Member Reviews
Thank you NetGalley & Macmillan audio for this ARC.
One, Two, Three is a sweet story about three sisters in a ‘David & Goliath’ battle (small town vs big, harmful corporation). This book speaks to a host of critical issues in society today it a thoughtful way & without going too deep. The simple beauty of human connection & understanding each other seemed to be a theme throughout the book.
The writing was amazing. The writing of the three distinct POV narratives was only heightened through the narrators in the audiobook. I highly recommend listening to this one!
Laurie Frankel’s strength is her characters. Here, we have three teenage sisters - triplets. Mabs, One, is the normal one and carries that guilt. Monday, Two, is on the asperger’s spectrum. And Mirabel, Three, is brilliant but confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak except with a robotic speech synthesizer. All three live in Bourne, a town decimated by a man made environmental disaster that led to most folks dying or falling ill (think the Pacific Gas & Electric contamination that Erin Brockovich litigated against). Nora, their mother, has spent the past 16 years trying to sue the company responsible. And then comes word that the plant that caused the contamination is re-opening.
At times I would think this was too black and white. But then I’d think of the real life cases where companies did everything in their power to hide the truth. Hell, you don’t have to go further than the cigarette companies. Frankel manages to take a story that could have been predictable and makes it fresh. I was surprised at the turns the story took.
This story is incredibly heartwarming. It’s the story of a lot of people in impossible situations. Even the secondary characters were well developed. I particularly cared for Omar, the mayor, who is constantly between a rock and a hard place trying to do the right thing.
Frankel totally gets the mind of a sixteen year old. Even Mirabel is obviously a sixteen year old, just as much as Mabs and a Monday.
This would make a fabulous book club selection.
Kudos to the three amazing narrators. They definitely brought the story to life.
My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance copy of this book.
This book is about Mab, Monday, and Mirabel, triplets that were genetically and emotionally affected by a plant that was making the water bad for the town's residents. Mab was the genetically intact daughter, she carries with her guilt for being the "normal" daughter. Monday deals with mental differences and is extremely obsessive. Mirabel is physically affected and is in a wheelchair and cannot speak with the assistance of her chair. Their father passed away from the damaging effects of the water and many of the town's people were injured, and there are many with birth defects.
This story was slow for me starting out, however, once I picked up the rhythm of the story and how the chapters were titled it was smooth sailing. I loved this story! I felt compassion for the people of the town and compassion for the girls. These sisters were tough and strong!! They refused to give up and kept fighting literally to the very end!
I would have enjoyed more action throughout but I still enjoyed the book very much!
was really looking forward to this after having recently read another of Frankel's books for my book club, This is How It Always Is. We all loved that one, and I recommend it highly.
This was a disappointment, however. My main criticism is the massive amount of dialog that goes on and on and on. Particularly over the top was the character Monday, who was incessant in her questions and her Truth or Dare challenges. What I did like about Monday and her friend were all the obscure words they tossed around in preparation for their SAT test. But I've gotten ahead of myself.
Three sisters, triplets, are born to a single mother in a small, dying town. The reason it's dying is a chemical plant that poisoned the river and drinking water, resulting in cancers, birth defects, and deaths. The triplets' mother, Nora, is suing the now closed company, and has been for 16 years -- as long as the triplets have been alive. When the company now comes back to reopen the plant, it's up to the townspeople to decide: Are we going to drop the suit and go work again for a decent wage, or will we try to stop Big Business from ruining us again? Only Nora remains headstrong, while the triplets work behind the scenes to help her in whatever ways they can.
One, Two and Three are the triplets.
One: Mab, born first, so her name is one syllable and her nickname is One.
Two: Monday, born second, on a Monday, which so happens to fit the two-syllable requisite. And oh yeah, her sisters call her Two. She is apparently on the spectrum, eats only yellow foods, and reads only yellow books.
Three: Mirabel, who is in a wheel chair and speaks only through a machine.
All three are extremely intelligent and resourceful. It helps that the town library closed down and Monday took home all the books and files that no one else wanted.
While the essence of the plot has been done before, the author seemed to go out of her way to make the triplets and other characters one-of-a-kind. That can be a good thing, or it can feel false. It felt very forced to me, mostly because of the inane dialog. Many others are enjoying this tremendously - your opinion might not match mine.
Not helping my experience was the NetGalley audio app, which I swore off last year but thought surely it would be fixed by now. Well, it's not. So there's no way to find the chapter you're on if you get lost; and as before, the audio does a full stop at about 15 random points along the way. Eek! 2.5 stars rounded up.
Audiobook people. I can’t stress this enough. One Two Three, by Laurie Frankel, is told through triplets Mab, Monday, and Mirabel, is elevated so greatly by the audiobook you’re missing so much without it.
Told in alternating points of view the girls weave the story of a town ravaged by chemical leaks into their water by their major employer a generation before. Cancers, birth defects, death, in animals, adults, and children were all denied, even blamed on the residents themselves. Their mother, Nora, has been the driving force keeping up a lawsuit. When the company comes back to town to reopen offering jobs it becomes hard to convince people to stand against them when they need work. The girls as the storytellers offer unique views to the residents as we meet people they interact with, their difficulties, joys, disappointments. Again the audiobook is key here. Each girls inner voice, and speaking voice is especially important to ‘hear’. Mab’s angst and duty, Monday’s analytical literacy and panic, and most of all Mirabel’s whip-smart normalcy and computer generated voice. The narrators Emma Galvin, Jessie Villinsky, and Rebecca Soler inhabit these characters bringing them, and the story to life.
Laurie Frankel is an expert story teller and she really hits it out of the park here. Is there something more important than making someone culpable pay? Who gets to decide what that is, and when to give up? What can heal, how do you find rest? Not to be missed is the author interview at the end where she talks about her inspiration for this book. I highly, highly recommend with five ⭐️’s.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy and the opportunity to review One Two Three by Laurie Frankel. All opinions are my own.
One Two Three begins with the narrator “One” as she tells about her birth. “Two” and “Three” enter into the narrative as the story begins to take shape. The listener becomes engrossed in the book as the details in the relationship and problems between the three sisters in the town of Bourne slowly unravels. The idea to include three narrators made it easier to define each character. I do find it hard to listen to a fictional character on the spectrum because it sounds rehearsed. I’d be interested in reading future books about Mabe, Monday and Mirabelle’s lives as young adults.
This is a really hard book to both classify and describe. It doesn’t fit neatly into any box and I’m sure that was author Laurie Frankel’s intention. Years ago a terrible environmental disaster occurred in the quiet town of Bourne. A family owned chemical plant was producing & dumping toxic waste into the waterways poisoning the soil, citizens and destroying the innocent community. Now three teenage sisters, the Mitchell triplets, are taking up arms against the Templeton’, the plant’s owners.. Each sister is unique and has their own special strengths and weaknesses. Helping the sisters is River Templeton, the young family scion.
I switched between both the digital ARC and Audio ARC. I found the audio really well done, with three different narrators for each sister, helping to personalize their storylines.
Overall I enjoyed this book however, when the story entered angsty YA territory (and it was VERY OFTEN) I found the story/dialogue cringey. Additionally, the book was a bit predictable and felt longer than necessary.
I enjoyed the bonus audio interview with Laurie Frankel.
Thank you to NetGalley and both Macmillan Audio and Henry Holt & Company for gifting me with a digital and audio copy for review.
Really wanted to like this one based on my love for Frankel's previous book. The story of young triplet sleuths battling environmental injustice appealed to my inner boxcar child and I was curious to see how the author would handle a storyline so distant from her autobiography. I'm sorry to say that after four-ish hours struggling to stay with the audiobook, I am throwing in the towel. The challenge for me is that this stuff--disability, addiction, corporate neglect, water poisoning, poverty is so very real and traumatic and yet here it is all handled with a lightness that comes off at best as twee. Two stars because u can see a different reader enjoying it for it's own sake.
Seriously loved this book. 3 narrators really helped to remember who was who. Without spoilers I was let with a book hangover after this. I was always a big fan of erin brockovich movie. So this book brought up alot of feels. What happens to next generation after a disaster. I got thinking about so many other events and lots 9f wondering. I love a book that brings out thoughts of other real life stuff for days weeks after.
Awesome book!
Super inspiring story about a whole town that has been poisoned 20 years earlier by a chemical plant. We follow the three main characters (triplets) through their 16th year. I don't want to give too much else away because of spoilers but I totally fell in love with all three girls and their mom. I love how they all take initiative to try and save their town. I even liked the Romeo and Juliet references.
This is probably the best book I've read (listened to) this year. It was narrated by three very talented ladies. I think that having the voices added to my enjoyment, but if you prefer regular books I'm sure you'll love this story too. I even loved the author interview at the very end with details about how she came up with the idea for the book.
*Special thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for letting me have a pre-release copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.
This is a new author to me and I absolutely couldn't stop listening. I listen while walking my dog and honestly, he was exhausted a few times because I didn't want to stop walking and put it down!
Every character lent a part in making this book so interesting. Each one bringing something special to the story.
This family, these townspeople, all had a purpose.
The growth of the daughters, watching them learn about themselves and each other was astounding.
The narrators were absolutely on point for me. Bringing their characters to life with ease.
Laurie Frankel's latest affirmed for me why I love her stories so much - she makes heroes out of everyday people, particulary those who society tends to overlook or discount (women, girls, the disabled). She also encourages her readers to open their eyes to the humanity present in everyone around us, even the "villains" we encounter. This is the story of three sisters growing up in a town ravaged by the effects of chemical company's broken promises and toxic dumping two decades ago. There is a mystery at the heart of the book that propels the story forward, and the relationships between the sisters, their mother, and the townspeople is a layered marvel that Frankel brilliantly unwraps along the way.
I listened to this book on audio thanks to an advanced listener copy from NetGalley, and I really enjoyed the production, which has three different narrators voicing the three sisters. I particularly loved the voice given to Monday (two) - I think I would have loved reading her voice on the page as well, but the actress added so much to my understanding and enjoyment of her character. The other thing I really liked about the audiobook was the interview of Laurie Frankel by the woman who produced the audiobook (Katy Robitzski).
In a sleepy little town called Bourne where nothing ever happened and everyone knew everyone else a set of baby girl triplets were born seventeen years ago to Nora Mitchell and her husband. Nora gave birth to her triplets naturally and as she got ready to push her babies out she decided to give them all names with the initial letter M. First came Mab, the oldest, whose name possessed one syllable, and who would later have the ambition to go to college and leave Bourne. Two was named Monday because that was the day she was born on and it had two syllables. Monday was most definitely on the spectrum. She was the honorary librarian of Bourne. After the town library closed, Monday made room for its books in the Mitchell home. Some of the books could even be found in the microwave oven. Monday was obsessed with anything yellow. She only ate yellow food and only wore yellow clothes. Three’s birth was the hardest. Her birth came too slowly so the doctor had to help deliver her. Three’s disabilities were the most pronounced and obvious of the triplets. Three was named Mirabel, mainly because it was a three syllable name and began with a M. Mirabel was the smartest sister even though she could not talk on her own. She spoke through a computerized voice box. Mirabel was confined to a wheelchair. It was Mirabel who initiated the names One, Two and Three for herself and her sisters. She used her fingers to call and indicate which sister she needed. Thus One became Mab, Two became Monday and Three was Mirabel.
Before the triplets were born, there had been a chemical plant in Bourne that had contaminated the water and their river and turned it green. As a result, many babies, like One, Two and Three had been born with birth defects, people started being diagnosed with various cancers and Bourne became a town that no one came to visit anymore. The property values in Bourne plummeted. None of the citizens of Bourne ever left because they couldn’t. Nora, with the help of her three daughters, had devoted the last seventeen years of her life trying to find proof of this injustice and bring down Duke Templeton and his chemical plant. Then one day a new family moved into Bourne’s former library. It was Duke Templeton’s son, Nathan Templeton, with his wife, Apple, and their son, River. Everything was about to change in the quiet little town of Bourne.
One Two Three by Laurie Frankel was an engrossing and thought provoking book. It was most definitely character driven with well developed characters. The plot was suspenseful and kept my attention on alert throughout. It was about hope, love, doing the right thing, picking profit over the well being of others, and the power and determination of young female daughters. I laughed at parts and cried at others. It was hard to stop listening to this audiobook which was brilliantly narrated by Emma Galvin, Jesse Vilinsky and Rebecca Soler. I particularly enjoyed Mirabel’s character and her voice. The audiobook ran 14 hours, 59 minutes and 11 seconds. At the conclusion of the audiobook there was a bonus conversation with the author, Laurie Frankel, that I found to be very interesting. This was the first book that I had the privilege to read by Laurie Frankel but I hope to read some of her prior books and look forward to seeing what she plans on writing next.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to this audiobook through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
One Two Three are triplets - Mab (One), Monday (Two), and Mirabel (Three). They're coming of age in Bourne, a small, poor town that was devastated by a factory around the time they were born.
Laurie Frankel's latest got to a slow start for me, as I wrapped my head around this town and its characters. I especially liked the sisters' distinct voices -- they're truly individuals. Without being too heavy-handed, Frankel showed the ways in which we have different bonds with close siblings, our immediate family, friends, and neighbors. And what it is we owe them (or don't).
I appreciated this books' themes of justice and restitution, as well as the ways in which it discussed ability. It's fiction you can sink yourself into, that becomes a page-turner toward the end.
The audiobook production is fantastic. I really liked all three narrators and thought their delivery was great.
Fantastic, character driven story about 3 diverse sisters / triplets growing up in a small town. One Two Three manages to be lighthearted, funny and serious all at the same time, and truly touched my heart.
I loved learning about the creative, funny and poignant personalities of the 3 triplets: Mav, who is on Track A at school and hopes to leave Bourne to go to college; Monday, who is on the spectrum and volunteers to manage the local library out of her house after the actual library is shut down; and Mirabel, who is the smartest person they know but confined to a wheelchair and speaks out of a computerized voice box.
The diversity of the 3 triplets is not unusual in Bourne, which has had a plethora of birth defects, cancers and other medical issues over the last 17 years, and the triplets' mother is still trying to prove that the problems are caused by a chemical plant that has polluted the local river to a neon green.
I enjoyed every minute of the triplets' adventures as they tried to uncover the mystery and save their town, and came to love Bourne and all of the unique people who live there as well. The audiobook has 3 fantastic narrators which give each sister her own voice, and the character development in this story is sublime, I had high expectations for Laurie Frankel's next story after reading This is How it Always Is, and was still blown away by this one - it's a thoroughly entertaining story which also stays with you and makes you think about serious issues.
One Two Three by Laurie Frankel has a great narrators for the triplets in this story. This story addresses big company doing harm to the environment and people in a small town that closed the plant but is now reopening. It gives the view of how the town really feels about the plant coming back. Great story.
ONE TWO THREE was one of my most-anticipated books of the year. A set of triplets live in a small town that's been failing since the factory that poisoned their river shut down 16 years ago. When someone from that time returns, the sisters work to uncover secrets of what happened before they were born. Despite a slow start and heavy topics (environmental pollution, birth defects, an endless legal battle), I adored this book. The three sisters were developed beautifully, and their story will stick with me for a long time. One thing to note: Laurie Frankel isn't an Own Voices author for two of the characters. I'm looking forward to reviews from readers whose lives are similar to theirs.
🍃How do I love this book, let me count the ways.....
1️⃣ Triplets Mab, Monday, and Mirabel - escalating syllables and each as unique as their names. I absolutely loved each of these smart girls and their unique voices. You have to meet them - they will make your heart swell ♥️
2️⃣The town and its residents. These people have suffered more than any one of us could ever imagine. I loved that the town they wanted out of so badly was actually pretty incredible. Adapted and accessible for the unique needs of each resident. Neighbors working together with so little to ensure everyone had what they needed.
3️⃣ The cause. With vibes of Erin Brockovich and Flint, MI, but with the fresh perspective of three teenage girls. It is disturbing to imagine how easily this could happen right here in the US. You will definitely want to check your local water reports.
I truly loved this book and it will stick with me for a very long time. It would make a great book club or buddy read book as there is so much to discuss!
The narration only made it better with each sister having their own voice!
4.5 stars
Laurie Frankel creates the most beautiful and memorable characters. She writes stories that stay with you long after you finish the book. Her characters care so deeply and profoundly that it's impossible to read her books and not feel the same way.
"This is How it Always is" was my favorite book the year it came out so I was incredibly excited to get to read One Two Three and it absolutely did not disappoint.
This story is about triplets Mab, Monday, and Mirabel who live in the town Bourne where a terrible tragedy occurred seventeen years ago and the town is still reeling from it. The girls' mother will not stop fighting for justice. A new family moves into town for the first time in a long time and things start taking a most unexpected turn.
The story is told from the perspectives of the three girls, each of whom have a unique and memorable voice. The audio version of the book is exceptional, especially with what it did to make Mirabel come alive. The overarching story is about eco-terrorism and what the chemical plant did to destroy an entire town. But then there are stories around teen love, around what it means to be sisters, around parenthood, around wishes and dreams.
This is another moving story by Frankel that will make you think. It will make you angry, it will make you sad, and it will make you cheer loudly for three girls who are so incredibly brave and mighty.
With gratitude to netgalley, Henry Holt & Company, and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
WOW!! This book is phenomenal on so many levels. I absolutely loved the three sisters! Mirabel was my favorite because of her outlook and tenacity. Monday's love for yellow was so sweetly portrayed and Mab just is poise under pressure while supporting her mom Nora. I fell in love with the people in the town of Bourne and looked forward to reading this book to just dive back into their lives. So many moments while reading that had me stopping to think. This book was the perfect balance of thought provoking moments, but also with humor sprinkled throughout. I highly recommend this book when it releases in June. Thank you to Netgalley and McMillian Audio. I absolutely think the 3 narrators were perfect, their voices and emotion added even more to this book. This will be one of my top books of 2021!