Source: Received from publicist. Many thanks goes to Bronwyn from Penguin Canada for sending me a copy of this book for review. I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

My rating: 4/5


The Andreas sisters are all heading back home for one reason or another. The main reason they want you to believe is because their mother is ailing, and they are coming home to care for her. The actual reason for each sister's homecoming is much more secretive. They are all running from a past that has been less than stellar, and are hoping to recharge, while they figure out what to do with their lives. What they don't realize is that every sibling is headed home, so the Andreas household is full again. With a father who speaks in Shakespearian phrases, the whole family must have a healthy relationship with books, and specifically, Shakespeare's works. This coming of age novel is sure to entertain as the sisters realize that this might be the crossroads they are looking for to improve their lives for the better.
Rose, Bianca, and Cordy are all exceptional characters and their nuances made each of them shine in their own way. Though I found myself identifying the most with Rose, as we are both the oldest siblings in our respective families, I couldn't help but identify with Bianca and Cordy as well. They are well-rounded characters, flawed, and most of all, human. With their return to the family home, they learn more about the bond a family has, and how they are there for each other, regardless of past grievances. I especially enjoyed the voice of the novel as it wasn't just one sister talking. It seemed like I was the fourth invisible sister which made it seem like I was privy to information that the other sisters weren't aware of at times.
The other aspect I enjoyed was the fact that the whole family loved reading. They could pick up a book, read it anywhere, and if one family member set it down for any length of time, they might not get it back before the rest of the family had finished reading it. The Shakespeare quotes were excellent as well, and I found it interesting to see how they communicated with each other in Shakespearian verse.
Many of the thoughts and comments throughout the book resound with a familiarity for those with siblings. Most of them could be applicable to life in every family, especially a family of readers.
All in all, an exceptional, coming of age debut that chronicles the lives of the Andreas sisters, Rose, Bianca, and Cordy. Many will enjoy the similarities between the siblings and their own respective families, and they will most likely love the comments about reading and family. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone, especially as the book states, "there is no problem that a library card can't solve".

Long and monotous. There's kinda a plotline but it's vauge and wanders. I didn't really connect to any of the characters. I loved all the Shakespeare references but that's about it.

Eleanor Brown's debut novel The Weird Sisters is an absolute gem. I was hooked from the first few pages. And as I turned the last, I sat quietly and savoured the story in my mind.

Cordelia (Cordy), Bianca (Bean) and Rosaline (Rose) Andreas are three sisters all named after Shakespearean characters by their father, who is a Bard scholar.

"We wear our names heavily. and though we have tried to escape their influence, they have seeped into us, and we find ourselves living their patterns again and again."

An event in each of their lives has each of them heading home again...

"We came home because we were failures. We wouldn't admit that, of course, not at first, not to ourselves, and certainly not to anyone else. We said we came home because our mother was ill, because we needed a break, a momentary pause before setting off for the Next Big Thing. But the truth was, we had failed and rather than let anyone else know, we crafted careful excuses and alibis and wrapped them around ourselves like a cloak to keep out the cold truth."

Each is surprised and not overly happy to find the others there. "See, we love each other. We just don't happen to like each other very much."

What follows is an absolutely mesmerizing story of the complicated relationships between sisters, between parents and children and the search each sister undertakes to find herself and her place in family and life.

"Who would Bean be if she dropped her beautiful mask? Who would Cordy be if she stepped up to the plate in her own life? Who would Rose be if she weren't the responsible one anymore?"

Brown's characters fairly leap off the page - I could hear their dialogue and picture their actions so clearly. (And maybe hear some of my own sisters' words as they spoke...)

Brown has a way with words. Some of her descriptive passages had me reading them twice...."Bean pulled a heavy towel form the stack of laundry, unwinding it from the lascivious position it had gotten into with a pillowcase."

The Andreas family are lovers of the written word. They often connect (and dad most often) by quoting Shakespeare passages. "Our family has always communicated its deepest feelings through the words of a man who has been dead for almost four hundred years." Their home overflows with books, often laying about half finished, picked up and read by the next person to pass by. And there's nothing that can't be solved by having a library card. (!)

The Weird Sisters is written in first person plural style. This took me a bit to get used to and I found myself trying to determine who was narrating for the first little bit. But it seemed to work - it seems as each sister is contributing to the narrative, instead of just one of them.

This one was a five star read for me - one to recommend to the women in your life - sisters, mothers, daughters and friends. (Books clubs would love this one too)