A GIFT FOR MY SISTER

Half sisters Sky and Tara have, at best, a fragile bond. Will it be enough to save them?

Pearlman (The Christmas Cookie Club, 2010, etc.) offers another warm tale of sisters rescuing each other. As children, Sky and Tara had a wary relationship. Sky’s father died when she was seven, and Tara’s father abandoned her. Each jealous of the other—“at least you knew your father” counters “at least your father is alive somewhere”—neither realizes that having each other is enough. That is, not until tragedy strikes. All grown up, Tara has it all. In an interracial relationship with Aaron, her band mate, she has a beloved child, Levy. Their rap band, Special Intent and Li’l Key, is on the road and poised for stardom. She may even have the opportunity to strike out on her own as a solo act. That is, if she is willing to abandon Aaron and accept the rather creepy attentions of King, the music mogul. Sky has it all, too. Married to her childhood sweetheart, Troy, she has a promising job as an attorney. After many miscarriages and stillborn births, Sky and Troy finally have their beloved Rachel. Suddenly, Troy falls ill, and no antibiotics can eradicate the MRSA from his body. Utterly bereft, Sky can barely acknowledge her own daughter, much less her sister. Among the women who swoop in to help her recover are familiar faces from The Christmas Cookie Club: Marnie, Sissy and Allie. The Plan? Send Sky home with Tara’s traveling band. This, of course, gives the sisters time to work out their relationship. And after screaming arguments, the near death of another loved one and finally released prejudices, the two begrudgingly learn to trust, love and respect each other. 

The conflicts here are big—abandonment, grief, race, the unfairness of fate. The healing powers of sisterhood are comforting but, in the end, the resolution is too easy.