Exasperating
family dramas take center stage in The
Frederick Sisters Are Living the Dream, a dynamic,
episodic first novel by Jeannie
Zusy.
Three middle-aged
sisters are bonded by family history: Betsy (aka ‘Bets’) the oldest, is a
single, independent, free spirit who runs a successful surfing school in
California. Ginny, the middle sister, lives in Maryland. The 56-year-old,
sugar-craving diabetic--and retired high-school janitor--reads and writes at a
third-grade level. However, her
intellectual disability doesn’t hinder her from conniving to get what she
wants. And Maggie, the youngest--a successful storyboard artist for TV
commercials--is a dutiful, New York State mother of two, young-adult sons who
is separated from her husband.
When Ginny is
hospitalized after over-indulging in too much sugary Jell-O, Maggie sets off to
her rescue. The girls’ parents are deceased, but they left ample finances to
provide for Ginny’s care and well-being. When Maggie relocates Ginny--under
duress--to a nursing home in Westchester County, New York, her good intentions
are met with opposition. Older sister Betsy wants absolutely no part of--or say
in--Ginny’s caretaking. And Ginny refuses to live amongst “old people.” Along
the way, Maggie is caught in the middle, forced to juggle familial demands as
she struggles to manage her own mid-life crisis, as well Ginny’s and Betsy’s—all
three women are at personal crossroads.
Zusy’s funny, bittersweet story is rife with big
scenes where Maggie’s witty, first-person narrative point-of-view adds levity
to serious, tender themes about family, sisterhood, commitment, caregiving and
love.
The Frederick Sisters Are
Living the Dream by Jeannie
Zusy
Atria Books, $27.00 hardcover, 320 pages,
9781982185381
Publishing Date: September 20, 2022
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this book on INDIEBOUND, link HERE
NOTE: This review
is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (September 23, 2022), link HERE