I really loved this book! The characters were so well-developed, and had depth, flaws and other complexities that made them so interesting to spend time with. I would consider this a family drama. It centers around a very flawed, narcissistic mother who is dying and wants to make peace with her three daughters. The sisters have been estranged from their mother and from each other for years. The book starts in present day where you meet the mother, Ronni sunshine, an actress living in Westport, Connecticut. And then it flashes back to the past with some glimpses into the sisters childhoods, early adulthood, and then eventually midlife, when they’re all drawn back to their mother’s side as she’s dying. I enjoyed some of the side characters and story lines that revolve around the family. But it’s really the relationship between the three sisters and their mother that is at the heart of this book and what make it so good. It made me tear up and smile, and was a very satisfying read. Just the kind of book that I was in the mood to lose myself in.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I began "The Sunshine Girls" since I was unfamiliar with the author. What I discovered is a treasure! Jane Green took on family dysfunction and celebrity and gave us a complete picture of a woman abandoned by the stardom that kept her from being a good mother. Her grown daughters have to come to grips with the mom who wasn't there - and the mom who is now dying. The daughters, each with a distinctive insecurity and strength, add a depth that will make it easy for a reader to identify with and cheer for.

Loved this novel! I was left slightly disappointed by Ms. Green's last novel but this one got me back on track. She truly is a queen of chick lit and writes very relatable characters.

unfortunately not my favourite jane green book. i don't really have much to say, it was light with some serious subject matters, didn't really care for the characters or the story. didn't hate that i read it but like i said, not my favourite of hers.

When listening to audiobooks, I tend to lean towards books read by the author, as the author is able to provide the inflection in their voice in the pivotal moments in the story since they wrote it. This book offers just that. Author Jane Green has such pleasant voice to listen to. A great book about the importance of family and the need to be true to each other.

Ronni Sunshine is a famous but mildly aging actress and the mother of three daughters. By her own admission, she failed as a parent, so much so that as adults, they have very little interaction with her or each other. In fact, her middle daughter, Meredith, moved abroad to London in order to put some serious distance between them. Now that Ronni is facing a serious illness, she wants to make things right with her daughters and bring them together at her home in Connecticut.

I found this story fascinating in how Ronni’s narcissism and self absorption manifested itself in each of her daughters. The eldest, Nell, became aloof and emotionally challenged, except when it came to her son. Her middle daughter, Meredith, who had weight issues all of her life, couldn’t have lower self esteem. The youngest, Lizzy, is most like Ronni in personality and temperament, also following a self destructive path with her marriage. The story shifts back and forth to each character during pivotal moments of time from childhood to present day. At times it was confusing but overall it was effective in creating vivid images of all of them and made for an interesting story.

Throughout most of the book, I didn’t find any of them likable but that slowly evolved to a healthy respect by the end. I cared what happened to them, even Ronni, and found myself pulling for them to find their way. Narrated by the author, the story was made even more distinctive by her performance, which isn’t always the case when the writer takes this on. The benefit, however, is the narrator knows the intended nuances and in this case, it worked. It’s my first by this author and now I’ll seek out other titles as I very much enjoyed this one.

Let me start by saying that Jane Green is one of my favorite authors of all time. Not that this will appear to every reader, but I so appreciate the fact that she is from Connecticut and many of the places referenced in her books (including this one) are quite close to my location. It's fun to hear a place referenced when you've actually been there!
This novel did not disappoint, three estranged sisters come back together with their sick estranged mother. . At times, it was tough to take Ronni (the mother) as she was very self-absorbed but it certainly helps to explain the estrangement. I also highly appreciate books with Epilogues - love to know who everyone ended up!

I usually love books by Jane Green but this one was told rather than experienced. I had trouble staying with the story. It also seemed that the sisters and mother were formula types instead of real people. Redeeming qualities seemed few and far between and then the complete turn around of the mother at the end is unbelievable.

Jane Green is a leading author for those looking for laughter, a bit of drama, and a touch of romance. She is the Queen of women's fiction and has a loyal group of readers. I read her latest, FALLING, as well as her recent cookbook, GOOD TASTE, and enjoyed them both although I was a bit miffed by the ending in FALLING. I am always a sucker for sister stories since I am one of three and this one truly piqued my interest.

Three daughters have grown up under the neglected mothering of Ronni Sunshine, the narcissistic movie star who only had time for her children when she was wanting to show them off or when she was ill and needed them to cater to her needs. As the story flashes back to some of those awful situations of neglect and poor parenting, you begin to see the reasons why all three daughters, now in adulthood, rarely speak to their mother or each other.

Nell is the tomboy of the group and ends up running a farm not too far from home. Meredith ingested all of her mother's criticism as well as all the snack food in sight and ran off to London to get as far away from critical eyes as possible. Lizzy, the baby and most like her mother, is ambitious and famous in her own right as a chef, hosting New York City's popular supper clubs. All three have bitter feelings about their past and have avoided rehashing old wounds with their mom or sisters until they each receive a phone call demanding they come home immediately. As they learn of their mother's illness, each sister handles the news in different ways and begins to reconnect in pieces with each other.

The development of characters is one of Green's talents and she easily gets me wrapped up in the stories of each of these women. She creates these characters with identities we love to hate, then empathize with, and eventually understand their reasons behind the choices they made in life. But, unfortunately, the storyline doesn't offer much excitement for the reader due to its predictability. I didn't have the emotional attachment to any of the characters that I normally would in a story like this. I could find parts of each character to identify with and commiserate about my own poor choices from the past, but I never felt emotionally connected to them. As you move to the final third of the book you can see their "Aha" moments appear on the page while watching these women leave the shell that has been protecting them from hurt. Each of the daughters learns something about themselves through these final moments with their mom and you leave the novel feeling happy for them. Even though most of this novel is full of family drama and sadness, there is a bit of redemption of character when Ronni shares private conversations with each of her daughters. You may not ever like her or her daughters, but you will know, behind all the anger and sadness, there was still love.

Other’s dirty laundry isn’t always intriguing…
The Sunshine Sisters by Jane Green is a contemporary twist on the stereotypical Mommy Dearest theme: glamorous and loved Hollywood starlet produces dysfunctional family dynamics and children. While even a well worn scenario can produce applicable and timeless lessons on life and love I just never got there with this story. By no means was this due to Jane’s writing ability, she is a solid writer with an easy to read style and a knack for building settings and characters through her words. The book flowed easily and I was drawn through the story with hopes that it would be at least a satisfying experience. But that just didn’t happen.





My main issue with the book was that the story was all too predictable. From the progression of the plot to the actions of the characters I could almost tell you what would happen next. The one plot twist I did not expect I will get into in a minute. Like I said earlier, even a predictable story can be heartwarming and remind you of the things that are important in life. The Sunshine Sisters never gave me that warm fuzzy or made me appreciate or evaluate my own life like I would have expected from a story about reconnecting and rediscovery.

Unexpected or Unnecessary content is distracting
I think what ultimately soured me about The Sunshine Sisters was the unexpected and unnecessary sexual content. It’s not that I’m opposed to sexually explicit scenes if they fit with the book. For the most part The Sunshine Sisters is written for a general ChickLit audience; because of their mothers terminal illness, the three sisters must confront their own personal insecurities and perceptions as well as their relationships with each other. In the end, they are able overcome much of damage their narcissistic mother inflicted on them emotionally and mentally. One of the sister’s healing involved her realizing an attraction to another woman while another left her boorish, rigid fiance and connected with a free spirited man. I was on board with these developments until I was hit with a completely unexpected, explicit lesbian sexual encounter, as the story was winding down. In this case a graphic sexual scene was simply out of place based on the rest of the book.

As a caveat, I do not think you should let my experience completely stop you from reading The Sunshine Sisters, especially if you are a Jane Green fan. Different stories speak and impact various readers differently. Hopefully, this review will leave you more informed when ultimately deciding.

good summer book - nothing over the top - overall enjoyable

Meredith, Nell. and Lizzy Sunshine grew up in the shadow of their mother, Ronni, a glamorous star of the silver screen. Ronni was always a narcissistic and critical type of mother which did not exactly foster a close relationship with her daughters. The sisters have scattered all over the world and rarely interact with each other. Meredith is living in London and engaged to a man who is really not well suited for her. Lizzy is a successful celebrity chef, but she is still chasing happiness in unhealthy ways. Nell runs a successful farm and cafe in the Connecticut countryside, not too far from where they grew up. Ronni calls the sisters home and the sisters oblige, not sure if the demand was another one of her narcissistic tendencies or if something is really wrong. When their mother announces that she has a terminal illness the three sisters are forced to face the cracks in their relationships. Their relationships with their mother, others in their lives, and each other. Will their mother finally be able to heal old wounds before it is too late?

The Sunshine Sisters is another summertime masterpiece by Jane Green. Meredith, Nell, and Lizzy and three unique sisters that really only have one thing in common - they survived childhood with an aging actress. It took me a few chapters to get all of the sisters straight but eventually got it. Lizzy is the bratty one, Meredith is the meek one, and Nell is the one who isolated herself. I struggled to like Lizzy - her selfishness was tough to swallow, but by the end of the book, I found her much more likable. Meredith was tough to like, too. Her meekness was overwhelming and from the very first time her fiance was introduced I wanted her to stand up and kick him in the shins. Each of the sisters and their mother had their moment of redemption. There was a moment of shock towards the end of the book, but ultimately I was very satisfied with the way things ended. I would even be interested in seeing a follow-up book someday.

Bottom-line - Jane Green is one of my favorite authors and just about every pen she touches spins literary gold, as far as I am concerned. I enjoyed everything about The Sunshine Sisters, but I particularly loved the character development. A great story and now I have to wait another year for Jane Green's next work of art.

Details:
The Sunshine Sisters by Jane Green
On Instagram
Pages: 384
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication Date:6/6/2017
Buy it Here!

The latest novel by Jane Green tells the story of Ronni Sunshine’s life and her three daughters — the Sunshine sisters. A Hollywood actress, always on the search for her biggest breakthrough, Ronni pays little to no attention to her daughters as they grow up. As a result, Nell shuts down and struggles to allow herself to be vulnerable, Meredith fails to live up to her mother’s unrealistic expectations and Lizzy has never faced any boundaries. Decades later, they have to gather together again, trying to please their mother for one last time.

The relationship Ronni has with each one of her daughters is unique, but it also has very similar repercussions. The lack of attention, the frequent absences, emotional unavailability and never shown affection leave serious marks on those young girls and later grown women. During their childhood they have never understood their mother and never thought that one day they might be understood by her.

Pushed away by Ronni, each of them start on a lonely journey to adulthood and independence. But in their strive to leave the past and the type of person their mother molds them to be, they alienate one another and slowly lose the fragile sisterhood bond. The Sunshine girls have to find a way to repair the wounds they have caused to themselves and others.

The novel is easy and a pleasure to read — the sentences flow freely across the pages and you can quickly lose track of time. After years of proven experience and tons of written books, Jane Green is an effortless writer and a storyteller.

The Sunshine Sisters is an interesting take on the history of a dysfunctional family, following the characters’ mistakes, successes and, of course, hopes. I would not call it a ‘beach read’ as I have my strong reservations towards the use of this ‘term’. It’s like saying a certain book would make a great … camping read, commute read, dinner read? A novel can serve many purposes, it doesn’t have to be narrowed down to a place.

If you’re interested in family dynamics and the psychology of people’s personalities as a byproduct of their relationships, give the book a go. I did and I liked it.

I have kindly received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group in exchange of a fair review.

What a great summer read. I love Jane Green's characters and their relationships with one another.

A beautiful story about family and overcoming the past to have a better future. When Ronni summons home her three daughters, Nell, Meredith and Lizzy, to help her end her last fe, these three women must learn to be sisters and daughters again. While there is some seriousness to the story due to Ronni's illness, there are some very funny, poignant moments between the girls as they help maneuver through the land mines of their pasts so they can figure out what their future happiness looks like.

This novel is a prime example of the old saying that you can’t judge a book by it’s cover. The Sunshine Sisters is not a summery beach read as the cover might lead you to believe, but rather it’s about a dying woman named Ronni Sunshine and a reflection back on raising three daughters and the events that happened in their lives that leads them up to this point. Ronni is 65 years young and yet she’s developed ALS that slowly progressed undetected and will now quickly make it’s way through her body, weakening her until she can no longer control her body or enjoy her life. She plans to take her own life and her wish is to bring her three daughters back into one another’s lives. She’s part of the reason why they’re not close and it’s her dying wish to remedy that. Her personal desire is to kill herself before the disease takes full control of her body and she wishes to die with dignity, which is a very real issue in today’s world.

The novel rotates between present and past to reflect on where they came from to where they are today. Although interesting, I did find this to be a slower read than I usually enjoy. Common themes written throughout the novel are the real life issues that people face in their everyday lives. All four Sunshine women have their own set of issues; the daughters each have distinctive personalities and characteristics that go along with being first, middle and youngest child, though a lot of their issues are due in part to their selfish mother and somewhat unloving upbringing. Infidelity is another theme written into the novel. Affairs play a role in some way in each of the women’s lives and it makes for an interesting argument on personal values and behavior. I found myself crying at the end of the novel, which had a bittersweet ending. The main takeaway from this novel is that it’s never too late to stand up for yourself, find love, rekindle a dying love, and make amends with previous wrongdoings with the people you care about most.

Jane Green is back and better than ever with her latest book, The Sunshine Sisters (Berkley), in which a family crisis forces a mother and her estranged daughters to confront their past mistakes. Though Ronni Sunshine was a beloved actress, she was not a good mother to Nell, Meredith and Lizzy, driving the girls apart as they grew older. Years of jealousy, resentment and anger have pitted the sisters against each other, and decades later, when Ronni has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, she summons her three estranged daughters to make things right. Regretful of how she raised her children, Ronni is hoping she can bring her daughters back together and help made amends so that they can lean on each other when she is gone. Green’s exceptional storytelling chronicles the journey of these four women as they try to overcome the past and discover their true selves and the real meaning of family.

I loved everything about this book and couldn't find a reason to subtract stars. I will say I'm an advocate for assisted suicide so it was great to read a book that focuses on that that but I can see why some people wouldn't enjoy the subject matter. Don't worry that's not a spoiler it's mentioned in the prologue but there is no mention of that in the blurb so I can see how readers wanting a light summer read might find a dying mother who wants her grown daughters to come home to help her take her life as disappointing or depressing. Not me I found it all very beautiful and meaningful.
It's been about 10 years since I've read Jane Green and now I'm wondering why I ever stopped, I was crazy about Jemima J and The Other Woman and now I want to go back and read her other books.

I love how it feels when you find a book at the exact time you needed it. My maternal grandmother went into the hospital a few weeks ago and I've been trying to come to terms with the idea that we could lose her. As a result, reading about a reunion between three sisters and their own very sick mother struck me on a particularly personal note. It provided a strange way to escape my own reality without the burden of a dark and gloomy read. I can't explain how much I enjoyed this story about the incredibly selfish movie star Ronnie Sunshine and her three daughters Lizzy,  Meredith and Nell.  Each of their relationships were fully formed. I  could sympathize with the push/pull that comes with being around  the people who know you better than anyone else and the frustration of trying to maintain your adult identity.  

I really loved the quote "It doesn't matter how many years go by, how grown-up we think we are, how much we presume we have changed or evolved, when we are back in our childhood homes, we become exactly who we have always been."

This book deserves to be a beach book and book club favorite, through Labor Day and Beyond.  Refreshing and so entertaining.

3.5 stars

After reading the summary, I chose this book as one of my summer beach reads because it sounded like it would be a perfect fit. I’ve never read anything by Jane Green before, though I had heard of her other works and know that most of them fall into the “chick lit” category, so with this book, I was expecting a light, easy-to-read story focused around women. That’s pretty much what I got except the part about the matriarch of the family, Ronni Sunshine, having a terminal illness and therefore wanting her daughters to help her end her life (not spoiler, since both these plot points are in the cover summary). While that part of the book lent an element of “seriousness” to the story, everything else was light-hearted enough so that things balanced out in the end.

Overall, I would say that this was a good book and the story itself was enjoyable, however what fell short for me were the characters, none of whom were likable. While I’m perfectly fine with (and actually prefer) flawed characters in stories, the caveat is that the characters need to be realistically written, which I felt was a bit lacking with this story. All the characters felt too contrived and some of the situations they went through felt too convenient, almost as though specifically written so that the characters would go down certain already pre-determined paths. I think what bothered me the most was how cliched and stereotypical the characters seemed to be – for example: the self-absorbed successful actress but horrible mother Ronni, the serious and responsible but emotionally detached oldest sister Nell, the insecure due to being largely ignored “people pleaser” middle sister Meredith, the spoiled and bratty youngest sister Lizzy who always gets her way because she thinks the world revolves around only her. And that’s just the main female characters! The men in the story seemed to have it worse, as almost all of them (except for the 2 sons of the sisters, who were mostly kids throughout the story) were portrayed as “losers” of some sort – i.e.: deadbeats who abandon their first families after they remarry, womanizers who have one affair after another with a variety of women, weak husbands/boyfriends who are consistently emotionally detached from their significant others, arrogant jerks who emotionally abuse their wives/girlfriends in efforts to exert complete control over them, etc. I could go on, but I’m sure you get the picture. It also didn’t help that everything worked out perfectly in the end for all the characters, almost exactly as we (the readers) expected them to. The way everything ended up being neatly packaged and wrapped in a bow for the readers kind of reminded me of those Hallmark (or was it Lifetime?) movies that were quite the craze many years ago.

I usually judge how good a book is by whether it is able to elicit an emotional response from me (i.e. move me to tears) and/or whether it is thought-provoking enough that I continue thinking about the story/characters long after I finish reading. Neither of these elements was present in this case. My frustration with all the unlikable characters made it difficult for me to feel any type of emotional connection with anyone in the story – even when “sad” things happened, I unfortunately could not bring myself to empathize or feel anything emotionally, despite the intent of the author (I’m assuming) to elicit some type of response from most readers (though not really the author’s fault I guess, since I don’t consider myself a “typical” reader).

I ended up giving this book 3.5 stars, mostly because of the writing and the fact that I did like the story, even though I was annoyed with the characters -- no doubt that Jane Green is a good writer and knows how to tell an enjoyable story. I would consider this book on the higher end of the “chick lit” spectrum and even though it didn’t quite work out for me, I would still recommend it for those who enjoy this genre and are looking for a nice, quick summer read. It also might be a good idea to perhaps read the other reviews for a different opinion before deciding.

Received advance reader’s copy from Berkley Books via NetGalley