Book Review: All for a Sister
By: Allison Pittman
Genre: Fiction/Christian/Historical
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Publication Date: July 1, 2014
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars (very good)
Pros: Different way of writing, interesting storyline, suspenseful, good character development
Cons: Incorrect punctuation sometimes confused things, sometimes things in the story were ambiguous, the story occasionally lagged
By: Allison Pittman
Genre: Fiction/Christian/Historical
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Publication Date: July 1, 2014
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars (very good)
Pros: Different way of writing, interesting storyline, suspenseful, good character development
Cons: Incorrect punctuation sometimes confused things, sometimes things in the story were ambiguous, the story occasionally lagged
Celeste DuFrane is a young Hollywood star with her life and acting career ahead of her. Starting young in the acting world, her scientific father’s work with color film brought her into the right Hollywood circles. Her mother’s objections to Celeste’s acting never stops her from pursuing her goals, but she never understands the real reasons behind her mother’s melancholy and heartbroken state throughout her life. Dana Lungdren, unjustly accused of murdering Mrs. DuFrane’s infant daughter (Celeste’s older sister), has spent most of her life in the Bridewell House of Corrections. She never stops writing letters to the judge who sent her there, pleading for justice. No news of her mother, no response from the judge, and a cruel prison matron create a life of near torture for sweet Dana. When she is unexpectedly released many years later, she finds that she is left an inheritance of half of the DuFrane estate, and Celeste DuFrane was left the other half. Her amazement and shock that the cruel woman who sent her to prison for a crime she didn’t commit is masked by her gratitude to finally be free. While Celeste attempts to bring Dana into society, they discover some shocking truths about Mrs. DuFrane and Dana’s beloved mother through the written confession of Mrs. Marguerite DuFrane.
All for a Sister is written in a very interesting style. The story is written almost backwards, as it starts out near the end of the story, and then goes backwards into the past. Throughout the book the reader is given chapter spurts of Celeste’s past, Dana’s past, Mrs. DuFrane’s written confession, and the present. Only little pieces of the mystery are given at a time. Because of this, it becomes a hard one to put down because you are constantly being fed little bits of the mystery. The plot was well thought out, and the story had a twist that was pretty unexpected. The different style of the chapters was refreshing and made a nice variety that you don’t normally find in the chapters of books. The characters, especially Dana Lungdren, are so easy to care about. I felt sorry for poor Dana throughout the chapters explaining her past life in prison. Caring for Dana made Mrs. DuFrane look like a terrible monster, but throughout her confession I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her almost. Her bitterness and anger turned her into a cruel person who only cared about herself and her revenge on Dana. Reading her confession, however, proved that she was just miserable with herself, and it made me wish she had just forgiven Dana and lived a much happier life. All the characters throughout the book are well developed, including the minor characters which gives the story more depth. The setting, the Roaring Twenties in Hollywood, is not frequently used which I really enjoyed. I liked that the book wasn’t just set in Hollywood, but actually discussed the experimentation with color film and Celeste’s acting in movies.
Quotation marks occasionally caused confusion. Sometimes they were there, and sometimes they weren’t. Sometimes they were just misplaced. It caused confusion and sometimes I had to reread sections to make sure I knew who was talking. Occasional ambiguous statements were confusing as well, but this wasn’t frequent. Sometimes the chapters dealing with the present were a bit uninteresting because I just wanted to find out what had happened in the past with the mystery. That could be just me though, because it wasn’t necessarily like the author was just filling in space (at least not most of the time).
All for a Sister is a great historical fiction book with a mystery twist. I will most likely be reading it again, and will recommend it. It is definitely written differently than other books I have read, and that made it even more likable.
All for a Sister is written in a very interesting style. The story is written almost backwards, as it starts out near the end of the story, and then goes backwards into the past. Throughout the book the reader is given chapter spurts of Celeste’s past, Dana’s past, Mrs. DuFrane’s written confession, and the present. Only little pieces of the mystery are given at a time. Because of this, it becomes a hard one to put down because you are constantly being fed little bits of the mystery. The plot was well thought out, and the story had a twist that was pretty unexpected. The different style of the chapters was refreshing and made a nice variety that you don’t normally find in the chapters of books. The characters, especially Dana Lungdren, are so easy to care about. I felt sorry for poor Dana throughout the chapters explaining her past life in prison. Caring for Dana made Mrs. DuFrane look like a terrible monster, but throughout her confession I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her almost. Her bitterness and anger turned her into a cruel person who only cared about herself and her revenge on Dana. Reading her confession, however, proved that she was just miserable with herself, and it made me wish she had just forgiven Dana and lived a much happier life. All the characters throughout the book are well developed, including the minor characters which gives the story more depth. The setting, the Roaring Twenties in Hollywood, is not frequently used which I really enjoyed. I liked that the book wasn’t just set in Hollywood, but actually discussed the experimentation with color film and Celeste’s acting in movies.
Quotation marks occasionally caused confusion. Sometimes they were there, and sometimes they weren’t. Sometimes they were just misplaced. It caused confusion and sometimes I had to reread sections to make sure I knew who was talking. Occasional ambiguous statements were confusing as well, but this wasn’t frequent. Sometimes the chapters dealing with the present were a bit uninteresting because I just wanted to find out what had happened in the past with the mystery. That could be just me though, because it wasn’t necessarily like the author was just filling in space (at least not most of the time).
All for a Sister is a great historical fiction book with a mystery twist. I will most likely be reading it again, and will recommend it. It is definitely written differently than other books I have read, and that made it even more likable.
I received a complimentary copy of All For a Sister from Tyndale House Publishers through The Christian Manifesto in exchange for my honest review. The opinions stated are my own.
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