The September Sisters - Hardcover

In this debut novel’s dramatic opening, Abigail is called out of her tenth-grade class to hear the words that she’s been waiting for since her sister, Becky, went missing two years ago: “They’ve found her.” Who took Becky? Where is the body? Was she murdered? The police consider Abigail’s depressed mother a prime suspect. Is she cheating on her husband? The story goes on too long, but what will hold readers, along with the suspense of the whodunit, is the honesty of the sibling story. Abigail remembers her quarrels with her sister and their rivalry for their parents’ attention, and her first-person narrative tells the truth about the breakup of a family; her grief, anger and long-time jealousy; and even her complicated feelings after she makes out with the boy next door. The dialogue, clipped and intense, leaves room for readers to recognize their own experiences in the words. And, always, there is the suspense: Where is Becky? Is “missing” worse than dead? Grades 7-12. --Hazel Rochman