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A review by book_concierge
The Frederick Sisters Are Living the Dream by Jeannie Zusy
3.0
3.5***
This is a novel of family in which the key events are the kinds of everyday disasters many families must deal with: a hospitalization, a teenager learning to drive, an accident, a holiday dinner that goes awry.
The three Frederick sisters are: Betsy, a professional surfer; Virginia (Ginny), a mentally challenged diabetic; and Maggie, the youngest and most dependable. The book begins when Maggie gets a call from the ER in Maryland, informing her that Ginny has apparently overdosed on strawberry Jell-O. Rushing south from her New York home, Maggie quickly understands that Ginny can really no longer live alone, and brings both Maggie and her large, occasionally aggressive, dog back to the Hudson Valley town where Maggie lives with her teenaged sons.
The family dynamics in this book are spot on. Ginny may have some intellectual disabilities, but she is a master manipulator, quickly knowing her sisters’ weak spots and how best to get to them. She is stubborn and insistent on getting her own way. Maggie is dealing with a failing marriage and two sons she can’t quite control. And she has taken on the “parental” role in regard to Ginny. Who else will do it? Not Betsy, who took off for California and the life of a celebrity surfer just as soon as she could. But while Maggie is focusing her energies on how best to help her sister (who seems to not want any help), she is ignoring her own needs and issues.
The side characters, especially home health aides Philomena and Lika, are wonderfully drawn. They both observe and subtly (or not so subtly) change the family dynamic with a word or determined act. And Maggie’s sons, especially Leo, are real charmers.
It’s a lovely debut and I look forward to reading Zusy’s next novel.
This is a novel of family in which the key events are the kinds of everyday disasters many families must deal with: a hospitalization, a teenager learning to drive, an accident, a holiday dinner that goes awry.
The three Frederick sisters are: Betsy, a professional surfer; Virginia (Ginny), a mentally challenged diabetic; and Maggie, the youngest and most dependable. The book begins when Maggie gets a call from the ER in Maryland, informing her that Ginny has apparently overdosed on strawberry Jell-O. Rushing south from her New York home, Maggie quickly understands that Ginny can really no longer live alone, and brings both Maggie and her large, occasionally aggressive, dog back to the Hudson Valley town where Maggie lives with her teenaged sons.
The family dynamics in this book are spot on. Ginny may have some intellectual disabilities, but she is a master manipulator, quickly knowing her sisters’ weak spots and how best to get to them. She is stubborn and insistent on getting her own way. Maggie is dealing with a failing marriage and two sons she can’t quite control. And she has taken on the “parental” role in regard to Ginny. Who else will do it? Not Betsy, who took off for California and the life of a celebrity surfer just as soon as she could. But while Maggie is focusing her energies on how best to help her sister (who seems to not want any help), she is ignoring her own needs and issues.
The side characters, especially home health aides Philomena and Lika, are wonderfully drawn. They both observe and subtly (or not so subtly) change the family dynamic with a word or determined act. And Maggie’s sons, especially Leo, are real charmers.
It’s a lovely debut and I look forward to reading Zusy’s next novel.