Write My Name Across the Sky: A Novel

3.5 somewhat confused stars. Barbara O'Neal (aka [a:Barbara Samuel|175137|Barbara Samuel|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1296597110p2/175137.jpg] and [a:Ruth Wind|53017|Ruth Wind|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1619552320p2/53017.jpg]) is one of my favorite Women's Fiction authors. Once again she spins a compelling tale of women at a crossroads while negotiating complex family dynamics. I was especially thrilled that one of the narrators is a 70 year old woman with a vibrant, full life. Gloria is a former stewardess who is now an Instagram influencer. When she learns that the great love of her life, who she hasn't seen in years, has been arrested for art forgery and theft, she realizes that her days of freedom may be numbered, show more as she was often his willing accomplice. She's tempted to flee, but she is reluctant to leave her two nieces who need her help and wisdom.

Willow and Samantha are half-sisters whose mother Billie was a famous folk-rock star before her untimely death from a drug overdose. Willow has just arrived in New York after another failed relationship, determined to shed her "manic pixie dream girl" behavior and find success in the music world on her own terms. Sam's once profitable video game company is floundering after several poorly received releases and the loss of its best coder - Sam's best friend Asher, who she pushed away in a panic after they briefly became lovers.

Like most of O'Neal's recent books, there is a lot of plot, and frankly not enough pages to fully flesh it all out. But the focus on the challenging dynamics between the sisters, and Gloria's unique role in their lives, is written beautifully, like one of Willow's compositions. It is so refreshing to find a septuagenarian character in Women's Fiction, especially one who still dreams and desires, albeit perhaps from a more realistic place than her nieces. As Gloria muses:

The great tragedy of aging is not the loss of the supple body but the illusion we are forced to leave behind, one after the other, like a string of pearls from a necklace. That all will be well, that dreams can come true, that we can always do what we wish, that sacrifice and sorrow are not inevitable.

The reason for my somewhat confused rating is my ambivalence towards the way the art theft is portrayed. Both Gloria and her former lover Isaac had mothers whose lives were destroyed by the Nazis in WWII, and it is briefly mentioned that the thefts were from a hidden cache of Nazi holdings. So does that make the thefts justifiable? Was any attempt made to return them to their original owners? What about the forgeries that were sold to collectors who thought they were the real thing? Gloria doesn't express much regret about her part in these crimes, other than considering them youthful indiscretions. Instead she focuses on not getting caught and protecting her nieces. I realize I'm a judgmental old fart, but even if I didn't want to see such a vibrant individual in prison, I wanted to see at least some attempt at restitutions or atonement for an illegal act.

The more cynical part of me, however, thinks that in today's world where there is so little justice for political crimes (trying to steal a presidential election and so forth), decades-old thefts that didn't harm anyone shouldn't be considered such a big deal. There's very little black and white morality left in the world, so I should probably just chill out and enjoy the story.

TL;dr - Barbara O'Neal has been writing consistently great stuff for 30 years, and she should include more MCs like Gloria for mature readers like me to appreciate.

Uncorrected proofs received from Net Galley in exchange for honest review. show less

Swinging For The Fence... But Not Quite Putting It Over. This was another of O'Neal's works over the last few years where she is very clearly swinging for the fence in attempting to write a masterpiece that will leave you breathless - which she nailed in 2019's When We Believed In Mermaids - that doesn't quite make it over. Ultimately this is a solid double/ stretch triple - powerful and great, but also very clearly not quite what she was hoping for. And honestly, most of that has to do with the ending and particularly the flash-forward epilogue. As at least one other review has mentioned, this could have been better with another hundred pages or so to flesh out that particular area, or perhaps (my own suggestion here) as a duology show more wherein the resolutions to the varying plot threads are set up, and then executed (with complications, of course) in the second book. Still, truly a solid and compelling read that hooks you in early and makes you want to read all the way through. Very much recommended. show less

Sisters Sam and Willow were raised by their aunt Gloria Rose after the death of their mother. Gloria has asked younger sister Willow to come home and stay at the family apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Willow believes her aunt might be taking a trip and it is simply a routine periodic request to apartment sit to take care of the rooftop greenhouse and the 2 cats. Sam lives in her own apartment nearby. All 3 women are at a crossroads in their own lives with Gloria always the one that knew how to keep the sisters' fragile relationship from unraveling altogether. The sisters are so introspective of their own lives it takes time for them to realize that Gloria needs them. The sisters keep thinking of their independent aunt as show more she has always presented herself to them. But Gloria had a life before she became their sole caretaker and that life had a secret that she held close and may impact her freedom.

Names with the chapter number convey the POV for the character taking the story forward and providing the historical context of the family lives from their perspective.

It's a story of family, of secrets, of love, of ambition, of choices, of forgiveness. I loved learning the origin and meaning of the title to this family.

Note: The f* bomb radiates loud and clear in this novel. show less

I have read many of Barbara O'Neal's books and she just keeps getting better. Her new book is my favorite of her books. She writes believable stories about women, sisters and families. This book is about family, sisters, love and forgiveness.

Willow and Sam sisters raised by their Aunt Gloria after their rock star mother died at a young age. The two sisters are very different from each other and don't spend much time together. Willow has just returned to New York after her last album failed. She isn't sure if she wants to continue her goal of becoming a music star like her mother. Sam owns a company that creates games and she has been very successful in her business but not in love. Gloria is an instagram star who has a successful blog show more about aging. In her younger days she was an airline stewardess and flew all over the world. They each have a major problem in their life but are unable to work together or to help each other.

Will these three very different women be able to work with each other to find solutions to their problems and become a family again. Be prepared to shed a few tears as you get to know Willow, Sam and Gloria in this fantastic new book.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. show less

This cover is so interesting, I wanted to love this one. Story of sisters - as they struggle to find themselves in the world and what they want to do and how to grow up. Also we have the POV of the aunt that raised them. I wish I'd loved one of them - enough to feel drawn in to the story and really hooked. But I just couldn't find it. I found the story interesting but I didn't love it. I found some of the drama over the top and I was done with one of the sisters really early on, so it was a struggle to keep going. I wish I'd loved it more.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Really enjoyed the characters and the story....a "new" author for me.

The story line felt contrived.