Wednesday, February 24, 2010

While my Sister Sleeps

Book:  While my Sister Sleeps
Author: Barbara Delinsky

Molly & Robin Snow are sisters & like all sisters, they share a deep bond that sustains them through good times & bad.  Their careers are flourishing - Molly is a horoticulturist & Robin is a world-class runner - & they are in the prime of their lives.  So when Molly receives the news that Robin has suffered a massic heart attack, she couldnt be more shocked.  At the hospital, the Snow family receives a grim prognosis:  Robin may never regain consciousness.

As Robin's parents & siblings struggle to cope, the complex mature of their relationship is put to the ultimate test.  Moly has always lived with Robin's shadow, & her feelings for her have run the gamut, from love to resentment & back.  The last time they spoke, they argued.  But now there is so much more at stake.  Molly's parents fold under the devastating circumstances & her brother retreats into the cool reserve that is shatting his own family.  Its up to Molly to make the tough decisions & she soon makes discoveries that destroy some of her most cherished beliefs about the sister she thought she knew....
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This book is not what I was expecting, but it turned out telling a very lovely story of the Snow family.  The characters in the book:

Molly - The sister of Robin - & that's how she's usually known in her life.  Its hard for her because she has to find a way to know what her sister would want.  She also has to take the "downing" of her mother, as she's obviously not the favorite child.  Molly struggles to keep the family going & lead them in the right direction - all the while discovering information that could hurt the ones she loves... Molly finds who she is throughout this story - & its not who she starts out to be.

David - the man who finds Robin on the side of the road.  He tried to help her & ends up befriending Molly & helps her more then anyone probably else could... he's also a teacher & its interesting to see a little story on him.  Just gives his character more of a personal story on how much he cares.

Kathryn - the over protective mother.  The one who pushed Robin into who she was - a CHAMPION.  The mother who seemed like nothing else mattered except her first child & the career she was in.

Charlie - the soft spoken father who only has to say a few words to put the knowledge out there of calmness.  What every tv show reminds me of as a perfect father figure.

Chris - the brother who also is struggling through the family crisis & having one of his own with his wife Erin.

Nick - a friend of Molly's who also was in love with Robin.  He's a reporter who will also do anything for a story.

Peter - a surprise from the past

And ROBIN - thought she is unconscious throughout the whole book, she speaks loud & clear through her words that she left behind.  The "diaries" she kept shows what has happened in her life that her own family wasnt aware of.  And in the end, she leads her family on what to do for her....
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This story really showed me how important it is to tell your loved ones what you think... how you feel.. to work out things before its too late...It had a lot of stories going on with each character & I thought it was getting a little too confusing with alot of things at once, but before I knew it, I was at the end of the book & glad I had invested in each one of these characters.

This is the first time I read a book by Barbara Delinsky, but it definately wont be my last...

My rating:  3 skeins

2 comments:

Writing Without Periods! said...

I'm looking for a good book. I'll try this one. Thanks.
Mary

Lindsey said...

Thanks for the review, I need to check this out!