Sibling Rivalry in the Depression Era

The sisters, Ruth and June, have very different lives. Ruth is struggling to raise her four daughters and keep the farm working while her husband, John, is incapacitated with sleeping sickness, a victim of the dread disease that has felled many people around the country. June is the golden girl, married to a wealthy doctor, she is also one of the Betty Crockers, women who work in the test kitchens and are the women behind the face of Betty Crocker.

Ruth has always envied her older sister who she perceives as having everything, but she has one thing June wanted, her husband John. Now John is out of her reach and she feels lonely and rejected, but hasn’t her whole life been that way? She has no way of knowing how difficult June’s life is and how she still feels the loss of John.

When their mother, Dorothy, brings them together at Ruth’s farm, the stage is set for confrontation and old secrets emerge.

I found this book rather slow. It is a character driven story and for me, none of the characters was appealing. Ruth is angry and June, who appears to have everything, can’t seem to accept how lucky she is. I think the author did a good job describing how difficult life was for so many people during the depression. However, my favorite scenes were with the Betty Crockers. I found it fascinating how women were so drawn to them and the betrayal they suffered when they discovered the character was more than one woman.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

This story had a lot of potential, but it fell a bit short for me. The pacing was off for me, and I was expecting something more at the climax.

The Sisters of Summit Avenue is a heartfelt and beautifully written story about the struggles faced by both the poor and the well-to-do. No one is ever totally truly happy with what life throws at them and money can not solve all of your problems.

I enjoyed hearing that the story, although fictional, is tribute to lynn Cullen's mother who suffered with mental disorders.

We have come to expect historical fiction books from Lynn Cullen, which this book is not, but by using her memories of her own mother and her struggles , Cullen has written a book whose warmth and honesty will be enjoyed by all!

Overall, this book is okay. The characters are okay, the pacing is okay, the plot is okay.....

It felt like there was going to be a huge reveal, and then the climax was just.. okay. I think it's supposed to be a character-driven book, but I didn't particularly care for any of the characters. They were all pretty insipid and over-explained. Show me, don't tell me! Sometimes, the writing was good, and other times it was stilted and awkward.

The Sisters of Summit Avenue is a depression-era historical fiction and family drama. Author Lynn Cullen has clearly researched the era in which The Sisters of Summit Avenue is set. From the hungry and homeless, the struggling-to-survive working class, to farmers who just manage to hold onto their farms, readers get a very realistic view of American life in the 1930s. Additionally, Ms. Cullen has included the all too real, but little known, epidemic of Encephalitis Lethargica. While not the main focus on the book, the illness does contribute to the exploration of relationships between the various characters.

The story is told primarily in mid-1930s, however, the timeline toggles to 1901 to tell Dorothy’s story. It is through Dorothy’s story that readers get much needed background on how she impacts June and Ruth’s relationship. In the present, there is a rift between the sisters that stems from wanting what the other has. The sisters and their mother each want something they don’t have, and their yearnings put in jeopardy that which they do have as well as prevent them from appreciating what they’ve got. Have their secrets and desperate desires for something more or better lead to their current situations? Is their current situation their karma?

All three characters are compelling even though they are not equally likable. It would be easy to feel compassion toward Ruth and her feelings of inadequacy, but her acrimony and envy make it hard to feel anything positive for her. June is a bit more interesting and compelling, even though she is a bit of a doormat. Their sibling rivalry is as juicy as that of the sisters in Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres! The secrets, lies and deception make for scintillating reading, but it is the heartbreak, love and forgiveness that makes The Sisters of Summit Avenue a beautiful family drama.

The Sisters of Summit Avenue has potential. Unfortunately I could not connect with any of the characters so I felt detached from the book. I realize they were living through some tough times but there has to be some warmth somewhere. Bouncing around in time and perspective was confusing. Whole book left me feeling unsatisfied.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Novel about sisters--one who is ruthlessly competitive with her sister while being dependent on her. Their mother has an interesting back story that she reveals through a third party. I love the ending.

I could not finish the book. The only feedback I can give is that I just could not get into this book. I read a good bit of it, but just could not get interested in their lives. Hung on as long as I did hoping something would happen to convince me it was worth the effort.

I'd actually give this book 3.5 stars. It wasn't a bad book, but it took me awhile to read it, which to me is an indicator that it didn't hold my interest quite like it should have. The book is about a relationship between two sisters and their mother. Sibling rivalry is a huge theme in this story. The story is told from all three viewpoints. The story also switched back and forth between three different times in their lives. At times, I had trouble distinguishing which time we were in. But, I also had trouble telling the sisters apart. Even though they both had very different lives, I had problems mixing them up. One of the sisters was a "Betty". She was one of several women who worked for and represented Betty Crocker. It was interesting to read that history. The story also involved a character suffering from "sleeping sickness" from the 1930s, which was interesting too, although the illness wasn't explained real well. The ending was a little rushed. I felt like things could have been explained a little bit better. I received this copy as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this one so badly, but found myself skimming through the middle and trying to finish. I wasn't very into any of the main characters and didn't think the book flowed well.

Thanks for the arc. The story stalled in parts. I liked the historical aspect of it.. I don’t have 100 words to say about this story, so it’s a waste of time to bother.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of this book.

I was excited to read this book when I discovered that it was set in St.Paul, Minnesota, a place I am very familiar with. It was also partially set in Chicago and the farmlands of Indiana.

Every family has disagreements and issues that influence their family relationships. Dorothy and her daughters Ruth and June, are no exception to this. Underneath the love this family has resides a level of anger that has never been dealt with. Things come to a head when June and her physician husband take a trip to visit her sister, Ruth, on the farm. Ruth has been literally running the farm by herself while her husband is a bed ridden invalid. Ruth’s mother helps her out with the care of Ruth’s four daughters.

I found it hard to connect with these characters. Sometimes the story was told from two points of views that were very similar.

Although I did finish the book, the story dragged a bit for me. Ruth and June are sisters, but it appears they waste most of their early lives jealous of what each other has, whether that be a man or wealth or children. Their mother, Dorothy has her own secrets, but her character was not appealing to me either. I did like some of the historical references, but just okay. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

How can you be happy when you think you love another man more than you love your husband? How can you be content when your are jealous of what your sister has? The story of Dorothy and her two daughters, June and Ruth, may help us all look at our lives and be grateful for the blessings around us.

Set in the 1920s & 1930s, the book goes back and forth between Dorothy's story, June and Ruth's growing up years, and their adult years. June loved John, but married Richard because he could give her the prestige she always wanted. Ruth always felt second rate compared to June. Ruth fell in love with John the first time she saw him. They married and lived on a farm and struggled to survive. John contracted "sleeping sickness" and for years he was bedfast only "awakening" occasionally to speak to her. Ruth had to keep their family together and the farm going. She envied June's lavish life style. June wanted children, and was jealous of Ruth because she and Richard were unable to conceive. When Richard, a doctor, gave John and injection that "awakened" him, everything shifted. Dorothy realized she loved her husband, William, more than she had realized when he was living, but it was not too late for her daughter to make changes. Did they? Read the book and find out.

The Sisters of Summit Avenue by Lynn Cullen
Story of women growing up in the 1930's. Different choices of spouses and family situations.
Liked hearing about Betty Crocker, learned some things I did not know.
Book goes forward in time then back to when they were teens growing up.
Lots of family secrets come to light and some of them left me with my mouth wide open, like hit with a ton of bricks.
Didn't really care for the story but did like the words the author used and the detailed descriptions.
Acknowledgements are listed at the end.
Received this review copy from Gallery, Pocket Books Gallery Books via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.
#NetGalley

Lynn Cullen has written a realistic look at life in the 1920's to 1950's. The Sisters of Summit Avenue is a captivating story about the sisters and their lives during those years.

This is the story of two sisters, June and Ruth who are two totally different personalities. The story is told in a then and now fashion from several different points of view and spans a number of years. There are a number of characters to try to keep track of so it gets a little confusing at times especially in the then and now format. I did really enjoy this book and it kept me captivated until the end although it did leave me with some unanswered questions. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this really interesting book.

Two sisters who are very different follow different paths in life. Follow their lives to see where their choices lead them. I had a difficult time getting into this story. The author provides vivid descriptions and does help you feel you are experiencing the story along with the characters.

I requested this book in error but decided to read it anyway, though it's not my preferred genre. It was decent and there are a few people I know who I will recommend this book to.

The Sisters of Summit Avenue by Lynn Cullen is a wonderfully written historical fiction that follows two Sisters and their family drama during the Great Depression.
Ruth lives on a farm in Indiana taking care of her daughters while her husband, John lies in bed sick from the infamous “sleeping sickness” June is married to a rich Doctor and works as a “Betty” in the Betty Crocker taste kitchen. Now June is traveling to see Ruth at the request of their mother Dorothy in the hopes of reuniting the two sisters. The drama that is unveiled and the secrets that spill in preparation for and during this reunion will have readers turning page after page.

I really enjoyed this book. It was the first one I’ve read by Lynn Cullen, and I will now be on the lookout for her future books.
The Sisters on Summit Avenue started out very slow for me. It is told from multiple viewpoints in multiple decades, so readers must pay attention to the place and date at the beginning of each chapter when reading. There is a method to the madness though, and halfway in I could not put it down! I loved each of the main characters. Dorothy for her wisdom, Ruth for her feisty personality, and June for her kind heart.

I thrived on all the family drama! This book has it all! Family secrets, love triangles, you name it!
I enjoyed reading about the time period and what an impact Betty Crocker made on women during the Great Depression.
Thank you so much Gallery and Netgalley for a chance to read and review this advanced copy! I highly recommend it to readers!