⭐⭐.75

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Press for sending me an ARC in return for an honest review

The Shred Sisters is a story that follows Amy Shred throughout her life as she tries to understand and cope with her older sister Olivia or Ollie. As the cautious and collected Shred sister, she is a stark difference from Ollie, who’s mystique could only mask her mental illness for so long until it came crashing down on Amy’s meticulously created world.

Lerner’s writing is fast paced, which kept me interested in the mostly plot driven story, however I wished that the reader would’ve had more time to understand Amy as a character. Sometimes it felt like the reader was looking over Amy’s shoulder as she scanned the Sunday newspaper. I thought that because the novel was categorized as a family drama, I would get to truly know Amy as if she was a real person, but, even at the end of the novel, I didn’t feel any connection to her or any of the other characters. Amy was always at an arm's length and I think for this reason, I didn’t really care about how Ollie’s actions affected Amy which overall influenced how I enjoyed the story.

Though this novel wasn’t entirely my cup of tea, I appreciated how Lerner did not shy away from creating unlikable characters. She didn’t sugar coat all of the mistakes that Ollie, and even Amy, made and how it affected those around them. I just wish we had gotten to know Amy and Ollie on a deeper level. I wanted to feel the emotions that Amy was feeling, and instead got the sparknotes of her therapy sessions.

Shred Sisters would be perfect for readers who want to know what’s happening with the peculiar neighbors above but don’t actually want to invite them over for tea.

Two very different sisters and their relationship with each other. Heartfelt and beautifully written.. thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

Shred Sister is a book that focuses in the family dynamics, especially the sisters, hence the title, and how they are affected when one of the members of the family has a mental illness.

The story is told by Amy's point of view, Amy is the little sister that always follows the rules, the shy and quiet one, while Olivia is unpredictable and always stealing the spotlight.

Their dynamic felt extremely real, the book makes sure that they are portrayed as real people, they both make mistakes, and you as a reader are tempted to talk them into some sense at various points of the story. And I really like when a book makes me feel that, it's like I personally know these characters and only want the best for them.

If there's one thing that I didn't quite like it's the ending. For all the realism and nuance that there's with Olivia's mental health, I felt that the ending was a bit rushed and that things got solved too quick.

Overall I enjoyed this book, at first it was a little bit slow for my liking, but then the pacing picks up and from there on I couldn't stop reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Press for the ARC!

I was drawn into this family drama immediately. From the get go, we experience the Shred family dynamics through younger sister Amy’s eyes, and see Amy’s relationship with her idol/bully/unpredictable big sister Olivia shift and change as they grow up from youth through to adulthood. The first half of the story was slow but rich with context and characterization, really building out the family members and exploring their flaws. Later in Amy’s life the pacing jumped around a bit but I didn’t mind too much, I really liked how we got to see how Amy grew into herself and her perspective changed. Overall I quite enjoyed this one!

A touching story of someone you may know with mental health issues and/or addiction. I found the love between the sisters so beautiful. Reading through the years of their lives was really interesting to see the polar opposites and where they paths landed.
I didn’t love this authors writing style which was a little jumpy and hard to follow at times. Overall I’d recommend.

Tender, sharp and beautiful, containing the raw and honest truth of sisterhood.
This is a must read for anyone who loved Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors.

Shred Sisters is an engaging and relatable novel that offers an easy yet profound read. The story revolves around two sisters, capturing the complexities of their relationship, especially in the context of one sister grappling with mental illness. The narrative is raw, honest, and deeply real, presenting the challenges and triumphs of the characters in a way that feels genuine and heartfelt. As a reader, you can't help but care about the characters, rooting for them as they navigate their personal struggles and growth. This book is a poignant exploration of sisterhood, mental health, and resilience.

Very well-written family saga centering on two very different sisters- one rule-follower, one button pusher. Despite growing up with the same parental parameters, Amy and Ollie continue to grow apart due to Ollie’s erratic behavior. As the years go by, Amy has to learn to detach her happiness from Ollie’s mental health and well-being. I loved this sisterhood journey.

Hope and Heartbreak
I was gifted the #arc of Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner from Grove Press and Netgalley.
The book focuses around Olivia (Ollie) and Amy Shred, two sisters who couldn’t be more opposite. Where Olivia steals the spotlight, Amy is calm and cautious. Where Ollie is wild and unpredictable, Amy follows the rules and longs to find a place in life.
The story follows Amy over 20 years, as she comes of age, settles on a school, a career and wades through a series of troubled relationships. The bond she shares with her sister is tested, over and over again, as Ollie always finds a way of turning everything on its head.
The quote on the book “No one will love you more or hurt you more than a sister.” And this book really does a good job of helping the reader feel that. Relationships with family can be messy and nuanced and hard and easy and familiar and the bonds so strong that it’s hard to think clearly.
As a mom of two girls, I read this book with such trepidation. I don’t have a sister, but I learned the joy and frustration that layers a sisterly bond. The ways in which love and loss can create different forks in the relationship and how mental health impacts everyone in a family.
Told from Amy’s POV, the book does such a beautiful job of showing the intracies of these family relationships, the raw, the real and the remarkable.
While the beginning was slow to hook me, I think Lerner did her job in helping to lay the foundation of the family dynamic, before taking us on an emotional ride that Amy, her mother and father take, as they orbit around Ollie and her mental illness and addiction issues.
I give this book three and a half stars. It was touching and messy and did an honest job of showing the struggles families face in light of mental illness. Thank you @GrovePress and @netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. Shred Sisters is due to hit bookshelves October 1, 2024.

#bookreview #booksof2024 #shredsisters #betsylerner #grovepress #netgalley #comingofage #mentalhealth #familylife #advancereadercopy #womenauthors #reader #bookstagram #bookworm #bookthoughts #bookaddict #bookrecommendations #literaryfication

“No one will love you or hurt you more than a sister.”

"Shred Sisters" delves into the impact of mental illness on family dynamics. Olivia's condition throws the Shreds into turmoil. We experience the story through the eyes of younger sister Amy, witnessing her navigate life throughout it all.

As someone with a sister, I was excited to read this book. It had an intriguing premise, and it had so much potential. While the premise hooked me, the story's execution faltered. I find the execution of the story lacking and flat. The narrative jumps around, hindering the smooth flow of the story. The characters, while I did love how flawed they are as it made them more human, were not developed well, especially Amy. There were too many missed opportunities to flesh out the characters. I would have loved to see more breakthroughs from the characters during the therapy sessions– it would have been good to see the behaviors and traumas being addressed. Moreover, adding Olivia's point of view could have enriched the portrayal of their complex bond. While I understand that this cycle that the storyline shows is realistic, it lacks the character reflection that would have resonated with readers.

While the book offers a glimpse into the complexities of mental illness within a family, a deeper exploration of the relationships and the characters' behaviors could have elevated the story. Thank you to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the ARC.

Reviews posted on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6670719838) and Instagram story.

Shred Sisters is a novel tender with raw emotions.
It feld like wind blowing on a freshly scraped knee during child, like opening your mouth to bitterly reply but then just giving up, families are hard to change, I deeply appreciated Lerner's ability in creating an engaging prose that made me turn the page far quicker and for a longer period of time that I usualy read for, I was hooked on the Shred Sisters' complicated and heartbreakingly human lives. I also appreciated and was captivated by how realistic every character in the novel was, it felt like reading a non-fiction memoir as the feelings described resonated with me, the author crystallized perfectly the disappointment of a neglected child and the repercussions that that can have on a life.
I came to care profoundly about the fate of Amy and was on edge every time that Ollie was mentioned.
At times the narration could feel too prolongued as in the middle section of the novel the rapid succesion of Amy's relationships felt too rushed and not flashed out enough.
Overall I think that it is admirable how attached to the characters Lerner was able to make me feel, the characterisation was perfectly done and the prose was both easy to read and engaging enough to make me not want to put the book down.

The story is written from a point of view of a younger sister who grew up in the shadow of her elder sister who got the beauty, the charm, the style, the everything including the parents. It’s sad. Very sad.

She’s got the brain though, but what could she possibly do and how could she actually be proud of herself when she also got the low self-esteem and the issues sparked from ‘I am never enough’ and ‘will I ever be loved’.

I also wonder why parents like to favor the one who always screw up and never the one who cleans up the mess the favored one made. but in this case, her elder sister has created a lot of troubles, and she is actually diagnosed with mental illnesses as well. it was not portrayed as she has struggled with them but she’s actually owning and manipulating well enough she’s mostly taking everything by storm.

When a family member suffers, it’s true that every member also suffers in their own ways (with different coping mechanisms and ways of putting up) and sometimes they fall apart. Sometimes it only takes one person and a lifetime of consequential unpredictability.

The plot has a lot of ups and downs because of you-know-why.

But one thing i took was sometimes our elder sibling plays the role of parent which leads to being an element of influence to the system of making small or big decision in our life. Even though they might not act like a good parent. Even though they might not be a great older sister. Even though their voices might not be very nice.

And even when you reach certain age and wonderful things happen at your feet, you rather kick them all out because you feel like you don’t deserve to be loved. Because you never got a chance to learn what it’s like to be loved.

At some point, we got to admit that people we used to look up when we were young are not even that good. And they might not even be good to themselves either.

However, i really enjoyed this book. It was challenging but the ending was a nice touch. I hope they pull through.

The characters are richly developed, each with their own unique voice and perspective, making them feel real and relatable. Their journeys are fraught with challenges and triumphs, reflecting the complexities of real life. The dialogue is sharp and authentic, further enhancing the believability of the characters and their relationships.

Give me a messy family trauma and sisterly struggle book and I am all in!

Shred Sisters dives into the drastically different and contrasting lives of Olivia “Ollie” and Amy Shred.

Ollie has multiple mental health issues that wreak havoc on an otherwise picture perfect family.
Amy just wants to support and love her sister. We meet her as a child and see her as a people pleaser.

Over the course of decades we see Amy evolve and shed multiple layers while navigating life and difficult relationships.

Though I could not see myself within any of the characters, their complexities will remain with me for a while. Shred Sisters was a thoroughly enjoyable read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for allowing me to read and review Shred Sisters!

I really enjoyed SHRED SISTERS and look forward to more from this author. However, first, I need to get a few things off my chest.

My complaints with this book are as follows. First, the way dialogue is inserted often feels very choppy. At times it's even unclear who is speaking. At other times it would be helpful to add a sentence or two of emotionality. While I understand and admire the desire to be literary and sparse, the choppy dialogue with no emotionality attached to it leaves the reader feeling detached.

Second, the novel's treatment of time is a little bit disjointed. It's as though the author doesn't want to tell us how much time has passed. The most significant example of this is when the dad has a stroke. There's no explanation as to when (as compared to the prior scene) which left me disoriented. Just tell us it's six months after x happened or something like that or give more context clues so that we can orient ourselves.

Okay, now that those complaints are off my chest, I do want to say that I found much to admire in this book. The length and pacing are wonderful. I hope publishers get the message that readers crave these shorter books versus books that have unnecessary filler. I had such a hard time putting SHRED SISTERS down! That is a huge compliment. The narrative is very gripping. Even when it came to ordinary life moments I was extremely invested and anxious for how it would work out.

Finally, the characters are complex and compelling. Amy and Ollie's relationship rings true to life, and the same is true for the mom and dad. The way the parents' marriage is impacted by what's going on with Ollie is heartbreaking but completely realistic. There are several moments in the book that will stick with me for a long time. One is where the mother and Amy are trying on the mother's wedding dress. The mother is a superb character. I enjoyed her so much that I almost want to see a sequel from her point of view. These characters are like real people, which, as an author myself, I know is hard to accomplish. I look forward to reading more from Betsy Lerner, who is clearly very talented.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance review copy; all opinions in this review are entirely my own.

Spanning two decades, Shred Sisters explores Amy's journey toward self-acceptance, revealing that no one will love you more or hurt you more than a sister. With sharp insight and poignant storytelling, Lerner crafts a powerful exploration of the hard-won path between two sisters entwined by love and strife.

3.5 ⭐️

A beautiful story about the consequences of mental health, about the struggles and traumas that come from it and, most of all, about family.

It took me time to get into this story and to organize my thoughts. This a complex and in-depth story where nothing is black and white. The story revolves around Amy and how she deals with her family, specially with her troubled and unpredictable sister, Ollie. Despite excelling academically, Amy struggles to build meaningful relationships with people, probably due to the emotional scars inflicted by her own family. From childhood to adulthood, we get insights on the complexity of the relationship between the two siblings and the overall dynamics of family relationship.

I devoured this book, it kept me hooked from beginning to end, even if the storyline was predictable at times, despite not being able to connect or relate to any of the the characters (I take that as a good sign btw). Amy is an unreliable narrator, she always portrays herself as a victim of her family’s issues and wrongdoings, but she never questions what’s behind that behavior or her own actions, which can be questionable at best at times. I would have loved to see these behaviors and traumas being addressed in therapy. I liked that therapy was portrayed as long term clutch to help with mental health problems, but never as a magic solution. I would have loved to see more of it. I didn’t see the main character developing and the ending seemed to come out of nowhere.

Highly recommend if you’re in a mood for an insightful, deep, a bit depressing and somehow hopeful story.

Thank you so much to Grove Press and NetGallery for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An immensely relatable study of the love and grief inherent to sisterhood. Lerner gives a raw insight into relationship between the two sisters. Full review will be posted closer to the publication date.

3.5

‘Shred sisters’ evolves around the sisters Amy and Olivia (Ollie). Even though the story is told from the point of view of Amy, I felt like it was as much Ollie’s story. The novel spans over decades of Amy’s life in under 300 pages. Hence, the book felt very anecdotal. It was as if Amy wanted to write down everything that shaped her as the person she is today. It was hard to grasp how much time passed between the different events.

In the first part of the book, all events included Ollie in some way or the other. Later on, the story focuses more on Amy herself. This is maybe also symbolic for the fact that all attention went to Ollie and almost none to Amy during their childhood and adolescence.

I could recognize myself in Amy. But despite of this, I didn’t feel much when reading the book. A lot of heavy shit happens, but the pace is too fast to really bond with the characters. I didn’t like the parents at all and the story felt very upper-class, white American. This book had a lot of potential, involving complicated sibling relationships, psychiatric disorders, love, divorce, finding out who you are and what you want in life etc., but something was lacking for me. It contained some thoughts to reflect upon though.

Thank you Grove Press for providing this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

shred sisters truly shredded my heart to pieces. it was such an interesting, moving story that made me cry on multiple occasions. i myself have a sisters whom i adore very much and so books about sisterhood are always one of my reading priorities. this one was not pretty, it was not an easy read but a very important one. it's a messy story about messy people and how they live through many issues running in their family. and i suppose sometimes it's needed to read books like that, to realize that no one's perfect and sometimes people who love us can also hurt us and we need to learn how to love them, how to deal with hurt, sometimes how to forgive and how to make each other better.