Once I started to read this book, I wanted to continue reading. I chose this book because I have always heard about what a good writer Joyce Carol Oates is. I was not disappointed by her writing. Oates' style is beautiful, compelling. After I finished the book, however, I couldn't help but wonder what the point of it was.

Unquestionably, characters are more important than plot. Since the story was inspired by a true story, what happened is known. The book is all about how people behave and how they are affected by what happens. The story is told from the point of view of the older brother of the slain child. We see his parents through his eyes as a child (though clearly filtered through his older mind), and some of the other adults around him. We also see his sister through those same eyes. Although he does not paint her as angelic or perfect, by any means, he maintains more of the feelings for her that he had as a child -- a normal love/hate, or love/jealous/envy that siblings have. He has a lot of guilt, though nothing in the story shows that guilt to be valid. It is the guilt often felt by children who have survived a tragedy. What makes this story unsuccessful for me is that he never overcomes that guilt. In fact, it seems to grow with him. It is nothing new that such a feeling of guilt will lead one on a spiral downward.

She gives a vivid picture of the social strata and how some people see their lives only in terms of their position. Specific location was not important to the story. Such things happen anywhere. Societal position, however, was very important to the story. Posh suburbs, private schools, personal training were all part of the lifestyle of the main characters and had a lot to do with what happened from the author's point of view as I understand it. Again, none of this is new, including sacrifice of family -- even literally.

It honestly seems to me that she has merely taken a true story that has stuck in the nation's mind and tried, without knowing exactly what, to make something of it.

The book is worth reading for Oates' style and eloquence, but skip it if you're not fond of depressing for depressing's sake.

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I have read the author's website and see that this book is satirical... something I'm not particularly good at picking up on my own. After some thought I may have a new review at a later date.

My Sister, My Love, subtitled The Intimate Story of Skyler Rampike, is based on the murder of child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey and is written from the point of view of the murder victim's elder brother. It really is a fascinating and utterly gripping read and kept my turning the pages almost compulsively. Perhaps just a tiny bit too long - in particular, I couldn't really see the point of including a short story supposedly written by the protagonist that felt like unnecessary padding, but on the whole a book that was impossible to put down and that made me rush off to buy two factual books about the Ramsey case to investigate further. ( )

At first, I didn't think I was going to like this book and then I got drawn in to the point that I had a hard time putting it down. Loosely based on the story of Jon-Benet Ramsey and written from the point of view of the overlooked older brother, the author gives us an inside look at the family dynamics of a mother living her life through her daughter, while the family falls apart. The aftermath of the murder is also explored with some interesting twists. A tragic look at what celebrity can do to a family and perhaps an indictment of a certain aspect of contemporary culture. ( )

My Sister, My Love: The Intimate Story of Skyler Rampike, by Joyce Carol Oates begins with a disclaimer frankly acknowledging use of “a true crime mystery” (the still unsolved case of JonBenet Ramsey’s murder) for the story, but the characters, setting and solution of the Bliss Skyler case are all the author's own. Narrated by Bliss's brother Skyler, his ten years in “Tabloid Hell” ground the story, but before the truth is revealed, the whole family saga is told, from guilt, ambition, and infidelity to celebrity, murder and liposuction gone wrong. ( )

Inspired by the infamous Ramsey murder case, this book is a boy's tale to cope with his sister's murder. It is raw with emotion and passion, and it is therefore difficult to detect Oates's incisive look at voyeurism, children exploitation, medication abuse in the school system, religious frenzy and a slew of other problems. It is incredibly well-written and therefore not entirely believable that a teen would have that kind of mastery of the language (the occasional fumbles in language are too contrived). The characters are both detestable, pitiful and to a large extent stereotypical since they are meant as but puppets of real-life, but they remain human and believable. Oates has an uncanny way of reaching into the subconscious and expressing feelings with shadows. She succeeds marvelously well in this novel. ( )