internationalkris's review against another edition
4.0
Clever and entertaining coming of age story set in the Baltimore social scene. Great characters.
pikasqueaks's review against another edition
2.0
Quirky, but the ending pretty much ruined it for me.
missprint_'s review against another edition
3.0
The Sullivan family's Christmas began in the traditional way that year. The six Sullivan siblings opened their gifts. Daddy-o made pancakes for breakfast and Ginger contributed her signature dish to the feast (sliced grapefruit halves sprinkled with Splenda).
Christmas would take an unexpected turn at the Sullivan's annual holiday dinner with the family matriarch--unaffectionately known by family, friends, enemies, and most of Baltimore as "Almighty Lou."
One of the Sullivans has deeply offended Almighty.
Subsequently the entire family has been cut out of her will unless the offending person comes forward with a full confession by New Year's Day. If not, their share of the fortune will be donated to Puppy Ponchos--a charity providing rain ponchos for dogs in need of raincoats.
No one knows for sure what drove Almighty to this extreme.
Could it have been seventeen-year-old Norrie and her completely unsuitable romance? Did sixteen-year-old Jane's airing the family's dirty laundry on myevilfamily.com seal the family's fate? Or does it have something to do with fifteen-year-old Sassy maybe, possibly, sort of having something to do with the death of Almighty's fifth husband Wallace?
The girls dutifully write their confessions hoping to appease their grandmother. If they can appease her their lives can go on as before. But once the confessions are written and the secrets revealed, nothing will be the same in Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters (2010) by Natalie Standiford.
Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters is an interesting blend of romance, humor, elements of the magical and a classic coming-of-age story all rolled into one. Broken into three parts, each sister has a chance to tell her own part of the story. Except all of their stories occur over the same period of time. This fact creates an interesting narrative with overlapping events, blended narrations, and multiple viewpoints used to flesh out certain aspects of the story.
Standiford also provides a surprising amount of suspense for a story that is decidedly not an adventure. Will the Sullivans be disinherited? Is Norrie's romance going to end horribly? Is Jane's family really evil? What is going on with Sassy? There are so many juicy questions to be answered that Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters quickly becomes equal parts page turner and Bildungsroman.
Some aspects of the story are bizarre and almost out of place--the whole novel is actually very reminiscent of the blend of everyday and surreal elements commonly found in magical realism--but by the end of the story it all kind of works. Standiford has once again taken a unique premise and made it something really special with winsome characters and clever prose.
Possible Pairings: Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You by Peter Cameron, King of the Screwups, Girl Overboard by K. L. Going, by Justina Chen Headley, Confessions of a Not It Girl by Melissa Kantor, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Christmas would take an unexpected turn at the Sullivan's annual holiday dinner with the family matriarch--unaffectionately known by family, friends, enemies, and most of Baltimore as "Almighty Lou."
One of the Sullivans has deeply offended Almighty.
Subsequently the entire family has been cut out of her will unless the offending person comes forward with a full confession by New Year's Day. If not, their share of the fortune will be donated to Puppy Ponchos--a charity providing rain ponchos for dogs in need of raincoats.
No one knows for sure what drove Almighty to this extreme.
Could it have been seventeen-year-old Norrie and her completely unsuitable romance? Did sixteen-year-old Jane's airing the family's dirty laundry on myevilfamily.com seal the family's fate? Or does it have something to do with fifteen-year-old Sassy maybe, possibly, sort of having something to do with the death of Almighty's fifth husband Wallace?
The girls dutifully write their confessions hoping to appease their grandmother. If they can appease her their lives can go on as before. But once the confessions are written and the secrets revealed, nothing will be the same in Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters (2010) by Natalie Standiford.
Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters is an interesting blend of romance, humor, elements of the magical and a classic coming-of-age story all rolled into one. Broken into three parts, each sister has a chance to tell her own part of the story. Except all of their stories occur over the same period of time. This fact creates an interesting narrative with overlapping events, blended narrations, and multiple viewpoints used to flesh out certain aspects of the story.
Standiford also provides a surprising amount of suspense for a story that is decidedly not an adventure. Will the Sullivans be disinherited? Is Norrie's romance going to end horribly? Is Jane's family really evil? What is going on with Sassy? There are so many juicy questions to be answered that Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters quickly becomes equal parts page turner and Bildungsroman.
Some aspects of the story are bizarre and almost out of place--the whole novel is actually very reminiscent of the blend of everyday and surreal elements commonly found in magical realism--but by the end of the story it all kind of works. Standiford has once again taken a unique premise and made it something really special with winsome characters and clever prose.
Possible Pairings: Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You by Peter Cameron, King of the Screwups, Girl Overboard by K. L. Going, by Justina Chen Headley, Confessions of a Not It Girl by Melissa Kantor, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
lavendermarch's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. It was another of my summer library reads. The premise was interesting, but I think what really kept me reading was the unique voice of each sister, and, of course, their secrets. The three Sullivan sisters were not hiding horrible secrets about lives of crime or some such nonsense. They had different secrets - about love, arrogance, supposed invincibility - none of which were supremely shocking. They were, however, enticing. I could relate to them because they read like teenage girls. Their voices were real, and their stories were pretty relatable. Their family was kind of nutty, but most families are.
In the end, this book was very good. 4 stars, for an enticing, relatable, thrilling read.
In the end, this book was very good. 4 stars, for an enticing, relatable, thrilling read.
nlevesque27's review against another edition
3.0
Eh, this was alright. It was interesting enough to hold me for a while, but overall, I just wanted more.
Book 53/75 (2018)
Book 53/75 (2018)
charmaineac's review against another edition
4.0
This book felt like three separate short stories. Naturally, I felt much more drawn to one than to the rest. I loved Norrie's part, and ate it up. But Jane and Sassy's portions dragged a bit for me. They were much less relatable and their voices seemed less genuine.
The Sullivan family was interesting. It seemed almost farcical -- this outlandishly rich and pompous "old money" family in Baltimore lived at the mercy of the Almighty grandmother. I liked seeing how the same scenarios impacted each of the sisters differently due to a mix of self-absorption, perception on life, and the people they interacted with. For example, the main "meat" of Jane's story was only briefly mentioned in passing by Norrie. I liked hearing different accounts of the same thing.
The problem with each side story was that I never felt that connected to any of the characters -- mostly I read about them from the outside-looking-in for the rest of the book. I also felt like there were a lot of issues brought up but never addressed, like their parents' co-dependency and lack of affection for their children.
Additionally, the ending/epilogue fell short to me. I had a feeling none of the sisters had cause for concern, but the Takey thing seemed really out-of-place. I also disliked how Standiford "prioritized" the girls' sins. Surely it would've made (one of the sisters) feel even worse about her actions.
I left the book unsatisfied because it merely showed how shallow and selfish people can be. Is money the only true motivator? Now that's an unfortunate thought.
The Sullivan family was interesting. It seemed almost farcical -- this outlandishly rich and pompous "old money" family in Baltimore lived at the mercy of the Almighty grandmother. I liked seeing how the same scenarios impacted each of the sisters differently due to a mix of self-absorption, perception on life, and the people they interacted with. For example, the main "meat" of Jane's story was only briefly mentioned in passing by Norrie. I liked hearing different accounts of the same thing.
The problem with each side story was that I never felt that connected to any of the characters -- mostly I read about them from the outside-looking-in for the rest of the book. I also felt like there were a lot of issues brought up but never addressed, like their parents' co-dependency and lack of affection for their children.
Additionally, the ending/epilogue fell short to me. I had a feeling none of the sisters had cause for concern, but the Takey thing seemed really out-of-place. I also disliked how Standiford "prioritized" the girls' sins. Surely it would've made (one of the sisters) feel even worse about her actions.
I left the book unsatisfied because it merely showed how shallow and selfish people can be. Is money the only true motivator? Now that's an unfortunate thought.
lindacbugg's review against another edition
3.0
This is one of those times I wish there were 1/2 star ratings cause this was 3 1/2-3 3/4 stars. I agree it ended rather abuptly and I wasn't entirely happy with who the culprit was but I still liked the 3 girls stories and how they grew over the course of their stories. Norrie's story was my favorite though.
kateleos's review against another edition
Not actively bad or anything, I just couldn't get or stay engaged so I'm cutting my losses and moving on. Bummer, because I loved How To Say Goodbye In Robot.
frootjoos's review against another edition
5.0
fantastic. less tears than ROBOT but still quite touching.
librariann's review against another edition
4.0
Ages 12+ (language)
Standiford (a previous favorite for her How to Say Goodbye in Robot) puts her own twist on the poor little rich girls genre, when the three Sullivan sisters must write letters of apology (for what? who knows!) to their powerful Grandmother or risk their family being cut out of her will.
Of all the girls, I love Jane the best.
Standiford (a previous favorite for her How to Say Goodbye in Robot) puts her own twist on the poor little rich girls genre, when the three Sullivan sisters must write letters of apology (for what? who knows!) to their powerful Grandmother or risk their family being cut out of her will.
Of all the girls, I love Jane the best.