Jeannie Zusy

A not-quite-divorced, not-quite-empty-nester reluctantly takes on the responsibility of caring for her developmentally disabled sister in this debut novel, which is not quite the downer it could have been.

There are flashes of humor throughout, and the sister's character is unexpectedly complex and never even begins to approach Sappy Hallmark Movie territory. The story is told from the POV of Maggie, the youngest sister, who's trying to keep her head above water as a freelance graphic designer, coax her younger son through his junior year of high school, and deal with her anger at the breakup of her marriage. As if she didn't have enough on the drawing board, her special-needs older sister has been hospitalized with life-threatening complications to her unmanaged diabetes and it's obvious that she won't be able to continue living independently.

(Barrel of laughs so far, eh?) It's when the fiercely stubborn Ginny is released from the hospital and moved into the rehab / assisted living facility Maggie has found that things start to ramp up. Ginny doesn't want to give up her home, her car, or her sugar habit. The two are at loggerheads throughout most of the book, with Maggie trying to protect her sister from the poor judgment that has brought them to this point, and Ginny seeing the whole thing as punitive and unfair. The family drama gets cranked up by the mostly-offstage presence of their older sister, who appears to be living The Good Life as a professional surfer in Malibu.

Zusy has a deft hand here, weaving together backstory of the three sisters, each of whom has very different memories of the same childhood and showing how those self-perceptions created the women each one is at the beginning of the book. It takes a frightening glimpse of mortality and a couple of unexpected curveballs to realign the relationship.

It's pretty much a quick read, lifted above the mawkish by Zusy's complex characterization of Ginny, whose needs and demands drive most of the plot. She's not always lovable -- a brave choice, since fictional characters living with special needs are often presented as one-dimensional household saints, dealing bravely and uncomplainingly with their trials (cue the violins, please) until the angels come to carry them sweetly home. Ginny is manipulative, sly, secretive, slothful, and apparently bent on self-destruction. She's also a human being who has dreams and hopes and needs, but who lacks many of the tools required to fulfill them.

By the end of the book, not everyone has gotten what they thought they wanted at the novel's beginning. But no one is precisely where she was then, and "living the dream" has undergone some adjustments without quite losing all its sparkles.… (meer)

Maggie's older sister, Ginny, is intellectually disabled, and when she needs care, Maggie moves Ginny to NY to live near her. She becomes a caregiver for Ginny, but Ginny doesn't want Maggie's help-resisting her suggestions at every turn. Maggie is a mess, agonizing over her decisions, her children, her job, her ex-husband, her love life. Maggie means well, but doesn't seem to have a great handle on things.
Ginny loves sweets but she is diabetic, which increases her risks. She also loves a dog, Rascal, and a baby doll. She is also known to place orders on Amazon, and has an obsession with hot men and sex.
The story also touches on another sister, Bets, who lives in CA, and isn't keen on the idea of Maggie taking Ginny to NY.
Some funny moments, but I tired of the mess that Maggie was. The sweet part was the love the sisters had for each other.… (meer)

3.5***

This is a novel of family in which the key events are the kinds of everyday disasters many families must deal with: a hospitalization, a teenager learning to drive, an accident, a holiday dinner that goes awry.

The three Frederick sisters are: Betsy, a professional surfer; Virginia (Ginny), a mentally challenged diabetic; and Maggie, the youngest and most dependable. The book begins when Maggie gets a call from the ER in Maryland, informing her that Ginny has apparently overdosed on strawberry Jell-O. Rushing south from her New York home, Maggie quickly understands that Ginny can really no longer live alone, and brings both Maggie and her large, occasionally aggressive, dog back to the Hudson Valley town where Maggie lives with her teenaged sons.

The family dynamics in this book are spot on. Ginny may have some intellectual disabilities, but she is a master manipulator, quickly knowing her sisters’ weak spots and how best to get to them. She is stubborn and insistent on getting her own way. Maggie is dealing with a failing marriage and two sons she can’t quite control. And she has taken on the “parental” role in regard to Ginny. Who else will do it? Not Betsy, who took off for California and the life of a celebrity surfer just as soon as she could. But while Maggie is focusing her energies on how best to help her sister (who seems to not want any help), she is ignoring her own needs and issues.

The side characters, especially home health aides Philomena and Lika, are wonderfully drawn. They both observe and subtly (or not so subtly) change the family dynamic with a word or determined act. And Maggie’s sons, especially Leo, are real charmers.

It’s a lovely debut and I look forward to reading Zusy’s next novel.… (meer)