THE ROLES THAT DEFINE US -- A REVIEW

In the pages of this delightfully charming and true-to-life book about sisters and the ties that bind them, as well as the secrets and betrayals that separate them, I came to feel what it must be like to have sisters.

I only had one, and she was so much younger that she didn't feel like a sibling. But despite my own experience, I could connect to these characters and almost feel what they were feeling.

Names My Sisters Call Me was all about disappointments, misunderstandings, misconceptions, and the yawning years that grow after horrendous events that pull a family apart.

Norah, Raine, and Courtney have their roles in this family, and they stick to them with a fierceness that tells us a lot about how one's place in the family seemingly defines us.

But what will happen when the prodigal daughter comes home for another family wedding? Will the hard truths that separated them all years before intrude again? Or will a new understanding bring out a better version of these young women?

And how will an abruptly ended love affair bring unexpected drama into one young woman's new life?

Parts of this story were so beautifully wrought, like the vivid San Francisco settings, that I could literally feel myself there. I could sense the pull of this vibrant place upon Courtney, who went there to "retrieve" her prodigal sister.

I also enjoyed a description in the book about what heartbreak feels like; a moment that captured Courtney's feelings of loss and betrayal about her once-upon-a-time lover Matt.

"How could he look exactly the same as he always did? How could he so nonchalantly shatter all the things I'd believed and bear no outward sign of it? I didn't understand. It seemed to me that if someone hurt you, there should be some kind of boomerang effect. They should get hit with it, too, so it wasn't just you. So they didn't get off scot-free while you marinated in the pain."

I gave four stars to this wonderfully enjoyable read.