The Good Sister

Author: Sally Hepworth

Genre: Thriller

Rating: 4 out of 5

Pages: 309

Date Started: 24 January 2022

Date Finished: 28 January 2022

This book was recommended by Goodreads and I have not read many books in the thriller genre and decided to pick it up. The synopsis also mentioned a hidden family secret which made me choose this immediately!

Fern and Rose Castle are fraternal twins, who were raised by a single mother after their father left the family. Rose is married and badly wants to have a child and is unable to due to her being Type 1 diabetic, and for having Premature Ovarian Aging (POA). Rose also has problems in her marriage with Owen, and due to the disagreement, Owen moves to London, or at least that's what Rose tells Fern.

Fern Castle works in a local library and has a very structured life. She also is sensitive to sensory stimulation and avoids crowds, bright lights, and loud noises. Any disruptions in her life can be dangerous! Fern also visits their mother every month and is the only daughter to be in touch with her mother who lives in a care center recovering from her drug overdose sixteen years ago. Rose sees her sister to have a baby for her, and Fern agrees. But while Fern plans to have a baby for her sister, her life takes a turn when she meets Rocco, in the library.

While Fern is pregnant, the life, the buried secrets come to life and shake Fern's life, which she has built carefully.

I really liked Fern's character for standing up for herself after learning about Rose and her plans. All the way it felt weird to read about Rose and how she manipulated Fern. Fern although not smart enough, or at least she feels so stands her ground when she feels things don't make sense.

It was a good read and the author kept the story gripping until the end. The story is only through the eyes of Fern and Rose, and how they interpret the past events. The author succeeds in keeping the secret till the end too. But somehow the reveal of the secret and the story around it was not that impressive. I was definitely expecting a twist, but it was not as surprising as I was expecting it to be.

Favorite lines from the book:

• As Fern and I watched, I remember thinking that somehow what mum was doing was worse than hitting. And how I wished she just hit me instead.

• Angry is a pen name for sad.

• The library is for everyone, but some people need it more than others.

• My first Thursday, I realize, as a mother, and without a mother.

The Reading List

Author: Sara Nisha Adams

Genre: Fiction

Rating: 2 out of 5

Pages: 384

Date Started: 28 January 2022

Date Finished:

(Did Not Finish)

I chose this book because it was available in the local library and had good ratings on Goodreads. This book was about books, so what could stop me from reading this?!

Mukesh, who is recently widowed, tries to connect his wife and his granddaughter through the books. Mukesh's wife Naina was an avid reader and he never knew about her interests and feels guilty that he never asked about the books she was reading. There are many other characters who have different stories and keep finding the same list of books.

I liked the character of Mukesh, who is a typical Indian man at that age. He wants to live his life, yet misses his wife terribly. Trying to connect himself to his late wife and his 8 years old granddaughter through books makes him look forward to the days. I really liked the way the author writes about his feelings of Mukesh towards life and his late wife.

I really tried hard to keep going and a little more than half of the book. I believe life is too short to read something that doesn't hold my interest! The story wasn't going anywhere and kept circling around Aleisha and Mukesh. It was the same routine expressed in different words, and I eventually lost interest and decided to stop reading!

Favorite lines from the book:

• Mukesh wished now that he'd asked her what they were about, what she loved about them, and why she'd felt the need to read the same ones again and again. He wished that he'd read them with her.

• Every reader, unknowingly connected in some small way.

• We found it (the book) under my wife's bed after she passed away. Reading it made me feel closer to her; it made me realize my loss as well.

• I think we have all been a bit of Amir in our lives - self-centered, focused only on ourselves - and we have all been a bit Hassan too, forgotten by the people we love the most. But in the end, the book was as happy as it could be. Amir made the right choice, to do the right thing. (About the book 'The Kite Runner')

• It is good to be kind to people, especially the people you love because you never know what it's like to walk in their shoes until one day you do.