Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters

I find it difficult to verbalize just why I adore Natalie Standiford and her novels so much. There's something almost cinematic about them. Her characters are always unique and they seem to sparkle. They catapult themselves off the page and into my imagination so naturally that it's like they belong there. I find that oddly comforting.

I tend to be drawn to love stories and romantic characters, so it's understandable that I particularly liked Norrie's confession. Not only does she fall in love, she blatantly disregards the wishes of her grandmother, the one and only Almighty, to be with her beau. But, even without her role as a star-crossed lover, I'd still identify with Norrie. She's a smart, sensible girl and often makes observations show more and comments I find myself agreeing with, like: "I had to admit he looked nice. He has very regular features and straight teeth. I'd just read that even, regular features are universally recognized as beautiful. So no matter what I think of Brooks as a person, I'm genetically programmed to find him attractive. I resent that."

I was won over by the straight-talking Jane right from the start of her confession. Jane blogs about her family, primarily Almighty, on the blog myevilfamily.com and her version of family's history is both amusing and relateable. My family is nothing like the Sullivans, yet exactly the same. Despite having a vastly different backgrounds, I can identify with the cynical feelings Jane feels toward her family and her overbearing grandmother, even if the feelings only last during a particularly trying period of time. Every family has a skeleton or two in the closet and issues swept under rug, but sometimes they just won't stay hidden away.

The last confession is Sassy's and it's... interesting. I wasn't quite as taken with this character as I was with Norrie and Jane, so I was happy to find that her section of the novel isn't nearly as substantial as her sisters'. Still, I felt for Sassy. Despite the ridiculousness of her fearful belief that she had committed a horrible crime against her grandmother, especially in light of what she thought she had done, her guilt and fear could not be disputed. I just didn't connect with her character as strongly as the other two sisters.

I loved the entire novel, but I was most taken with Almighty's confession on the last pages. I can't think of a better way Standiford could have finished this novel and I can honestly say I found Almighty's confession the most shocking of all... not only because of it's content, but that Almighty would confess anything, no matter the circumstances.

After reading Standiford's debut, HOW TO SAY GOODBYE IN ROBOT, I had high expectations for her sophmore novel, and I was in no way disappointed. Standiford makes the shortlist of novelists I feel comfortable preordering... and that's saying a lot. show less

Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters is written in three parts: the confessions of Norrie, Jane, and Sassy. Each confession provides a different perspective on a certain period of time. I enjoyed how drastically different the three girls were: Norrie was passionate, Jane was cynical, and Sassy was timid. I must say that I enjoyed Jane’s story the best. She was so devoted to sticking it to The Man that I couldn’t help but smile. Norrie’s story was my second favorite, and Sassy’s story, although a tad confusing, was fun as well.

Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters is the first Natalie Standiford novel that I’ve read, but now I’m going to make a point to read her other book. The way she writes is so different from most young show more adult authors, and I love it! Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters felt almost old-fashioned in its tone, but for some reason I enjoyed the book all the more because of it. The dated feel perfectly matched the manner in which the girls were raised (to be proper young ladies, of course!). Standiford also did an excellent job of connecting all three perspectives—each girl reveals a bit more about the overall story, yet nothing really feels repetitive.

I think the best part about Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters is the slight mystery. I kept trying to guess which girl had offended their grandmother most, and I was really surprised at who it actually was! Though the ending was a bit confusing (and kind of humorous), I felt satisfied after finishing the book.

Overall, Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters is a beautifully-written story told in three different perspectives. Each perspective offered something new, and the guessing game as to who offended the Almighty will keep readers hooked. show less

After their extremely rich grandmother, "Almighty", has declared that unless she gets an apology her family would be removed from her will. Each girl's confession letter then appears in the book with details of three very different sisters and their "transgressions" against their grandmother. A fun read which reminded me a little of the Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks.

Standiford does an excellent job of capturing the voices of the three sisters whose confessions are revealed herein. Each of them is distinct and seems very age appropriate in their behavior, mannerisms and language.
Interestingly, a friend and I were just talking about how different people can perceive the same situation in a different way, and as the sisters narrate their experiences during the same time period, each with their own point of view, we are able to develop a more accurate picture of what might really have happened. The issues each of the sisters are facing a realistic and engaging, except, perhaps, for Sassy...I didn't really get her whole immortality predilection. Her portion of the book was the shortest, and I didn't show more really get to know her as well as Norrie and Jane. I did genuinely like each of the main characters and would read about them again. I am interested to know more about the three brothers in the family...sequel, anyone?
As an aside, I have been reading the Gossip Girl series lately, and wanted to remark that it was nice to see some rich east-coast teenagers behaving with a little bit more decorum. show less

In Natalie Standiford's newest novel, "Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters", a wealthy Baltimore family, the Sullivans, risks losing their trust fund income if one of their members doesn't "confess" an offense to the family matriarch. Certain that the offender is one of three teenage daughters, each girl sets out to explain their erratic behavior of the several months prior. The confessions are made to their grandmother, known to the entire community as "Almighty". She is the one threatening to disinherit them. The bulk of the story, then, are three first-person "confessions", one from each of the girls, and each daughter, determined not to have their entire family suffer for their actions, tell all.

There are a lot of things to like show more about this book. In many ways, it is a gentle departure from much recent teen lit. It isn't overly sexy, or paranormal, or terribly angst-filled. While cleanly maintaining contemporary elements, such as parties, Internet blogging, friend-feuds, and a fair amount of vapidity, it also gently roots for morality: loyalty, family, humility, forgiveness, and repentance. What Standiford does well, is create likeable, distinct characters, and in the case of the book's three main narrators, distinct voice.

What may be disappointing to some readers is the lack of "shock value" regarding the girls' confessions. None of their particular "sins" seems terribly bad (although, I think that may be the point), certainly not being disinherited. So though it is an engaging story, it doesn't contain as much inner tension as many popular teen books have led readers to expect. There are no vampires or werewolves here, but several times Standiford suggests a bit of a mystery, perhaps even something magical, in each story. Again, these items are very subtly, though deliberately, placed.

There are allegorical elements here: "confessing" to the "Almighty"; transforming and mysterious power of love; the limits to our understanding of history, self and others, and thus the need for personal humility; and the tense juxtaposition of life and death. These are big philosophical ideas, but neatly and accessibly woven into a this story. I liked this book and would recommend it. show less

Simply Scandalous! Norrie, Jane and Sassy Sullivan are about to spill all. After their grandmother, Almighty, told everyone that unless the person who gravely offended her confesses in writing before New Years, the entire Sullivan family will be cut from her will. Everyone knows that it must be one of the three girls that did it, so the three girls spill all in confession letters that hold nothing back.

I was afraid going into this that it was going to be a Gossip Girl knock off, of the stuck up lives of the insanely rich. I couldn't have been more wrong. Each girl's personalities are so richly portrayed that you can't help but love each of them, (although Sassy was my favorite). As each girl tells her tale they begin to confess to love show more taking over, disdain for everyone around them, especially their family, and even murder.

I flew through this book in one days time. Each sister pulled me in and had me dying to figure out what would happen next. The ending was shocking and completely hilarious. I even had to read the last few pages out loud to my brother because I was laughing so hard he had to know what was so funny! I definitely recommend this one to all YA lovers! show less

Review based on ARC.

The past several months of my life were crazy, and I was looking to a book to allow me full "escape" privileges. Because this book did not quite allow that (I will explain), I was harder on it when first reading it than is fair. In the end, it completely redeemed itself, even to my judgmental eyes.

The book has been criticized as being unrelatable because the characters are "poor little rich girls" living experiences that normal teens do not share. I actually do not agree (though at first I did). And I say this as someone who did not grow up around wealth.

The book is broken into 4 sections. One appears at the beginning and end, and is the essential narration establishing the reason behind the other three sections, show more which are confessions written by/from the perspective of the three eldest girls in a family of 6 children, all grandchildren to the Almighty Lou. Almighty has threatened to disinherit the family because a member of the family has deeply "offended her." The family (the 6 kids & their 2 parents) determine that the three eldest girls are the most likely culprits, and they set out to write their confessions.

The first confession is by Norrie, the eldest girl. This is the part that I can see most people criticizing as "poor little rich girl." This is the weakest part of the book, but a lot of necessary background information comes out in this section, setting up the rest of the book for the more interesting narrations. Norrie is the well-behaved daughter until she meets a boy in graduate school in an evening speed-reading class and falls for him, throwing all caution to the wind, including her family's reputation. This is the part of the book that, while I was going through my own difficulties in life, which were significantly more overwhelming than meeting some guy and not knowing what to do about it, made me annoyed and frustrated that I had to read a book with a vapid protagonist. However, the writing was good enough that the reading was quick and easy and I got through Norrie's tale in due time.

And Jane's story, the second eldest daughter, is much more interesting than Norrie's. If other readers are annoyed by Norrie's story, I recommend at least giving Jane a chance. This is where the story begins to have some interest. Not only is Jane more relatable, but she is interesting and is a dynamic character. Where Norrie's story had the tone of a defensive teenager who just wanted to convince her Almighty Grandmother that her path was the right path, Jane explains her reasoning, but the reader actually sees movement in her character and personality. Much more enjoyable. Even if Jane is not relatable, she is at least interesting!

The worst part of the remainder of the book is that, by the end of Jane's story, I already knew what Sassy's confession would be. So I assumed the remainder of the book would be completely predictable. However, while I was right about her essential confession, I was pleased with the story and the development of her character and others in the book. I was particularly impressed with Standiford's representation of Cassandra (Sassy's tuttee) & their relationship.

And the end, which encompassed the final few pages of Almighty receiving the confessions and her reaction to them, was satisfying and even moving.

My opinion of the book completely changed by the end. When I receive books directed at a high school audience through the early reviewer program, I read the book w/ an awareness of the intended audience. That being said, I would highly recommend the book to junior high & high school girls. I would also recommend the book to older women who are looking for a little escape and perhaps a little reminiscence of their own high school days. show less