Review: The Secret Language of Sisters

The Secret Language of Sisters
By Luanne Rice


Genre: Realistic Fiction
Pages: 352
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary (from the back cover): When Ruth Ann (Roo) McCabe responds to a text message while she's driving, the car flips. She winds up in a hospital bed, paralyzed. Roo has locked-in syndrome--she can see and hear everything around her, but no one knows it. She's trapped inside her own body, screaming to be heard.

Mathilda (Tilly) is Roo's sister and best friend. She'd texted Roo and inadvertently caused the accident. Now, Tilly must grapple with her guilt and her growing feelings for Roo's boyfriend, Newton--the only person who seems to get what Tilly is going through.

But Tilly might be the only one who can solve the mystery of her sister's condition... if there's time.

Review: I saw this book and decided to read it because it talks about sisterhood and I have two younger sisters of my own. I am so glad that I did! This book really shows what it is like to be a sister. Luanne Rice shows all of the joys, pains, sadness, and struggles of sisterhood through her two main characters in a way that I have never read before. The book is very relatable and enjoyable which makes it fun to read. I had a good time reading this book and really thought about what it meant to be a sister. Would I go to the same lengths that Tilly does for her sister? The sister that is her best friend and family?

I would recommend this book to read.

Hello World!

Hi! So this is my first official post and review. I thought I might start out with a book that I know and love so here we go!

Out of My Mind
By Sharon M. Draper

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Pages: 295

Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary (from the back cover): Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording. Always. And there's no delete button. She's the smartest kid in her whole school-but NO ONE knows it. Most people-her teachers and doctors included-don't think she's capable of learning, and up until recently her school days have consisted of listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons again and again and again. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people what she thinks and knows... but she can't, because Melody can't talk. She can't walk. She can't write. Being stuck inside her head is making Melody go out of her mind-that is, until she discovers something that will allow her to speak for the first time ever. At last Melody has a voice... but not everyone around her is ready to hear it. 

Review: From the very first page I was enveloped in this book. Melody is such a wonderful and relatable character that I couldn't help but fall in love with her and root for her throughout the book. Every success I cheered for and at every failure my heart sank. Melody's perspective on life and even just the ability to express words and feelings really hit me. I mean, do we really take the time to appreciate just the natural ability to talk? To be able to tell our family that we love them or to thank someone for doing something?

Draper does an amazing job at capturing the essence of Melody and her family in a realistic way. This book is filled with humor, sadness, tragedy, and joy that leaves your senses reeling. I'm sad that there is no second book after this but I applaud Sharon Draper for this novel and everything that it introduces to the world.

I say that this book is an excellent read and that readers will enjoy it tremendously!