Call the Canaries Home

 

Call the Canaries Home

Author: Laura Barrow

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Publication Date: July 1, 2023

    Three sisters arrive at the home of their grandmother in Muscadine, Louisiana. They are here to dig up a time capsule they buried 25 years before. Rayanee and Sue Ellen left Louisiana as soon as they were old enough and had no desire to return However their younger sister, Savannah, finally persuades them to keep the promise they made 25 years ago.

    The reunion with their grandmother is strained, at best. Her house is full of painful memories of their mother, now deceased, and of their sister, Georgia. Georgia is Savannah's twin. She disappeared while swimming with her sisters one summer and was never seen again. While going through the time capsule, the girls make a startling discovery in an old photograph. As more questions are asked, a mystery begins to unfold and long-buried secrets are brought to light.

    This book is a real page-turner. The more secrets are revealed, the more twisted the plot becomes. The ending is quite surprising. It was the opposite of what I thought it would be. I highly recommend this book.

Miss Pearly's Girls: A Captivating Tale of Family Healing by: Reshonda Tate Billingsley

 Publisher:Dafina  Pages:272

From Amazon:

Raising four very different daughters on her own in rural Arkansas wasn't easy for Miss Pearly Bell. And she's always regretted that the sisters went their separate ways for good—and never wanted to see each other again. But when Pearly is stricken with a terminal illness, she summons them all home—determined to somehow help them get right with each other and forgive...But that means dealing with past secrets and lies first.
 
As the oldest sister, pastor's wife Maxine took her responsibility way too seriously—and never fails to judge everyone else. But a secret she can no longer keep will explode everything she stands for. Youngest sister Leslie is all about making a very different life with her new love—but she didn't expect a shattering past truth to be suddenly revealed and uproot everything she ever thought she knew. Elegant PR professional Stella and her earthy twin, Star, don’t see eye-to-eye on anything—and now a long-ago deception could wipe out their last chance at a relationship.
 
Soon each sister must confront the illusions they've taken refuge in for so long and deal with each other woman-to-woman. But can building an all-too-fragile trust repair the damage done—and help them come together when they are needed most?

My thoughts:

This is a wonderful book about sisters, family, daughters and mothers & healing. It is a story about love, both romantic & familial. There are secrets around every corner. Each sister has dealt with the past in her own way and none of those ways are especially healthy, with the exception of one. ( I don't want to add spoilers.) This story is told, in turn, through the eyes of each sister. The author does an amazing job of fleshing out the characters. We see them as they are- the good, the bad & the ugly. This is an unforgettable story.

Read this book if:

    *you love southern fiction

    * you love African American fiction

    *you love family sagas

    *you love stories about sisters