The Moon Sisters by Therese Walsh

The Moon Sisters by Therese Walsh

Meet Jazz and Olivia Moon.  Two sisters, polar opposites, on a odyssey to find the end of their mother's story.  They leave home shortly after their mother dies, a mother who may or may not have committed suicide.  Jazz finds a stack of letters, unopened, written by her mother to the father who abandoned her years before and brings them along to read.  A secret to her mother's past.  Olivia has her own secret, the last letter her mother wrote, on the day she died.

Jazz is the oldest, headstrong and smart.  When her mother got pregnant with her, her father cut her out of his life.  Jazz feels partly responsible for this and doesn't feel as well loved as the youngest sister, Olivia.  Jazz also feels like her mother has pinned her dreams of going to college on her and Jazz is never going to college.

Olivia has synesthesia, a neurological condition where she sees sounds, smells words and associates sights with people.  For example, her mother smells like the sun and Hobbs tastes like tomorrow.  Olivia is home schooled, strong willed and determined to try everything.  She doesn't have too many fears.  She is partially blind from staring too long at the sun.

Olivia has decided she is going on a journey to take her mother's ashes to the setting of the story her mother was writing when she died.  Jazz is forced to go with her and tries to talk her out of this quest every step of the way.  But when Olivia hops a train to god knows where, Jazz gets seriously worried about Olivia's safety and things begin to change.

The Moon Sisters is a sweet, endearing story of love and magic and coming to terms with the family you have been blessed with.  Walsh has created a cast of interesting characters that you will come to love and grieve over their pain.  I would describe this book as magical and endearing and full of heart.

I loved the adventure of The Moon Sisters where these two girls are thrust out of their small town life, into the life of a train hopper and wilderness trekker.  They meet an interesting cast of characters, all on a different path in life.  There is danger and kissing and secrets and a future unknown.  Through it all these two sisters must work through their differences, the loss of their mother, the past and it's pain to come to a place of love and forgiveness.

I predict The Moon Sisters will become a favorite book among book clubs.  It is that good.