Review: The September Sisters

Today's review: The September Sisters by Jillian Cantor (HarperCollins, 2009). Copy courtesy of Sarah Shealy at Blue Slip Media.

I have to say, I'm loving this swing back towards traditional mystery in YA. This isn't a whodunit so much as a portrait of a family suffering from a lack of closure. The narrator, Abigail, takes the reader back through her eighth grade year, which begins not long after her younger sister, Becky, disappears. Becky and Abby's relationship is imperfect to the point of being antagonistic, which I personally love (can you tell I have younger sisters?). Where Becky always seemed to be the favored child before, her disappearance has elevated her to the level of angel in just about everyone's eyes but Abby's. For months, Abby's family has no closure. There is no trace of Becky. The police suspect Abby's parents, specifically her mother. At a time when Abby needs her parents, specifically her mother, more than ever, they are distant and depressed, more concerned with their missing child than the one who is right in front of their eyes. Abby navigates loss and grief on her own as she is thrown into the idea that adults are far from perfect.

On a personal level, I'm still a little weirded out by YA novels where the protagonists have obsessions with their parents' lives, but that's because I'm old-school when it comes to parents in YA literature. (What's the saying? There will never be a shortage of children's books that reassure adults how much their children need them?) The adults here are largely imperfect but they're also not terrible people. Abby, who's so far led a normal life, now has to deal with major changes (boys, body, friends) on her own because her parents are preoccupied with Becky's disappearance. The readers who want tearjerkers with sad romance and symbolism will absolutely love this. Although there is resolution in the end for Abby's family and Abby herself where her romance is concerned, the resolution is not achieved without a lot of heartache.

Jillian Cantor's website || interview at The Story Siren