. . . ᴅɴꜰ
I tried. I stopped.

I got about a quarter of the way through when I realized I was basically skim reading because I was disinterested. It felt like it was going to be a quirky and fun little read, but it was written almost too causally, too informally, that made its delivery fall flat for me. It’s not that it was written simply, it was moreso like an internal dialogue, meant to pull me into Maggie’s mindset, but I just wasn’t into it.

Maybe if I had stuck this one out I would have found it to be a charming folly of events and circumstances, but as it stands, it just wasn’t enough for me.

~👩🏻‍🦰

⧞ As always, thank you to @netgalley, publisher @atria & author for a digital advanced readers copy of this book.

This, unfortunately was a DNF for me. I found the beginning too slow, and while the writing was good, I found myself looking for other things to do instead of read, which for me means I need to switch to something else.

I'll start off with saying this wasn't the story I was expecting, but I really enjoyed what it was. I think I went in anticipating it to be more light-hearted, still with the seriousness of the issue at hand, but closer to the playfulness injected within Eleanor Oliphant. That was not there, but what was there was a deeply moving story that had my heart hurting for both sisters. The frustration, the sadness, the helplessness and the glimmers of light. It's a powerful story.

A funny and often touching novel of family life. The story centers on the youngest of three sisters, Maggie who decides the middle sister Ginny is no longer able to live on her own, and brings Ginny to live near her. The family dynamics, and the pets will have you simultaneously laughing and crying.

Wow, this was a book I was meant to read at this point in my life. Maggie, the youngest of three girls, has messed up her marriage, is trying to parent her teenage/college aged sons, and is trying to do the best for her special needs sister while allowing said sister autonomy over her decision making. Adult sister bonds and struggles........the grass always looks greener. Love is complicated. People are complicated. Well written characters. Well rounded characters.

I liked the premise of this story but i couldnt get into this book. The characters were likeable and it fell flat for me.

I do enjoy a story with quirky characters! I definitely had some laughs and I knew it would be a great book when it was compared to some of my other favorite bools. I thought all the different storylines were great too!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. What a heartfelt story!! Three sisters- Bets, the uninvolved one, Maggie, the one in charge and Ginny, the special needs one. As life would have it, nothing ever goes as planned. I really liked this story a lot and highly recommend!!!

I really enjoyed this book! It’s emotional, funny, and a bit chaotic, but totally reading. This was my first read by Jeannie Zusy and it won't be my last. The characters were relatable and you felt like you were there through the whole book. I love when that happens. It just makes it so easy to get drawn in and keeps you wanting more.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read this ARC.

Maggie gets a call from the ER in Maryland where her older sister lives, the cracks start to appear. Ginny, her sugar-loving and diabetic older sister with intellectual disabilities, has overdosed on strawberry Jell-O. Maggie knows Ginny really can’t live on her own, so she brings her sister and her occasionally vicious dog to live near her in upstate New York. Their other sister, Betsy, is against the idea but as a professional surfer, she is conveniently thousands of miles away.

I struggled with this one. It's slow, it's pretty uneventful. Every single character was unlikeable. I found myself getting very annoyed. I feel like others may find this funny and charming. It's not for me though.

Thank you NetGalley, the author, Atria Books and for the gifted e-book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Jeannie Zusy for allowing me to read the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

I requested this book after publication date, so this review is a little late! But, definitely worth waiting for.

Imagine your well-run life, raising two boys on your own, going along just as you have planned until the day you get the phone call-your challenged older sister has overdosed on Strawberry Jell-O and needs a place for her and her cranky dog to stay until she recovers. Other sister Betsy, surfer, has no desire to take on this challenge and up-end her life. Sound familiar?

So, pack up the van, the sister and her sweets, wheelchair, snarling dog, and head off to an adventure that willl keep you laughing and entertained for a long time!

This book left me very conflicted, mainly because I really wanted to love it.

The complicated relationship between these sisters was definitely interesting to read about, I just wish the format of this book was set up better to support that. This read more of a stream of consciousness then a story with a plot, and that made it very slow at times and sometimes confusing to understand where we were and where the story was going.

This one was just okay. The beginning had me intrigued but it took me a long time to get through because there were no chapters and it just felt like the book was dragging. I started to like the book more and more until I felt like the main character starting making decisions and doing things that were completely out of character. There were also some very cringey and very unnecessary parts (tw: animal death for NO reason, SA jokes that didn’t contribute to the story in any way other than being vulgar)

Overall, this book was middle of the road. Definitely forgettable and I probably won’t be recommending to anyone due to the unnecessary tw thrown around in the book.

wow! I absolutely loved this book. It was heartwarming, charming, funny, sad. I related to the sister dynamic so much and it felt like a therapy session and warm hug reading it and rooting for Maggie and Ginny.

Jeannie Zusy has written a novel inspired by her personal experience of caring for a developmentally disabled sibling. When Ginny is found unconscious in her Maryland home, Maggie realizes its time to move her sister closer to her home in NY. Ginny progresses through a rehab/nursing home to a home of her own with aides. Maggie also is dealing with a teenage son, a college-aged son, an ex-husband and a demanding job. Zusy does a great job of describing the negative aspects of caregiving with the positive rewards of the same. She fully develops relationships between the characters. There is pathos coupled with humor. As someone who works in Special Olympics, I especially appreciated her ability to show the many facets of caring for handicapped adults. I found this book engaging and enjoyable. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This was promising but it fell apart as it went on. I just didn’t care for Maggie and having the whole book be only from her perspective wore me down.

Zusy definitely catches the plight of the caregiver, showing just how difficult it can be to take care of family. Unfortunately for me the story took a bit too long to come together and while the characters are complex, there was too much emphasis on Maggie overshadowing Ginny and Betsy. There were some great moments, but I wished they’d happened sooner! Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Every family has its has is issues, and when Ginny (who is an individual with an intellectual disability) is sent to the ER for a sugar overdose, amoung other issues, Maggie knows it's time to intervene. She packs Ginny up and moves her from Maryland to New York. And that is where the story begins, as Maggie, turing herself into a caretaker, while going through a separation with her husband and trying to help her two boys stay on the right path.

This book has a two sisters who push each other's buttons, a family that is falling apart, and the makings of a great book. The writing was good and the tone of the book has points of inspiration. I was expecting more humor, but didn't find that in here. The book was slow moving with 4 parts, instead of your "typical" chapters, making it harder for me to get into. The book did a great job of showing the challenges that famines face and how different people handle this stress or life changes.

I rate this book as 2 🌟!

I'd like to say a huge thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The Frederick Sisters Are Living the Dream by Jeannie Zusy was a novel with so many emotions. Following the three Frederick Sisters we find that the oldest is our living her dream life while the middle sister is forced to leave her home and be cared for by her younger sister because of some health problems. This book will pull at your heartstrings but there are definitely some lighter and funnier parts. I love stories about sisters and really enjoyed this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

A moving story about a sister caring for her disabled sister and all the challenges that come with it. Moving story about balancing life with caring for a loved one, with some fun elements weaved it. Worth reading to see how the relationship between the sisters develops and the lessons learned in between.