Scan barcode
lifeisjustafictionalrelm_'s review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5/5⭐️!
This book felt very cathartic for me to read, for a plethora of reasons. I would firstly say that the main reason that this book hit me emotionally was due to the overall theme surrounding mental illness’s effect upon sisterly dynamics, which I can personally heavily relate to. I also found that the cathartic aspect of this book came in it’s writing style, portraying metaphorical and simply gut punching situations and realizations that both of the sisters in this book dealt with💕
This book felt very cathartic for me to read, for a plethora of reasons. I would firstly say that the main reason that this book hit me emotionally was due to the overall theme surrounding mental illness’s effect upon sisterly dynamics, which I can personally heavily relate to. I also found that the cathartic aspect of this book came in it’s writing style, portraying metaphorical and simply gut punching situations and realizations that both of the sisters in this book dealt with💕
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Death of parent
gabrielastbr's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I love a story about sisters, so I knew this was a must-read. This story follows the tumultuous life of the Shred family, often at the mercy of one of the daughter's (Ollie) struggle with authority, mental health, and addiction. Told from the perspective of her sister (Amy), it highlights the ways in which this family was shaped by Ollie's actions. It's also a coming of age story, following Amy closely as she tries to build a life of her own, but ends up in her own tumultuous situations with partners and friends.
Beautifully written, heartbreaking, and heartwarming. This isn't necessarily a book that will make you sob, but it has a lot of tension and family drama. I enjoyed my time reading this, even when at times my heart was heavy with pain for this cast of characters.
Thank you to Grove Atlantic for providing a review copy through NetGalley. It took me a bit longer than I wanted to read it, but I am so glad I did.
Beautifully written, heartbreaking, and heartwarming. This isn't necessarily a book that will make you sob, but it has a lot of tension and family drama. I enjoyed my time reading this, even when at times my heart was heavy with pain for this cast of characters.
Thank you to Grove Atlantic for providing a review copy through NetGalley. It took me a bit longer than I wanted to read it, but I am so glad I did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Mental illness
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child death, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
noshinbean's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
ekg's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use and Mental illness
elnorman's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
“Shred Sisters” by Betsy Lerner is a poignant novel about two sisters, Amy and Olivia, who could not be more different. The book draws the reader in to the characters, especially Amy, and the Shred family struggles with Ollie and her mental illness. This was heartbreaking to read at times, but it is also a painfully honest portrayal of how mental illness and addiction can both strain families but also bring out incredible acts of love. I appreciated Lerner showing how having a mentally ill sister continued to affect Amy and her relationships. Definitely recommended. Thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the eARC.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction and Mental illness
readingpicnic's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Grove Atlantic for a free digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book started off very strong with setting up the family dynamics that largely stayed throughout the whole book, which moves slowly through the family’s lives and deaths. Ollie is a strong personality that kept my interest the whole book, even when she wasn’t always present. There are lots of conversations and ponderings on how your childhood home environment traumatizes you in less obvious ways that influence how you react to situations in adulthood. I will say that Amy was a very passive voice in this story that didn’t do much for me personally; she was Nick and Ollie was Gatsby in terms of Ollie feeling like the MAIN character who everything revolved around. Since the book is called Shred Sisters, I would have preferred for Ollie to have been more of a character than she was—it seemed like she was mostly defined by her mental illnesses and manic episodes, only really settling down when becoming a mother, which was…a strange way to resolve the book I think. I’m personally wary of books where motherhood is posed as a solution to a character’s life problems. There was also some casual fatphobia thrown in with the main character feeling glad and superior that her ex and his wife gained weight, and I can’t tell if that’s just an in-character thing for her to think??? The storytelling method also put me off quite a bit with the character occasionally speaking with insight from the present tense and commenting on moments of her life, which I wasn’t the biggest fan of. It began to feel like the jumps in time were essentially “and then this happened, and then this happened, and then I got a different lover, and then…” which I got tired of after a while. Again, I really enjoyed the beginning, and I wish that the book had stayed there longer (or for its entirety). A dual pov with Ollie also would have been interesting. Overall, I think the movement through time in this story wasn’t executed very well, and I lost interest towards the end.
This book started off very strong with setting up the family dynamics that largely stayed throughout the whole book, which moves slowly through the family’s lives and deaths. Ollie is a strong personality that kept my interest the whole book, even when she wasn’t always present. There are lots of conversations and ponderings on how your childhood home environment traumatizes you in less obvious ways that influence how you react to situations in adulthood. I will say that Amy was a very passive voice in this story that didn’t do much for me personally; she was Nick and Ollie was Gatsby in terms of Ollie feeling like the MAIN character who everything revolved around. Since the book is called Shred Sisters, I would have preferred for Ollie to have been more of a character than she was—it seemed like she was mostly defined by her mental illnesses and manic episodes, only really settling down when becoming a mother, which was…a strange way to resolve the book I think. I’m personally wary of books where motherhood is posed as a solution to a character’s life problems. There was also some casual fatphobia thrown in with the main character feeling glad and superior that her ex and his wife gained weight, and I can’t tell if that’s just an in-character thing for her to think??? The storytelling method also put me off quite a bit with the character occasionally speaking with insight from the present tense and commenting on moments of her life, which I wasn’t the biggest fan of. It began to feel like the jumps in time were essentially “and then this happened, and then this happened, and then I got a different lover, and then…” which I got tired of after a while. Again, I really enjoyed the beginning, and I wish that the book had stayed there longer (or for its entirety). A dual pov with Ollie also would have been interesting. Overall, I think the movement through time in this story wasn’t executed very well, and I lost interest towards the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Death, Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual assault and Lesbophobia
dizzzybrook's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The second Shred Sisters came across my radar, I knew it was a book I needed to devour immediately. In this debut novel, Lerner places readers right at the center of a family rapidly deteriorating and shows us just how mental illness is an invisible string that effects everyone it touches. On the surface, Shred Sisters appears to be a story about mental illness but, more than that, it is a coming of age story about family, friendship, and the importance of continuing to move forward despite making mistakes. I was wildly impressed with how many layers there were to this story and these characters. Lerner does a fantastic job at emphasizing the nuances of mental illness and the ways in which mental illness not only physically challenges families and relationships but also the ways mental illness impacts the subconscious, especially over long periods of time. I loved how human Amy Shred's character was and felt very connected to her all throughout. The fact that there were no definitive diagnoses assigned to any of these characters, but rather we gain understanding of their struggles purely through their behaviors and actions is something I rarely feel we get to see in fiction tackling mental health. My only disappointment while reading was that I did feel the pacing got a little rushed towards the end of the book. Lerner truly could have written 100 more pages and I would have fully been seated to continue reading. For anyone who has read and loved All-Night Pharmacy by Ruth Madievsky, I think you will really love Shred Sisters as well!
Endless thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for allowing me access to an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Shred Sisters will be published on October 1st, 2024
Endless thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for allowing me access to an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Shred Sisters will be published on October 1st, 2024
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
readingwannie's review
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I found this book intriguing. It was my first ever NetGalley-arc and I went into it not really knowing what to expect. The story focuses on mental health, and how one unstable link in a family can rip it all to ‘Shreds’ (pun intended). I found many aspects of the story engaging, and on certain levels I really related to Amy.
However, I found her quite flat in other parts, and her relationships never quite felt justified, as it felt like she didn’t really care about anyone or anything. Many parts of the story felt quite predictable and somewhat repetitive. Ollie showed up and everyone immediately forgave her, just for her to crush their hearts by disappearing again. It left a lot to be desired for me personally, but I can also see how other people might enjoy this more. I really enjoyed the writing style and if the synopsis sounds interesting to you, it’s definitely worth the read still.
However, I found her quite flat in other parts, and her relationships never quite felt justified, as it felt like she didn’t really care about anyone or anything. Many parts of the story felt quite predictable and somewhat repetitive. Ollie showed up and everyone immediately forgave her, just for her to crush their hearts by disappearing again. It left a lot to be desired for me personally, but I can also see how other people might enjoy this more. I really enjoyed the writing style and if the synopsis sounds interesting to you, it’s definitely worth the read still.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Minor: Animal death and Suicide
kells__bells's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I would like to thank Betsy Lerner, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me the opportunity to read this ARC!
Shred Sisters was beautifully written, and the author’s straightforward yet extremely impactful narrative had me intoxicated.
This story artfully explores family dynamics and the many layers of mental health. The characters were written so vividly and relatable. Ollie and Amy’s complex sister relationship took us through so many ups and downs, and I saw a lot of myself as well as those I know in these character. There were a few moments I truly resonated with having come from complicated family dynamics.
This debut novel is one you will not want to pass up, and I can’t wait to see more from this author!
Shred Sisters was beautifully written, and the author’s straightforward yet extremely impactful narrative had me intoxicated.
This story artfully explores family dynamics and the many layers of mental health. The characters were written so vividly and relatable. Ollie and Amy’s complex sister relationship took us through so many ups and downs, and I saw a lot of myself as well as those I know in these character. There were a few moments I truly resonated with having come from complicated family dynamics.
This debut novel is one you will not want to pass up, and I can’t wait to see more from this author!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Pregnancy