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Names My Sisters Call Me is the story of three sisters. Courtney, the youngest, is a professional cellist. Raine, the middle child, is a shallow hippie chick who ran off to Berkeley with Courtney’s boyfriend after ruining her sister, Norah’s, wedding. Nora, the eldest, is a whiny irritant who’s unable to forgive Raine for the wedding debacle. And she never fails to remind Courtney that it was she who raised Courtney after their father ran off—and not her mother, who distanced herself emotionally from her daughters.
When Courtney becomes engaged, she decides that she wants her sisters together
for her wedding. She arrives at Raine’s San Francisco doorstep only to have the door opened by Matt, the nobody-seems-to-know-what-he-does-for-a-living ex-boyfriend. Thus begins Courtney’s quest to heal old wounds and bring her family together. Faced with old ghosts and emerging secrets, she finds herself questioning her own decisions—past, present, and future.
If it’s true that a writer is successful if he or she manages to evoke some sort of emotion from the reader, then Megan Crane has certainly succeeded here. Sometimes, I just wanted to slap Courtney—and her sisters, too. For example, Courtney’s fiancé, Luke, is too perfect. I mean, any girl who would question her decision to marry this guy should have her head examined, as he certainly is a keeper.
Family is a sensitive subject; and perhaps the relationships between sisters is even more so. Megan Crane appropriately uses humor to defuse a story that’s rife with tension. Her characters have completely different personalities, and each one is very well portrayed. I especially liked how Crane handled the book’s ending; I wasn’t sure what was going to happen until it happened.
Names My Sisters Call Me isn’t chick lit fluff. In fact, the book may get you thinking—especially if you have sisters. Are the reasons for this family’s estrangement good enough? Just because you’re sisters, does that mean you have to forgive? Should a sibling’s bad behavior be excused? And must one suffer through intolerable family dinners?
Pick up copies of this thought-provoking book for your book group—or, better yet, pick up copies for your sisters.
