The Good Sister by Sally HepworthMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
At first I was annoyed by The Good Sister, by Sally Hewporth, because I’d read Lessons in Chemistry and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine last fall (see my reviews of both at Holiday Reading Ideas) and, like those novels, this one is told from the point of view of someone on the autism spectrum. So I kept comparing it and thinking the ones I’d read first were better. But I stuck with it and I’m glad I did. (And, to be fair, The Good Sister came out two years before Lessons in Chemistry, so if anyone should have been docked copycat points, it wasn’t the Good Sister.) It turns out this storyline is completely different, and it contains cool plot twists that make you reconsider earlier assumptions.
Fern and Rose are twins, and have always had a close relationship. Autistic sister, Fern, works in the local library. It’s a job she handles well as long as she’s able to stay within her comfort zone. The regular library patrons and fellow librarians have learned to accept her quirks, although new supervisors do need time to get to that point.
Fern lives independently but she relies heavily on her sister, Rose, to help her navigate more complicated situations. They’ve also had a troubled past with their mother, who now only Fern visits regularly in a nursing home. Fern likes the calmness of the nursing home, and the fact that her mother – who can no longer speak — is “a good listener.”
Over time we learn that isn’t always clear who “the good sister” is. I won’t say more because I don’t want to spoil it for you.
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