Title: My Ultimate Sister Disaster
Author: Jane Mendle
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, 224 Pages (June 8th 2010)
From: the Publisher, thank you!
Synopsis: A loveable, acerbic heroine navigates friendship, love and sibling rivalry in this young adult novel from the author of Better Off Famous?
"If there were a way to pick your family, fourteen-year old Franny might not pick her own. Her father is a hipster boutique owner, her mother is off in Kenya jumpstarting her career, and her sister Zooey is a precocious prima ballerina. Lately, Zooey’s so absorbed with her ballet career that she barely notices Franny. And since Zooey attends a top ballet conservatory, Franny’s on her own navigating the brutal hallways of her Manhattan prep school, a first-year trying to get noticed on the newspaper (and by its soulful, long-lashed editor-in-chief).
But everything changes when Zooey breaks her leg and her ballet dreams come to a grinding halt. Unable to practice, Zooey begins to hone in on Franny’s “normal” life and friends. Franny feels terrible for Zooey, but when Zooey’s encroachment starts to extend to her long-time crush, Franny begins to wonder if her sister might just be her worst competition."
Review: 4 Stars - The Ultimate Sister Disaster was a fast read with characters many can and will be able to relate to. The story is one that I think many teens face day to day throughout their lives. I’d imagine anyone with a sibling will have experienced the type of relationship that Mendle has portrayed with our two characters – Franny and Zooey.
Franny, the main character has hit a rough spot in being a teenage girl. She feels more then invisible at home and at school, feeling as if she only lives in her perfect sisters’ shadow. If you ask me, I’d say that Mendle has written what it feels like to be a girl who’s feeling invisible and angst ridden pretty spot on.
Franny and Zooey are total opposites in everything. From the way they look and act, to how they do things day to day. Franny with her love of writing and dream of being a journalist on the school paper and Zooey’s dream to be a ballerina on the world’s stage. I enjoyed watching their relationship change throughout the course of the book. It often felt as if I were a fly on the wall during this time in their lives. When Zooey’s life takes a detour everything for both of the girl’s changes; leaving Zooey to learn how to cope and Franny just looks at this as yet another way for her to be invisible.
At first it’s a struggle for both girls in their relationship. Not to mention the wacky Dad who’s never around and the absent Mother who’s away in Africa and is hard to reach – they are more then often left alone which only adds to the stress of the whole family dynamic.
By the end of the book, I had a crush on Carter, talk about great guy. I really liked the place where Franny and Zooey’s relationship was, I could see how they each grew up over the course of the story making this even more realistic for me as a reader.
I look forward to reading more from Mendle in the future. If you’re looking for a great story about two sisters and are looking for a new guy to crush on you’ve found it here. Happy reading!
FTC Disclaimer: I did not pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this review.
I really like the theme and the cover is cute. This sounds interesting as being the baby of 7 I know all about shadows and falling by the wayside.
ReplyDelete