Your Reviews of The Sister -- should not contain spoilers

[Jaelin]

I give this 3 Stars.

The Sister Interesting yet not so Interesting.......

The Sister is an interesting book if you are looking for something out of your normal area of comfort.  I normally do not read this particular genre so I found it interesting if a little tedious on the scientific information and not enough on the story.  Had this book been the opposite I would have found it more enjoyable.

[daylilies1126]

I give The Sister 4 stars.

The Sister was a great and deeply haunting book!  The character development was excellent, and the flashback was utilized exceptionally well to develop the characters.  The action of the weekend involved in the novel was well explained through all of the flashbacks.  The novel kept you guessing what was going to happen until the very end.  I hope most sisterly relationships do not reflect the type that was in this novel!  I was still thinking about the ideas brought up by The Sister well after the end of the book.

[HannibalCat]

4 Stars

Miss Adams' debut novel is a wonderful character study intertwining a dysfunctional family's life with the life of Moths. Her skillful use of flash backs and science work well to enhance the story of a woman awaiting the arrival of her sister after an absence of 50 years. We see the emotions and observations of two sisters with very different memories as a weekend reunion passes toward its inevitable conclusion. This unique novel is spellbinding, mysterious and thought provoking. Curl up with cozy blanket, a cup of tea, and enjoy.

[hpthatbme]

I give the book 3 stars:

I found the book slightly interesting but could put it down for a few days and not have the excitement I had with the past First Look Books. I also found it very hard to connect with the main character, she seemed very underdeveloped that she was just like reading about someone in the news paper. I was able to finish the book, and towards the end it did become little more interesting. If I seen it in a book store I doubt that I would honestly buy it.

[CylonReader]

Rating - 4 Stars

The Sister - A Disturbing Foray into Family Dynamics

I found this first novel of author Poppy Adams to be a wonderful read. Some of the scientific details may prove a bit cumbersome for the reader to plow through, but there is literary reward for those who do. The book definitely requires a commitment from the reader, but what good book does not? I found myself often fending off a true sense of foreboding as I read - there are definitely many psychological elements in play with these characters. There is also a great deal of complexity here, both with the plot and the characters which would lend itself well to Book Club discussions. Reading The Sister caused me to call in to question some of my own judgements about family and relationships. I would recommend this novel without reservation. 

Other recommendations:

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult

The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

[Carmenere_lady]

4 stars for Poppy Adams debut novel, The Sister.  This novel will be one so different from any other you've ever read.  Written from the viewpoint of Ginney, the daughter of a lepidopterist, you will see the world thru her eyes.  Is her view accurate?  Well that's up to you to decide. This novel is so rich on so many different levels.    Ms. Adams offers you a story that is often times gloomy and sad, yet, also suspenseful and intriguing.  It is smart and thought provoking.  Quite a twist from your usual mystery.  You will want to read past the extensive moth information, but don't.  It is an intregral part of the story.  A story that will have you examining Ginney's behavior, that of her father, mother and sister, Viv.  And ultimately examining yourself and others.  Great discussion book for book clubs.

Other books recommended:  Shutter Island - Dennis Lehane

                                                The God of Animals - Aryn Kyle

                                                People of the Book - Geraldine Brook

Message Edited by Carmenere_lady on 03-22-2008 07:10 AM

[Eckwell]

I give this book three stars. The author does a good job of showing how growing up in a dysfunctional family affects a child and their ability to form relationships.  The book was a little slow in parts, especially in describing the vocation of insect collection. 

[resnickgl]

I give this one a 2.5

I felt that this could be condensed into a better short story.  There were too many words about irrelevant and to me not very interesting moths. I would have preferred more attention to the reason why Viv has returned after so many years.  We do not know what happened to cause the rift between the two sisters and what the real family secret was about.

[bettymac]

Five Stars

The Sister - Who Is She?

I have just finished reading the first novel of Poppy Adams, The Sister. I highly recommend it to readers who like to be challenged and who like to learn as they read. This novel is a close examination of a sister, Ginny, and her view of the world and her place in it. It also provides a very detailed discussion of moths, a subject on which Ginny and her father, Clive, are experts.
Adams has written a superior lyrical novel. She develops the character of Ginny in such a way that we know her, but we don't. Adams doesn't give us all the answers but she gives us all we need to draw our own conclusions. Her sentences are pictures and her metaphors and analogies are rich.
This novel is one that will continue to run around in your head for weeks. Please give it a try!

Writers that I enjoy:
Dorothea Benton Frank, Mary Alice Monroe, Susan Vreeland, Sarah Addison Allen, Margaret Maron, Kristen Hannah, Judi Picoult, John Hart, and Charles Martin

Message Edited by bettymac on 03-22-2008 12:45 PM

[paula_02912]

The Sister by Poppy Adams was an excellent read. I would give it a rating of 5 stars. The books is one that is filled with mystery and some suspense because you never know what is really going to happen. The title itself was a bit mysterious because you didn't know which sister the story was going to be about right away. As I was reading, I thought "okay, it shouldn't be that hard to figure out what is going on." Boy was I wrong. I thought one thing and found out that I was wrong in my suppositions. The beautiful thing about this book is that Adams' style causes you to question many things, for which there could be many different answers. The storyline, made you wonder more and more about why Adams, chose moths and butterflies in the telling of her story. As you read further, however, some of the reasoning comes through, at least in my opinion. The novel is filled with descriptions of moths, their development and way of life to some degree with a smattering of information about butterflies. Did the author do this on purpose? Was the amount of information given about both species an indication of what was to come in the human characters? One does not really know, but as I read, I started to draw parallels between the symbolic use of moths and butterflies to the lives of the characters within the story. Even when you have finished reading the novel, you come away with more questions to ponder. I loved this book because I was able to view things from different perspectives. It will really force or rather challenge you to think about why and how you came to the conclusions you did about the book, which could then translate to how and why you do the things you do in your own life. I highly recommend this book, even if you are not partial to scientific and technical information about moths and butterflies. Without those two pieces of information, something would be lost in the telling of the story, and it wouldn't be as powerful.

[Linda10]

I give this book, "The Sister," 4 stars.  If you like a book that is a little bit different, like I do, you will like this book.  If you like to learn as a result of reading, you will like this book.  If you like Hitchcock, you will really like this book!  Although as you proceed through the book, you may think, "What is she talking about?", just keep reading!  I promise you that it will be worth your while to "stick it out" to the end (if you should happen to be one of those people who likes constant excitement and find this story too dry).

Other books that I recommend:  "The Other Side of the Bridge," by Mary Lawson; "Keeping the House," by Ellen Baker; and "The Little Friend," by Donna Tartt.

[LisaMM]

3.5 Stars

The Sister, Poppy Adams’ debut novel, is a dark, eerie story. The novel opens at Bulburrow Court, an old manor and family home, with 70ish Ginny waiting for the arrival of her younger sister Vivi, whom she has not seen for nearly 50 years. Why have they been separated? Why has Vivi come back? Is she looking for something? Which sister is THE sister of the title?

We notice almost immediately that Ginny is a bit ‘off’. She’s hyper-focused on time, wearing two wristwatches and constantly checking them against her many other clocks. Her tea must be just so and she can’t drink it if it’s made by someone else. It takes her 55 minutes to make her bed and arrange her sheets meticulously. Her weird ways are doled out liberally throughout the story, giving the impression that all is not right with our narrator. Vivi, on the other hand, seems the more normal of the two, but there are still questions..

Adams weaves details of the past with the present in alternating chapters. But are things as they appear? What really happened at the bell tower and on the cellar steps? There is an eerie sense of foreboding, mystery and suspense coursing through the entire novel, mixed in with an extensive amount of scientific detail about moths. Moths? Why, yes.. Ginny is a World Famous Lepidopterist. At least, she is world famous in her own mind.

Decades old family secrets begin to unravel and our narrator, so level headed and scientific (again, in her own mind) starts coming unglued. The disturbance in her routine brought on by Vivi’s arrival is so unsettling that she finds herself spying on her, following her around, listening in doorways, and becoming increasingly obsessive in her behaviors. The tension builds continuously and by the last few chapters I was on the edge of my seat wanting to know what was going to happen.

Each chapter has a short descriptive title and there is a table of contents, which I love. The Sister is very well written and I predict we will see more of Poppy Adams in the future. I look forward to that.

[SweetReaderMA]

I would give this book 4 stars.
A Tasty Morsel
"The Sister" by Poppy Adams gives out information in morsels just big enough to give your appetite a taste and hold you spellbound. I loved how it never really gave you answers to the questions on your mind but instead let you make your own conclusions about what happened.

Other titles I recommend are:

*Mercy by Jodi Picoult
*The Drowning Season by Alice Hoffman
*While I was gone by Sue Miller

[Tarri]

4 stars

Who is The Sister

You will not look at a moth the same after you read this enthralling mystery by Poppy Adams.   When Vivi returns to the crumbling family estate after an absence of almost 50 years, reclusive Ginny tells their life story and what brought them to this point in time. 

Poppy Adams has written story that will make you think, keep you guessing, and tell you more about moths than you ever thought you needed to know.  The study of moths was "the family business" and while Ginny tells us about her youth, family life, and struggles as a reclusive adult, she also lets us in on her lifelong study of moths.  Or does she?

Other titles I recommend:

The Thirteenth Tale, Atonement, The Red Tent, Stolen Lives, The Memory of Running, The Blessing Stone, But Inside I'm Screaming

[lsmith3125]

3 Stars

Just a bit of the Story

I think that "The Sister", the premier work of Poppy Adams, succeeded well in what it was meant to do: show us one perspective from among the members of a unique family. It was interesting and well written. It would make a great movie. But for my personal reading pleasure, it was too limited in it's scope. It left too many interesting options unaddressed. I like to draw my own conclusions, but I also like a little reinforcement that I've made the correct guesses! Also, it was a bit too much scientific methodology for me (and I'm a clinician!) I did really enjoy Ginny analyses of her own personality and motives. We all surely do think that way at times and probably are about as accurate and honest. I also hope that they do a little work in editing the typos and grammaric errors before the final printing. I would recommend "The Sister" as a summer beach read but that's about it. I do look forward to Ms. Adams future work, as I think she shows real promise in a longer, more complex work.

Linda S.
Michigan

[sriensche]

5 Stars

Chew on this!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  What a fabulous debut novel.  For readers looking for a no-brainer read, move on, this one makes you think long and hard and then chew on the details and think some more!  It was a pleasure to allow myself to enter Ginny's world where there is tension and mystery and unanswered questions.  Ms. Adams does not spin a tale and then nicely wrap up all the loose ends for the reader, she just keeps your mind engaged in trying to untangle the wonderful  intricate story she has created.

Other books to try:

The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield

Silent in the Grave - Deanna Rayburn

The Art of Detection - Laurie R. King

[DarcieB]

I would give The Sisters 2 different ratings:

3 - If you are going to read it for personal reading

4 - For book club reading

I liked a book a lot, but didn't enjoy all the technical details about the moths.  Though I think some of it was necessary.  Because Poppy Adams didn't give us all the answers I think this would be a GREAT book club book. This is a book when I finished I wanted to discuss with my book club.  There are so many great questions about people's interpretations of some of the events.  I think there are many book clubs that would enjoy this book.

I am happy to be in the First Look reading this book.  There have been so many great questions to Poppy! Thanks to Poppy and my fellow participants!!

[x2qwk2cx]

I would have to say 3 stars for The Sister. It was a good book but I felt it dragged a lot in the middle with a lot of moth talk. Picked right up at the end though..... All in all, a good read.

[mnotto]

4 stars

Heading: Interesting new mystery...

Poppy Adams' debut novel, The Sister, is a story about two sisters reunited after a 50-year separation. It is a tragic narrative by one sister about a family who never really learns to deal with its many dysfunctions.  A story riddled with secrets and ambiguity, this is not for the reader who likes all the loose ends tied up in a bow at the end. 

[dghobbs]

5 Stars.

This amazing debut novel by Poppy Adams is pure Literature! From the first page, it grasps you, bringing you into its own world - the world of two sisters, as told from the point of view of Ginny, the older sister. Doug

Message Edited by dghobbs on 03-24-2008 11:18 AM