by Julia Glass
First published 2008
Louisa Jardine has always been the responsible sister. She studies hard, plans carefully, and dreams of marriage and artistic success. Her younger sister Clem breaks every rule Louisa follows. Clem charms everyone she meets but commits to no one, throwing herself into her work as a wildlife biologist while leaving a trail of heartbroken men behind her. Louisa watches from the sidelines, frustrated that charismatic Clem remains their parents' favorite despite her reckless choices. Over twenty-five years, the sisters speak to each other across growing distances. Louisa builds a life in New York while Clem wanders from job to job until she settles in the Rocky Mountains. Their voices alternate as they reveal the complicated love that binds them together even as their paths diverge. Louisa sees their relationship as two souls circling the same center but never quite touching. The sisters discover what they can and cannot do for each other as life tests the unbreakable yet fragile bond between them.
Genres: literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: New York, Rocky Mountains
Period: 21st-century
287 pages · Hardcover · Pantheon