particularly after the police even give up, but Carla's determination was admirable. That, there, is what made me like Carla, the fact that she so strongly believed her daughter to be alive, made her for me.
The book doesn't just revolve around Carla and Susanne though, there's also their families and the plot definitely has wider implications than you might expect. There's Susanne's husband David as well as Carla's husband, Robert, and it's Robert and Carla who are hit the hardest. A missing child will do one of two things: bring you closer together or tear you apart and for Robert and Carla is was the latter. Then there's the wider families, the parents of all four characters, and siblings. The damage was far, wide and lasting, that's for sure. Even Joy, Susanne's daughter, is affected and the way she is with her parents, in particular her mum, was shocking at times. That's who I felt for the most because Susanne, despite all I've said, did seem to be a bit of a control freak when it came to Joy.
Stolen Child is definitely a slow-burning read and there isn't much in the way of action but I quite liked the pace of the book. I did want some more revelations to come out and I was itching for it all to kick off but on the whole I enjoyed the read. The book stands at a mammoth 500 pages and you're definitely in it for the long haul. There are a few twists on the way to the end, one in particular I didn't see coming at all. Despite it's relatively slow pace, I did manage to immerse myself fully in the book and the easy reading style certainly helped move the book along. There were a few twee parts but on the whole it was a great read. The book is recommended to fans of Anita Shreve and Rosie Thomas, although I've never actually read either of their books so I have no idea if that's a valid recommendation, but if you like Giselle Green's books or Louise Candlish's books then Stolen Child is probably one you ought to pick up.
Stolen Child is Laura Elliot's second novel under that name but she's had many books published under her real name of June Considine. I picked up her first book under the name of Laura Elliot, The Prodigal Sister, last year but I haven't yet gotten around to reading it. When I saw the synopsis for Laura's second book Stolen Child, I couldn't wait to read it. I've read a few books about missing children - the one that stands out is Little Miracles by Giselle Green - and they intrigue me, not to mention we're always hearing about children going missing in the news, so it's interesting to see how authors tackle such a subject.
I don't want to spell it out, but I think it's kind of an open secret what happens to Carla's baby; the blurb on the back of the book is told in such a way that it kind of gives it away. It's not a problem, because that's probably not the issue. The issue is how long it all spans out and how deep each person involved gets in the whole thing. I liked how both stories of both women run parallel to each other and they almost blend into one. There's Susanne's story of joy, of hope, of knowing that despite the odds, she has her miracle baby, despite the dubious circumstances within which she 'got' her daughter. And then we have Carla's despair and determination; her despair at the loss of her daughter and her determination to find her baby no matter what. As Carla searches and searches, we see as Susanne tries hard to keep her secrets secret, and the two such contrasting stories blend so well together. It must have been fairly hard to pull off two different set of emotions and two different writing styles, but it's done with aplomb.
I must admit I'm finding it very hard to articulate fully what I thought of the characters. On the one hand, I can understand absolutely everything Susanne does but on the other hand it disgusts me so much. I think we're past the point where I just can't not mention the fact Susanne stole Isobel. And how can I ever like someone who is willing to do something so so terrible? Yet I could, in a totally strange and surreal way, empathise with her plight. I don't agree with what she did, but I could feel for her and she didn't seem too terrible a person. I know she stole another person's child and that does automatically make her terrible, but excluding that, she didn't seem too terrible. I didn't like Carla in the beginning, I thought she enjoyed the publicity and everything surrounding herself and her pregnancy was a bit full on. But after Isobel goes missing, and Carla sees just how invasive the press and media can be, and she realises just how much she hates it, I began to like her a bit more. Not many people would have the will to go on after a child goes missing, particularly after the police even give up, but Carla's determination was admirable. That, there, is what made me like Carla, the fact that she so strongly believed her daughter to be alive, made her for me.
The book doesn't just revolve around Carla and Susanne though, there's also their families and the plot definitely has wider implications than you might expect. There's Susanne's husband David as well as Carla's husband, Robert, and it's Robert and Carla who are hit the hardest. A missing child will do one of two things: bring you closer together or tear you apart and for Robert and Carla is was the latter. Then there's the wider families, the parents of all four characters, and siblings. The damage was far, wide and lasting, that's for sure. Even Joy, Susanne's daughter, is affected and the way she is with her parents, in particular her mum, was shocking at times. That's who I felt for the most because Susanne, despite all I've said, did seem to be a bit of a control freak when it came to Joy.
Stolen Child is definitely a slow-burning read and there isn't much in the way of action but I quite liked the pace of the book. I did want some more revelations to come out and I was itching for it all to kick off but on the whole I enjoyed the read. The book stands at a mammoth 500 pages and you're definitely in it for the long haul. There are a few twists on the way to the end, one in particular I didn't see coming at all. Despite it's relatively slow pace, I did manage to immerse myself fully in the book and the easy reading style certainly helped move the book along. There were a few twee parts but on the whole it was a great read. The book is recommended to fans of Anita Shreve and Rosie Thomas, although I've never actually read either of their books so I have no idea if that's a valid recommendation, but if you like Giselle Green's books or Louise Candlish's books then Stolen Child is probably one you ought to pick up.
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