Review and Giveaway: Names My Sisters Call Me by Megan Crane

The following is a summary of Names My Sisters Call Me by Megan Crane from Hachette:

Courtney, Norah, and Raine Cassel are as different as three sisters can be. Norah, the oldest, is a type A obsessive who hasn't forgiven Raine, the middle sister, for ruining her wedding day six years ago. Raine is Norah's opposite, a wild child/performance artist/follow-your-bliss hippie chick who ran off to California. The only thing the two have in common is their ability to drive Courtney, their youngest sister, crazy.

When her longtime boyfriend proposes, Courtney decides it's finally time to call a truce and bring the three sisters together. After all, they're grown-ups now, right? But it turns out that family ghosts aren't easily defeated--and neither are first loves. Soon Courtney finds herself reexamining every choice she has made in the past six years--including the man she's about to marry--and the value of reconnecting with the sisters she knows she needs, in spite of everything.

My Review:

When I picked up Names My Sisters Call Me I really was expecting a fun, light read. Well I certainly did get what I expected, and more! One of the big themes in this book was not wanting to let go of first loves, but then finally learning to let go and move on. The family dynamics between the sisters and their mother was also another important aspect of the book and was very realistic.

Courtney has kept a close, yet somewhat strained relationship with her older and bossy sister Norah, but has not kept in touch with Raine since she fled from her family six years earlier. As Courtney is now engaged she is hoping that her sisters will be able to set aside their differences so they can share in the happy event of Courtney's nuptuals together as a family.

As Courtney's sisters reunite in their hometown to celebrate her engagement party, Courtney is tempted by the feelings that she has or had for her first love. Luckily, this part of the novel helped to reveal some underlying family issues in Courtney's life. It helped her to realize why she let her sisters treat her the way they do.

Even though the mother had a small part in the novel, I feel she made a very important statement. Knowing how different each of her daughters were, she showed her love and support for each of them even during the most trying times. One of my favorite parts of the book was when they were having 'Family Dinner', and mom brought out three cakes, a different cake for each daughter because they all had different tastes. For me, this was a way of embracing their differences instead of trying to fix or change them.

Everything did come together nicely at the end of the book, but not too nicely that it seemed unrealistic. The three sisters obviously still had some relationship issues to work out. Personally, this book really tugged at my heart, since I grew up without a father myself. I also want to share the line in the book that really impacted me, from pg 290, "I never learned how to love something that could love me back."

This was a great book that I would suggest for a book club or for personal reading, especially if you have a sister! I just can't wait to see how the rest of my book club liked it. I will be sure to share some of their comments after we meet to discuss it.

Feel free to check out Megan Crane's website to find out what kind of sister you are.

Giveaway:

Miriam from Hachette is offering to give away one copy of Names My Sisters Call Me by Megan Crane. To enter this giveaway you must be 18 or older and live in the US or Canada.

For one entry leave me a comment below.

For an additional entry, link this contest to your blog.

Please make sure I have a way to contact you if you win.

You have until December 6th to enter and I will draw for a winner on December 7th.