It Takes A Village

My Sister’s Baby by Louise Guy is a beautiful, contemporary novel about family.

Families are messy, complicated and beautiful. Families support each other and love unconditionally. Families will make a way when there seems no way… but what happens when families keep secrets, harbor resentments and deal in deception?

Families come in all shapes and sizes. We meet a ‘normal’ family within the book.

All the characters were realistic and easy to empathise with. They all demand an emotional response from the reader. I did have a favourite character – and that was Mandy.

As the novel opens, the family is dealing with the premature loss of a father. Grief is raw and grief is palpable. We all deal with grief in different ways.

The family is no stranger to problems. There are three daughters. A childhood illness left the youngest daughter mentally impaired. During the teenage years, the other two daughters were hospitalized as the one donated a kidney to the other. Their relationships are complicated, as in any family but love under pins it all. Love is greater than secrets, lies, unforgiveness and resentment. Love stands tall.