Letters From My Sister by Valerie Fraser Luesse

 

About the Book:

At the turn of the twentieth century, sisters Emmy and Callie Bullock are living a privileged life as the only daughters of a wealthy Alabama cotton farmer when their well-ordered household gets turned upside down by the arrival of Lily McGee. Arrestingly beautiful, Lily quickly--and innocently--draws the wrong kind of attention. Meanwhile, Callie meets a man who offers her the freedom to abandon social constraints and discover her truest self.

After Lily has a baby, Callie witnesses something she was never meant to see--or did she? Her memory is a haze, just an image in her mind of Emmy standing on a darkened riverbank and cradling Lily's missing baby girl. Only when the sisters are separated does the truth slowly come to light through their letters--including a revelation that will shape the rest of Callie's life.

My Review: 

This is the first book I have read from Ms. Luesse. The plot revolved around two sisters specifically involving a fall that Callie had but couldn't remember. Some of the things I liked about the story included the sweet relationship between Emmy and Callie, the including of the servants into the family as if they were family, some really good dialogue/character development, and the unfolding of the story through letters (although there weren't a lot of these). 

I struggled because there were a lot of words and phrases used in passing that should not be in a Christian book. For example: "too much white folks mojo," "spellbound," "they're my spirit bird," "maybe it would free her from the juju," "black-eyed peas for good luck in the new year, greens for money" as well as some others. These repeatedly pulled me out of the story. I also agree with another review that the ending was anticlimactic--with the suspense leading up to the conclusion, I would have thought it would be a bit different.

I voluntarily received a complimentary copy from the Revell. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars