Sisters Olivia and Jazz Moon are handling their mother’s sudden death differently.
Jazz – having had a complicated and strained relationship with her mother – faces the loss with practicality and realism. She gets herself a job and readies herself for the future.
Olivia – unique from birth with the ability see sounds, taste words and smell sights – desperately clings to the belief that her mother’s death was not intentional. She decides she must fulfill her mother’s long held dream to travel to see the ghost lights at the setting of her mother’s unfinished novel.
Resentful that she’s spent her life being Olivia’s keeper, Jazz resists the encouragement to watch over this new foolish journey of Olivia’s. Yet she does follow – grudgingly.
When the sisters meet trouble along the way, Jazz wants to turn back but Olivia’s fanciful, hopeful heart believes it’ll all work out – and stubbornly refuses to go home.
Slowly making their way to their destination, Jazz and Olivia find that they must face their mother’s death and maybe eventually come to understand each other better…
The Moon Sisters is a sad, effectively depressing and distressing novel. It highlights emotional and mental instability while keeping everyone sympathetic and deserving of empathy in some way.
I was reminded a little of Elinor and Marianne from Sense & Sensibility – one practical, sensible sister and one emotional, rather immature sister.
The Moon Sisters is well done – but emotionally draining, and therefore difficult to read.
For me, the flashbacks and memories were more interesting than the current day journey Jazz and Olivia were on. At times I began to skim the novel, especially during Hobbs’ – a secondary character – scenes. He never really gelled with me.
Though fairly touching, I felt that the conclusion of The Moon Sisters was a bit unsatisfying. Though I didn’t dislike Olivia – she grated on me. Her condition is fascinating, yes, but it also felt – often – self-absorbed.
Overall, it was a raw perspective of family and loss – but not a novel I would run around recommending.
Read it for yourself, though!!
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