THE PLOT: ‘Blue Sisters’ by Coco Mellors is a literary novel about four sisters navigating grief and addiction. The Blue sisters have always been exceptional. Avery Blue is a high-flying lawyer in London. Bonnie Blue is a champion boxer in LA. And Lucky Blue is a model in Paris. Then there’s Nicky Blue – the beloved fourth sister – a low-key teacher who remained living in their childhood apartment in New York. But now, Nicky’s dead. And the three remaining sisters must reunite in New York to stop the sale of the apartment. But will retracing their pasts help them navigate their grief or push them further apart?

SUMMARY: This was one of my most anticipated novels of the year and it didn’t disappoint. A beautifully written exploration of sisterhood, grief and addiction, I know this is a book that will stay with me for a long time. For some reason, I hadn’t realised the book would be so rooted in grief. I guess I expected Nicky’s death to be a plot catalyst rather than a plot compass. Rather than setting events in motion, the whole novel and every character’s actions relate to Nicky’s death. This means it was more of a slow, internal, heavy novel than I expected. Yet, I still loved it. It took me a while to finish but I’m so glad that I spent time with this book and could immerse myself in the characters. I’d highly recommend this book and will certainly be gifting it to others in future.

GOOD BITS:  This is the kind of writing I adore. On a line level, there are clever turns of phrase and descriptions that are both unique yet feel totally relatable. This is the kind of book that lets you get into the mind of the characters. You believe they’re real and you experience life through them. They have deep, messy, complex feelings that allow you as a reader to reflect on what you would do in a similar situation. Told in three points-of-view, my favourite characters were Avery and Lucky because they had more to overcome and, seemingly, larger stakes. Put simply, this is the kind of book that I love to read and recommend.

NOT SO GOOD BITS: I don’t really have any critiques. This is a confident, well-crafted novel and I think it perfectly conveys the authors message and intentions. Personally, I found Bonnie’s sections the least interesting and always wanted to rush through them so I could get to Avery and Lucky’s POV’s. However, I can see why Bonnie’s character and storyline provides necessary balance to the other characters.

OVERALL: I’d recommend this book to fans of ‘The Rachel Incident’ by Caroline O’Donoghue, ‘Tom Lake’ by Ann Patchett, ‘Family Lore’ by Elizabeth Acevedo, and ‘Sorrow and Bliss’ by Meg Mason. Although these books might seem quite disparate on the surface, I think these authors have writing styles that speak to each other. They’re all novels that balance character-driven narratives with a strong plot and beautiful line writing. They give me a sense contemporary culture but with a veil of nostalgia or melancholy emotions.

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