Reviews

A heart warming story of 4 sisters reacting in different ways to their brothers tragic death and subsequent organ donation. All sisters are totally immersed in their own lives to the extent of alienating themselves from each other. And when Claire announces she wants to contact recipients of Daniels organs the others are appalled, but slowly each sister comes round resulting in some really poignant moments.
There are difficult issues raised in this novel by Kylie Ladd has dealt with them empathetically and with understanding. Organ donation particularly can be a hard topic to talk about but this novel helps see things from all perspectives

annettenis's review

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emotional inspiring medium-paced

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

4.0

linlinlin's review

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad fast-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

5.0

Content Warnings

sweet_ness's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

thisgirl_writes's review

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reflective medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes

4.0

indoorg1rl's review

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emotional informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

4.5 stars.

The four O’Shea sisters, Allison, Bridie, Clare and Emma, couldn’t be more different from each other. When their common denominator, Daniel, their beloved brother, was suddenly and tragically killed, they tried to renew the connections they had by tracking down the strangers whose lives were saved by Daniel’s organ donations.

I really appreciated the fact that this story was part inspired by Kylie’s own brother who was a registered organ donor and passed away unexpectedly in 2013.

When I saw the synopsis of this book, I had thought it would be a complete tear jerker with a lot of dramatic scenes. I was so happy when I found that the book didn’t play the sappy card, and the result felt real, balanced and amazing.

It was also very interesting that the siblings were named in alphabetical order, which made it very easy to remember who was who (and their birth order), especially at the start when we got introduced to all the characters in one go.

This book gave me a fresh perspective on grief, family dynamics and organ donation. I loved it so much, it was my favourite book of the month (in April 2023).

(Thanks to Penguin Australia for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review)

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