Just Jennifer

 The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown (Amy Einhorn, January 2011)

Any novel whose motto is “There is no problem a library card can’t solve” has the potential to be a favorite among die-hard readers, but The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown exceeds all expectations.  The Andreas sisters, named by their father, a Shakespearean professor, after three of Shakespeare’s heroines, Rosalind, Bianca (Bean) and Cordelia grew up in an eccentric household full of books and a father who had a Shakespeare quote appropriate for any occasion.  The three young women left their home to find their own way in the world, but as each finds things not to be as they expected and hoped to be, they make their way back home, under the guise of taking care of their ailing mother, to lick their wounds and regroup. 

Rosie, the oldest, a professor at the college in the town where she lived and where her father taught, has taken on the role as primary guardian for the girls’ parents.  Now she is faced with a decision as her fiancé has an opportunity to spend several years at Oxford and wants Rosie to join him.  Rosie is certain that her parents’ lives, and now Bean and Cordy, will fall to pieces if she leaves.  Bean has returned to her Ohio hometown after getting caught up in the glitz and glamour of New York City, and getting caught embezzling from the law firm where she worked.  Cordy has returned home after traveling carefree around the United States with a less than carefree situation.  Now the girls must confront their fears about aging parents, their own fears and self doubts that are holding them back and try to repair their relationships with each other and see each other as individual adults rather than the bossy older sister or the pesty younger sister.

Cleverly and very effectively told in the first person plural, The Weird Sisters is a book you will want to share with everyone, especially your own weird sister.  This point of view allows a very full view of each character and her individual concerns, fears and shortcomings.  Rose, Bean and Cordy are wonderful characters that you will want to help work through their problems and even shake some sense into at times.  Eleanor Brown’s settings, especially those in the Andreas house, are so inviting, you will want to flop down on the couch and pick up the nearest book and start reading where the previous reader left off.  Even the novice Shakespeare fan will love the way the family can casually toss out the Bard’s quotations, even the more obscure, at the appropriate time.  This is one of those rare books that you never want to see end.