Review: The September Sisters by Jillian Cantor

This is the first novel by Jillian Cantor. It's a young adult novel. I didn't know a lot about the story before reading it, but had heard from a few people that it was good, so I picked it up at the library.

Summary from Barnes and Noble:
Abigail Reed and her younger sister, Becky, are always at each other's throats. Their mother calls them the September Sisters, because their birthdays are only a day apart, and pretends that they're best friends. But really, they delight in making each other miserable. Then Becky disappears in the middle of the night, and a torn gold chain with a sapphire heart charm is the only clue to the mystery of her kidnapping. Abby struggles to cope with her own feelings of guilt and loss as she tries to keep her family together. When her world is at its bleakest, Abby meets a new neighbor, Tommy, who is dealing with his own loss, and the two of them discover that love can bloom, even when it's surrounded by thorns.

I thought this was really well-written from the perspective of a young girl. It was extremely hard for me to read at times. As the mother of a little girl, there were moments when I just had to stop thinking about the abduction of Becky. I was just too painful for me to think about something like that happening to my own daughter. Also, having two sisters myself, the sister relationship was very real for me. I have a younger sister and an older sister, and the way Cantor described the relationship between the sisters was right on, at least in my experience. I found myself in tears many times throughout the book, but I couldn't put it down, as much as I wanted and needed to at times. It's one of those books that really makes you think about what might happen to your own life, or your family, if faced with the same situations.

All around, a great story.

Rated: 4.5/5