One of the greatest aspects of siblings is having someone in your corner to go through life with. Siblings know you in a way no one else can: you grew up together, share the same trauma, and walk through life together. So, when you have a sibling who chooses to walk through life without you — there is no greater pain.
This list of books showcases dysfunctional sibling relationships. If you have a strained relationship with a sibling, you might find some comfort in knowing you aren’t alone.
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
William Waters grew up with parents who could hardly look at him, so he wasn’t exactly showered with love as a child. During his freshman year of college, he meets Julia Padavano, a spirited and ambitious woman who comes with an incredibly close family, including three sisters. Finding solace with the Padavano family, William has finally found what he’s been searching for.
But when darkness from William’s past is brought to light, not only are Julia’s plans for their future put at risk, but also the sisters’ devotion to one another is put to the test. This results in a catastrophic rift in the family that will change their lives forever. Author Ann Napolitano pays an exquisite homage to the timeless classic, Little Women. Hello Beautiful is a profoundly moving portrait of what is possible when we choose to love someone not in spite of who they are but because of it.
My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Korede’s sister Ayoola is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, and possibly sociopathic. Now Ayoola’s third boyfriend in a row is dead, stabbed through the heart with Ayoola’s knife. Luckily for Ayoola, Korede is good in a crisis so she takes charge by bleaching the murder weapon, moving the body, and reigning her sister in from posting in Instagram when she should be in “mourning” the death of her beloved boyfriend.
For the longest time, Korede has been in love with a doctor at the hospital where she works, and she has been longing for the day he will finally wake up and realize she has been what he’s been missing. One day when he asks Korede for her sister’s number, she is forced to face the person her sister has become and how far she is willing to go to protect her.
Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
The Blue sisters couldn’t be more different. The oldest, Avery, is a recovering heroin addict turned strait-laced lawyer living in London. Bonnie is a former boxer now working as a bouncer in Los Angeles, and the youngest, Lucky, is a model in Paris. They had a fourth sister, Nicky, whose unexpected death has left these sisters reeling. A year following Nicky’s death, the Blue sisters return to New York to stop the sale of the apartment they were raised in.
They find the saying “you can’t go home again” to be true as each sister reckons with the disappointments of their childhood while mourning the loss of the one thread that tied them all together. While this is a story ultimately about grief, author Coco Mellors imbues this book with her signature combination of humor and heart. Blue Sisters is a story about what it takes to keep living after loss, showing that it’s possible to fall in love with life again.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Growing up together in a small southern Black community, the Vignes identical twin sisters run away at 16, and every aspect of their lives becomes different — their families, community and even racial identity. Several years later, one sister is living with her daughter in the same southern town she escaped from, while the other is secretly passing for white and her husband knows nothing about her past.
Even though they are living completely separate lives, the fates of the twins are still intertwined when their daughters’ storylines meet, weaving together multiple generations of this family from the deep South to the coast of California from the 1950s to 1990s. The Vanishing Half is an engrossing page-turner about twin sisters who were inseparable as children and chose to live in two different worlds: one Black, one white.
She Taught Me Everything by Amy Smith Linton
It’s Nicola and Viv together against the world. These sisters were abandoned by their parents, and as the older sister, Viv took on the responsibility with determination to get them through it. All things considered, they both turned out well. Viv has her own surgical practice while younger sister Nicola is an artist taking painting gigs. They took very different career paths, but remain close with weekly phone calls.
Unfortunately, after a car wreck leaves Viv widowed and in a coma, it’s now up to Nicole to take the reins to take care of her big sister. While waiting for her sister to wake up, Nicola discovers that her sister has been keeping secrets about their past and about their parents and it’s up to her to start planning for their future. She Taught Me Everything explores family secrets, the unshakeable bond between sisters, and the choices that redefine the shape of a family.
