Maggie gets a call from the ER in Maryland where her older sister lives, the cracks start to appear. Ginny, her sugar-loving and diabetic older sister with intellectual disabilities, has overdosed on strawberry Jell-O. Maggie knows Ginny really can’t live on her own, so she brings her sister and her occasionally vicious dog to live near her in upstate New York. Their other sister, Betsy, is against the idea but as a professional surfer, she is conveniently thousands of miles away.

I struggled with this one. It's slow, it's pretty uneventful. Every single character was unlikeable. I found myself getting very annoyed. I feel like others may find this funny and charming. It's not for me though.

Thank you NetGalley, the author, Atria Books and for the gifted e-book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Jeannie Zusy for allowing me to read the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

I requested this book after publication date, so this review is a little late! But, definitely worth waiting for.

Imagine your well-run life, raising two boys on your own, going along just as you have planned until the day you get the phone call-your challenged older sister has overdosed on Strawberry Jell-O and needs a place for her and her cranky dog to stay until she recovers. Other sister Betsy, surfer, has no desire to take on this challenge and up-end her life. Sound familiar?

So, pack up the van, the sister and her sweets, wheelchair, snarling dog, and head off to an adventure that willl keep you laughing and entertained for a long time!

This book left me very conflicted, mainly because I really wanted to love it.

The complicated relationship between these sisters was definitely interesting to read about, I just wish the format of this book was set up better to support that. This read more of a stream of consciousness then a story with a plot, and that made it very slow at times and sometimes confusing to understand where we were and where the story was going.

This one was just okay. The beginning had me intrigued but it took me a long time to get through because there were no chapters and it just felt like the book was dragging. I started to like the book more and more until I felt like the main character starting making decisions and doing things that were completely out of character. There were also some very cringey and very unnecessary parts (tw: animal death for NO reason, SA jokes that didn’t contribute to the story in any way other than being vulgar)

Overall, this book was middle of the road. Definitely forgettable and I probably won’t be recommending to anyone due to the unnecessary tw thrown around in the book.

wow! I absolutely loved this book. It was heartwarming, charming, funny, sad. I related to the sister dynamic so much and it felt like a therapy session and warm hug reading it and rooting for Maggie and Ginny.

Jeannie Zusy has written a novel inspired by her personal experience of caring for a developmentally disabled sibling. When Ginny is found unconscious in her Maryland home, Maggie realizes its time to move her sister closer to her home in NY. Ginny progresses through a rehab/nursing home to a home of her own with aides. Maggie also is dealing with a teenage son, a college-aged son, an ex-husband and a demanding job. Zusy does a great job of describing the negative aspects of caregiving with the positive rewards of the same. She fully develops relationships between the characters. There is pathos coupled with humor. As someone who works in Special Olympics, I especially appreciated her ability to show the many facets of caring for handicapped adults. I found this book engaging and enjoyable. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This was promising but it fell apart as it went on. I just didn’t care for Maggie and having the whole book be only from her perspective wore me down.

Zusy definitely catches the plight of the caregiver, showing just how difficult it can be to take care of family. Unfortunately for me the story took a bit too long to come together and while the characters are complex, there was too much emphasis on Maggie overshadowing Ginny and Betsy. There were some great moments, but I wished they’d happened sooner! Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Every family has its has is issues, and when Ginny (who is an individual with an intellectual disability) is sent to the ER for a sugar overdose, amoung other issues, Maggie knows it's time to intervene. She packs Ginny up and moves her from Maryland to New York. And that is where the story begins, as Maggie, turing herself into a caretaker, while going through a separation with her husband and trying to help her two boys stay on the right path.

This book has a two sisters who push each other's buttons, a family that is falling apart, and the makings of a great book. The writing was good and the tone of the book has points of inspiration. I was expecting more humor, but didn't find that in here. The book was slow moving with 4 parts, instead of your "typical" chapters, making it harder for me to get into. The book did a great job of showing the challenges that famines face and how different people handle this stress or life changes.

I rate this book as 2 🌟!

I'd like to say a huge thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The Frederick Sisters Are Living the Dream by Jeannie Zusy was a novel with so many emotions. Following the three Frederick Sisters we find that the oldest is our living her dream life while the middle sister is forced to leave her home and be cared for by her younger sister because of some health problems. This book will pull at your heartstrings but there are definitely some lighter and funnier parts. I love stories about sisters and really enjoyed this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

A moving story about a sister caring for her disabled sister and all the challenges that come with it. Moving story about balancing life with caring for a loved one, with some fun elements weaved it. Worth reading to see how the relationship between the sisters develops and the lessons learned in between.

A moving and emotional story dealing with many family issues. Maggie’s is the youngest of three sisters. Her older sister, Bets, moved away from home and never looked back. The middle sister is Ginny, a woman who is intellectually disabled but was able to be independent until a diabetic coma put her in the hospital. Maggie decides to bring her sister closer, where she can take care of her after she leaves rehab. There is much to unpack here, as Maggie is dealing with a separation from her husband, her sons leaving home, and the stress of caring for Ginny. The book also serves as an ode to caretakers, as the work of Ginny’s two caretakers enables her to live in her own home. Its an interesting book but not easy to read. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really really wanted to like this one, especially since it's a debut, AND a story about sisters. Unfortunately it fell very flat and I gave up about 100 pages in. It might have ended up being a 3-star read, but I couldn't push through it to find out. I'm not against revisiting this at another time, but I'm shelving it for now.

Heartwarming and cheerful. A good antidote to reading the news.
Thank you to netgalley for the e-review copy of this book.

When I started this book, I was skeptical and wondering what I had gotten myself into. But oh man, it quickly stole my heart! This was unique and emotional. I found the writing style to be quirky but fitting for the sisters and their shenanigans. There were some sections that skipped ahead in the timeline, and I feel the reader missed out on certain events when we just got a recap. But overall, this was an incredible story and I’m glad I stuck with it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book started out strong but then there was so much going on in it that it felt a little overwhelming. I guess the same can be true with life. It was really good and I liked the sister dynamics. Especially, when one sister is caring for another with special needs. This book showed how messy life is and the complications of trying to be there for everyone. I like that it showed the struggles of family obligation and expectations.

Overall, a great story that will make you laugh and cry and I would recommend this book to anyone.

The summary of this book says it all and I found it to be spot on accurate. It truly was funny yet moving, and I love the focus on family dynamics and relationships. I adore Ginny. I love how she is straightforward and frank, and combined with her quirky likes and addictions, she is just so compelling to read about. She made me chuckle and I got such a kick out of her. The novel was not all humor, the frustrations that Maggie experienced was also a key focus, and it was easy to feel her emotions while reading about her new demands on top of everything else she had going on. I can see how being a caretaker for Ginny was frustrating at times, but the true bond between the sisters was evident, especially as the book progressed. I really enjoyed reading this one. It had a little bit of everything in it and was a very easy and quick read for me.

There are so many delightful layers to this story. Maggie is going through a separation, trying to parent her two sons, manage her freelance business and starting to date. Then she gets a call that her older sister is in the ER from a sugar overdose. Her sister is a little slow, diabetic, addicted to sugar and porn ( a girl needs some fun, I about fell off my chair laughing!!!) Their oldest sister lives on the West Coast and is not much help. Maggie moves Ginny closer to her and thus begins the tale. There were so many things I could relate to and the biggest is I think many of us women feel like we need to save our little corner of our world. When most of our families would probably like us to lighten up and have some fun. Take some time and have fun with this one!

This started off strong for me but kind of fell off about a third of the way through. I wanted to love, but my interest just wasn’t piqued enough to continue. DNF for me!

I have not done any research into Jeannie Zusy's persona life, but this book tells me that she has sisters. And within the dynamics of the Frederick Sisters, she has very capably described the unique dynamic that can only exist between sisters, the squabbling, the unconditional love and frustration, and the knowledge that you will always have someone in your corner who simply understands. Her depiction of the added gifts of having a sibling with intellectual disabilities is handled deftly and with compassion and left me feeling gratified and comforted. A well-written story that will hold many truths for those who proceed with an open heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.