Review: ‘The Sunshine Sisters’

Jane Green is a leading author for those looking for laughter, a bit of drama, and a touch of romance. She is the queen of women's fiction and has a loyal group of readers. I read her latest, 'Falling,” as well as her recent cookbook, 'Good Taste,” and enjoyed them both although I was a bit miffed by the ending in 'Falling.” I am always a sucker for sister stories since I am one of three and this one piqued my interest.

Three daughters have grown up under the neglected mothering of Ronni Sunshine, the narcissistic movie star who only had time for her children when she was wanting to show them off or when she was ill and needed them to cater to her needs. As the story flashes back to some of those awful situations of neglect and poor parenting, you see why all three daughters, now in adulthood, rarely speak to their mother or each other.

Nell is the tomboy who ends up running a farm not far from home. Meredith ingested all of her mother's criticism as well as all the snack food in sight and ran off to London to get as far away from critical eyes as possible. Lizzy, the baby and most like her mother, is ambitious and famous as a chef, hosting New York City's popular supper clubs. All three have bitter feelings about their past and have avoided rehashing old wounds with their mom or sisters until they each receive a phone call demanding they come home immediately. As they learn of their mother's illness, each sister handles the news in different ways and begins to reconnect in pieces with each other.

Character development is one of Green's talents. She creates characters we love to hate, empathize with, and, eventually, understand. But, unfortunately, the storyline doesn't offer much excitement due to its predictability. I didn't have the emotional attachment to any of the characters that I normally would in a story like this. I could find parts of each character to identify with and commiserate about my own poor choices from the past, but I never felt emotionally connected.

Moving to the final third of the book you can see their 'aha” moments while watching these women leave the shell that has been protecting them from hurt. Each daughter learns something about herself through these final moments with their mom and you leave the novel feeling happy for them.

Even though most of this novel is full of family drama and sadness, there is a bit of redemption of character when Ronni shares private conversations with each of her daughters. You may not ever like her or her daughters, but you will know, behind all the anger and sadness, there was still love.