A review by chwaters
Sisters of Misery by Megan Kelley Hall

2.0

I had some very mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I felt as though the underlying motivations behind bullying (and those who go along with it) were spot-on. I liked Cordelia's character as well as the grandmother. The story was intriguing and kept me interested to the end. On the other hand, the plot was kind of all over the place. The elements of wicca and runestones, while presented as a major thematic element, were ultimately underdeveloped. Some of the characters should probably been explored at greater length and with more depth. For example, Tess, the grandmother, who is a great character in the beginning of the book suddenly develops dementia (though it is said that it is worsening, implying that she had had dementia all along?) about half-way through. Rebecca's history is scant, though that will probably be dealt with in later installments. Maddie, our main character, is at times sympathetic. At others, her motivations seem out of synch with her character. Although, with all the drugging going on, I suppose that's what we should expect. And that's another thing....the whole "drugging" the drinks by the Sisters seems a bit too convenient as a plot device, in my humble opinion. Its an easy way for Maddie to be controlled and still forget what exactly happened. Anyway, Kate and Co. are suitably evil and in spite of my issues with the book, I still am interested to see where the next book leads.