Emily Cavanagh

Francie and Lottie are identical twins but they could not be more different. Francie is married with twin girls and lives in Boston. Lottie is single and struggling with bipolar disorder in California. They were close as children but their relationship decayed over Lottie’s unpredictable behavior. Francie has tired of her caregiver role since her mother's death. Lottie is inconsistent about taking her medication creating tension between the sisters.

Francie rushes to California after Lottie is involved in a bicycle accident. She is shocked to learn that her sister has an infant daughter. Francie puts her life on hold to help her sister and niece. During that time they start to repair their relationship and reveal secrets from their childhood.

This Bright Beauty examines the complexities of sibling relationships. Emily Cavanagh does a beautiful job of giving a sympathetic voice to mental illness. This is the second novel by the author. The author’s first novel, The Bloom Girls, was released in May 2017.… (mais)

My Review of “This Bright Beauty” by Emily Cavanagh

Kudos to Emily Cavanagh, Author of “This Bright Beauty” for her weaving her vivid descriptions of her characters, their relationships, and the storylines into a sensitive unique, and emotional novel. The Genres for this novel are Fiction, Women’s Fiction and Contemporary Fiction.

The Author describes her characters as flawed, complicated and complex. Franci and Lottie (Charlotte) are identical twins. The twins may be identical but after a tragic event and a very dark secret, Lottie develops a bipolar disorder, that not only changes their relationship, but those of the people around them. Lotti stays and teaches in California and Franci moves on to Boston, where she gets married and has twins.

There are times when Lotti doesn’t take her medication and vacillates between the”blackness” and “light”. Franci has tried to be responsible and watches that Lotti takes her medication from the distance. Lotti’s long time boyfriend will tell Franci, that Lotti is strong, but sick. After a major problem occurs, both Franci and Lotti don’t talk to one another for quite a while.

Franci gets a call that Lotti has been in an accident, and should come to watch Lotti’s infant daughter. Franci had not realized that Lotti had been pregnant. What can Franci do now? What should Franci do now?

I appreciate that Emily Cavanagh discusses the issues of mental illness, and sheds some light on bipolar disorders and depression. I also like that the author discusses the importance of family, emotional support, acceptance, love and hope. This is a powerful and emotional story that I would highly recommend. I received An Advanced Reading Copy from NetGalley for my honest review.… (mais)

Covering only a short span, from the day the three sisters learn of their father's death to the day they return to their "regularly scheduled" lives after his funeral, this short novel manages to address the complexities of family relationships, the ways we see ourselves vs. how others see us, and the ways we think about our pasts. Each chapter alternates viewpoints, so the story is told through the eyes of each sister, giving the reader the opportunity to understand how each sister sees herself, her father, and their family history differently. The book intermingles the sisters' remembrances of the past with the present--the funeral and the days leading up to it--focusing on how the past has influenced their present relationships with each other and their father. [SPOILER: They each walk away from the funeral toward a big change, giving the novel a feeling of hope and progress, but I ultimately found it to be more of a story about perspective and about the sisters' coming to terms with the past, themselves, and their family.]

(Thank you, GoodReads and Amazon Publishing for a copy of this book.)… (mais)

I really enjoyed the book. It's not action packed, its about three sisters dealing with the death of their father and naturally they grieve in different ways. With their father's death, Cal, Suzy and Violet start to learn about secrets that have been kept hidden for many years.

I loved reading about each sister and the family dynamics. Cal, Suzy and Violet each had a different relationship with their father. Cal made time to talk to him and visit. Suzy and Violet had more of a strained relationship with their father. With their dad's unexpected death, the sisters end up in Maine. With his death, memories come up and the sisters start to share what they remember. Growing up they never talked about their father's sudden career change as a teacher at a private school and the reasons behind him leaving.

I liked the characters and the writing style. I look forward to reading more by the author.

Thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and the author, Emily Maine Cavanagh, for a free electronic ARC of this novel.… (mais)