Reviews for Blue Sisters
by Coco Mellors
Library Journal
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A year ago, 27-year-old Nicky Blue died unexpectedly in her family's New York City apartment. While their perennially absent parents retreat upstate, the remaining Blue sisters attempt to heal, far from each other and from New York. Oldest sister Avery is a London-based lawyer and recovering heroin addict who allows herself one cigarette a day and shoplifts high-end items for a thrill, keeping the indiscretions from her wife. Following a body- and soul-crushing defeat, middle sister Bonnie, a professional boxer, flees the ring to work as a bouncer for a Los Angeles dive bar. Baby sister Lucky is an international fashion model who lives in Paris, alone but for the company of drinks and drugs. The sisters reunite in Manhattan after learning that their parents plan to sell the apartment and begin to navigate their grief, addictions, and dreams together. Mellors (Cleopatra and Frankenstein) thoughtfully uses the expanse of her second novel to fully develop the characters, including those who are secondary. Readers will root for the Blue sisters as individuals and as a family. VERDICT A stunning sibling story for fans of Emma Straub and Lily King.—Alicia Rogers
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
The three remaining Blue sisters are estranged and living very different lives. Avery is the oldest and has always cared for her sisters. She appears to have gotten her life together, having recovered from her addictions, and is a successful lawyer, married to a beautiful woman. Avery enjoys being needed, but ever since her sister Nicky died of an accidental overdose, she has been sabotaging her future. Bonnie was a champion fighter, up until Nicky's death. After losing a match, Bonnie walked away from it all. Lucky is a beautiful model who flies all around the world, but her increasing dependency on drugs and alcohol is no longer deniable. An email from their mother informs them that she is selling their family home, and all the Blue sisters find their way back. Going home and facing their grief together helps the sisters see that they need to move forward. Sisterhood, grief, addiction, and hope are all themes Mellors (Cleopatra and Frankenstein, 2022) addresses here. This quick but powerful read is a must for fans of Jodie Chapman.
Publishers Weekly
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Mellors (Cleopatra and Frankenstein) delves into sibling drama with this frank and soulful offering. The four Blue sisters form a tight bond while sharing a bedroom in the family’s New York City apartment and dealing with their domineering, alcoholic father and aloof mother. They remain close after leaving home, until Nicky, the second youngest, dies at 27. On the first anniversary of Nicky’s death, the surviving sisters learn their parents are selling their childhood home, and reunite at the apartment. Avery, the oldest at 33 and a successful lawyer in London, has taken to hiding her smoking and shoplifting habits from her wife. Thirty-one-year-old Bonnie, a retired boxer, works as a bouncer in Venice Beach, Calif., while former model Lucky, 26, can barely through the day without drinking. As the siblings dredge up old wounds and regrets about Nicky, a kindhearted teacher who lived with all-consuming pain from endometriosis, they’re brought together by their enduring love for one another, even as they judge each other for how their lives have spiraled. Mellors draws each of the characters distinctly, including Nicky, who comes to life via the others’ memories. This story of addiction and grief will resonate with readers. Agents: Mollie Glick and Emily Westcott, CAA. (Sept.)
