Shred Sisters

★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10

304 pages

What’s it about?

Amy Shred is both in awe and overshadowed by her older sister, Ollie. But the whole family must deal with the fallout when Ollie's behavior becomes increasingly erratic.

What did it make me think about?

The effects mental illness has on a family.

Should I read it?

Anyone with a sister knows this is a very important, sometimes complicated, relationship. "My first tormentor, she was ingenious in keeping her tactics beneath my parents' radar." Any girl would be altered by having a sister like Ollie.  This novel was such a good reminder of how little we knew about mental illness when I was growing up and how much we still have to learn.  Betsy Lerner does a masterful job of creating a family that is doing its best and still often falls short.  I liked these characters- they were imperfect and struggling but felt like real people.  In general, I just liked this book!  It tackles a tough subject with humor, kindness, and empathy.

A passage I marked

"If you were looking for fun, danger, or magic, if you needed to blow up your marriage, your job, or your life, Ollie could help you out. You could call it a pattern, though it was more of an algorithm: Ollie would steal something, smash something, cause a disturbance.  She would get caught, cause a scene, crash.