 |
True Colors by Kristin Hannah
Book Summary InformationAuthor: Kristin Hannah Edition: Hardcover Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published) Published: 2009-02-03 ISBN: 0312364105 Number of pages: 400 Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Book Reviews of True ColorsBook Review: The kind of novel that will have sisters recognizing themselves and their relationships in its pages Summary: 5 Stars
Kristin Hannah's bestselling 2008 novel, FIREFLY LANE, was a sweeping, decades-long exploration of the changeable, tumultuous but sustaining friendship between two women who came of age during the 1980s. Now Hannah follows the success of that book with TRUE COLORS, which will do for sisterhood what FIREFLY LANE did for women's friendships.
Reared on a horse ranch overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the Olympic Mountains on Washington State's western coast, the three Grey girls are united at a young age by the shared loss of their beloved mother to cancer. Almost immediately, their stoic but grieving father effectively withdraws from the family, leaving his bereaved daughters to fend for themselves.
Oldest sister Winona, always the responsible one in the family, becomes the stand-in maternal figure for her younger sisters, Aurora and Vivi Ann. Winona, whose mother called her "big boned and beautiful" (even if Winona herself suspects she's just plain fat), performs her dedicated role beautifully, helping Aurora and Vivi Ann grow up into (mostly) happy young women while becoming a successful lawyer herself. But she harbors deep-seated resentment toward her father for being emotionally distant at best and downright cruel at worst, and she remains bitterly but secretly resentful of Vivi Ann, the baby of the family and her father's favorite.
Vivi Ann can do no wrong in her father's eyes; she inherited her mother's beauty and her skill with horses. Vivi Ann endears herself further to him by caring for her late mother's beloved horse, Clem, remaining on the ranch and eventually helping him run the place.
Winona can't stand her father's approval of Vivi Ann, nor can she tolerate her younger sister's unfailingly optimistic attitude toward their difficult father. When Vivi Ann gets involved with Winona's childhood sweetheart, Luke, Winona's jealousy bubbles to the surface, resulting in decades of misunderstandings and betrayals. And when Vivi Ann shocks her small community by running off with a handsome Native American stranger, Vivi Ann's rosy-hued picture of her narrow-minded father and of life in general will be sorely tested.
Like FIREFLY LANE, TRUE COLORS is truly the portrait of a relationship over the course of a lifetime. Beginning in 1979, when the Grey girls are teenagers, and extending to the present, the book traces the ways in which sisters can grow apart and come together again, often for surprising reasons and in unexpected ways. Readers will particularly enjoy watching how Vivi Ann's son, a troubled and violent boy who takes after his absent father, becomes the catalyst for Winona's redemption and the sisters' eventual reconciliation. As in many families, middle sister Aurora --- depicted generally as the fashionable "good girl" who marries a boring and ultimately disappointing man --- seems overlooked at times during the narrative. Clearly, Hannah's focus is on the compelling contrasts between Winona and Vivi Ann.
With strong, complex characterizations of these primary characters, rich descriptions of their breathtakingly beautiful surroundings and an unfailingly romantic atmosphere, TRUE COLORS is the kind of novel that will have sisters recognizing themselves and their relationships in its pages.
--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl
Summary of True ColorsTrue Colors is New York Times bestselling author Kristin Hannah?s most provocative, compelling, and heart-wrenching story yet. With the luminous writing and unforgettable characters that are her trademarks, she tells the story of three sisters whose once-solid world is broken apart by jealousy, betrayal, and the kind of passion that rarely comes along. The Grey sisters have always been close. After their mother?s death, the girls banded together, becoming best friends. Their stern, disapproving father cares less about his children than about his reputation. To Henry Grey, appearances are everything, and years later, he still demands that his daughters reflect his standing in the community. Winona, the oldest, needs her father?s approval most of all. An overweight bookworm who never felt at home on the sprawling horse ranch that has been in her family for three generations, she knows that she doesn?t have the qualities her father values. But as the best lawyer in town, she?s determined to someday find a way to prove her worth to him. Aurora, the middle sister, is the family peacemaker. She brokers every dispute and tries to keep them all happy, even as she hides her own secret pain. Vivi Ann is the undisputed star of the family. A stunningly beautiful dreamer with a heart as big as the ocean in front of her house, she is adored by all who know her. Everything comes easily for Vivi Ann, until a stranger comes to town. . . . In a matter of moments, everything will change. The Grey sisters will be pitted against one another in ways that none could have imagined. Loyalties will be tested and secrets revealed, and a terrible, shocking crime will shatter both their family and their beloved town. With breathtaking pace and penetrating emotional insight, True Colors is an unforgettable novel about sisters, rivalry, forgiveness, redemption---and ultimately, what it means to be a family.
|
 |