Review: Then I Met My Sister by Christine Hurley Deriso

It's not exactly easy living in a shrine to your dead sister. Since birth, I've known that everyone loved Shannon. She was perfect--beautiful, smart, talented. And me? Not so much. My parents always expected me to live up to her greatness. But I could never measure up to her, so why even try? 


This summer, I've started reading the journal Shannon kept just before she died . . . and suddenly nothing is what I thought it was. The more secrets I learn about Shannon and our family, the more everything changes. And as it turns out, facing the truth is no cakewalk, either. 

My Review: 

This book had a very unique-sounding premise.  I put it on my TBR, and I just got around to reading.  I found it to be a very enjoyable read.  I kept reading it to learn the stories of both Summer and Shannon.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS

The idea behind this story was very unique.  There are many YA books that have protagonists with a dead sibling, but, in those books, the protagonist has actually met his or her sibling.  In this book, Summer was born after her sister Shannon died.  Her parents had thought Shannon was perfect, and they were so upset about her death that they went and had another child.  This child, Summer, feels like she can never live up to Shannon.  Her parents hold Shannon on a pedestal, and Summer's few achievements pale in comparison.

Before her senior year, Summer is given her sister's journal.  Her Aunt Nic had found it in Shannon's old room.  Summer decides to read it since she feels like she doesn't really know her sister.  As she reads the journal, she discovers that her perception of Shannon is not accurate.  Shannon may not have been as perfect as she had been made out to be.

One awesome character in this book was Gibs.  He was Summer's smart, hard-working friend.  He was a boy who was new to the school.  He was a great friend to her, encouraging her to read Shannon's journal.  Summer's first-person narrative makes it clear that she has feelings for him (as more than a friend), but she doesn't know if he returns the feelings.  I loved watching their relationship progress.

If you like YA contemporary, read this book.

Katie