published by: Gallery Books
publish date: July 5, 2011
Clementine Lord is not an orphan. She just feels like one sometimes. One of triplets, a quirk of nature left her the odd one out. Odette and Olivia are identical; Clementine is a singleton. Biologically speaking, she came from her own egg. Practically speaking, she never quite left it. Then Clementine’s father—a pediatric neurologist who is an expert on children’s brains, but clueless when it comes to his own daughters—disappears, and his choices, both past and present, force the family dynamics to change at last. As the three sisters struggle to make sense of it, their mother must emerge from the greenhouse and leave the flowers that have long been the focus of her warmth and nurturing.
For Clementine, the next step means retracing the winding route that led her to this very moment: to understand her father’s betrayal, the tragedy of her first lost love, her family’s divisions, and her best friend Eli’s sudden romantic interest. Most of all, she may finally have found the voice with which to share the inside story of being the odd sister out. . . .
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. The beginning was kind of slow and I was starting to wonder if I was going to make it through the book or not. By time I got to the middle, the story was picking up and I was getting into the characters. When the end came around, I was boohooing and I was really sad that the book was finished.
I have twin daughters and I was really fascinated by triplet aspect of this book. Mine are only 7, so I don't think they really understood the questions I kept pestering them with while I was reading this book. The "Party Trick" sounded fun, and hearing each other talk inside their heads was really beautiful. It added an interesting dynamic to the story. My only little criticism here would be that Odette and Olivia's names were so similar that I had trouble keeping them separate in my head.
Overall, a good solid contemporary fiction, chick-lit, type story. I'd definitely recommend it. It had reading group questions in the back, so it would be a good choice for your next pick for your book club.
1 comment:
Loved this book! From the very first page, I felt as though I was right inside Clementine's head, experiencing her anxieties, her thoughts, her struggles, and her joys. She is wonderfully imperfect and believable, as she tries to make sense of her family's relationships and secrets, while also coming to terms with a great loss.
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