Blue Sisters: A Novel

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars | 2,055 ratings

Price: 19.91

Last update: 09-09-2024


About this item

Three estranged siblings return to their family home in New York after their beloved sister’s death in this “deeply nuanced and compelling” (Vogue) novel, from the acclaimed author of Cleopatra and Frankenstein.

“A beautiful portrait of grief and the world-shaping bond sisters share.”—Real Simple

The three Blue sisters are exceptional—and exceptionally different. Avery, the eldest and a recovering heroin addict turned strait-laced lawyer, lives with her wife in London; Bonnie, a former boxer, works as a bouncer in Los Angeles following a devastating defeat; and Lucky, the youngest, models in Paris while trying to outrun her hard-partying ways. They also had a fourth sister, Nicky, whose unexpected death left the family reeling. A year later, as they each navigate grief, addiction, and ambition, they find they must return to New York to stop the sale of the apartment they were raised in.

But coming home is never as easy as it seems. As the sisters reckon with the disappointments of their childhood and the loss of the only person who held them together, they realize that the greatest secrets they’ve been keeping might not have been from one another but from themselves.

Imbued with Coco Mellors’s signature combination of humor and heart, Blue Sisters is a story of what it takes to keep living after loss—and, ultimately, to fall in love with life again.


Top reviews from the United States

J. Sunday
5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2024
Beautifully written, this book is an emotional heart-tugging story of three sisters that are grieving over a sister they lost when she fatally overdosed from taking the wrong drug.

The story is character driven with each sister struggling with their own addictions. They were all trying to take away the pain that they felt when Nicole died. They were raised in a two-bedroom apartment in NYC. They all moved out as soon as they were able and went separate ways. Nicole, a wonderful teacher, had endometriosis. She was constantly wrestling with intense pain.

Avery was the eldest of the Blue sisters. She was the wise one, a caretaker who was brilliant in law school but had a problem stealing small items. Bonnie was born two years later. She was strong willed and her life revolved around boxing – the addiction of craving pain. And then Lucky (yes, that’s her given name) was a knock-out gorgeous girl. At 14 years old, she made the big bucks traveling around the world modeling. However, the money was spent recklessly on drugs and alcohol. Each sister needed a good therapist.

Some parts of the story made me laugh out loud. Other parts pushed emotional buttons as I felt the pain each sister had to overcome. It grabbed me from the beginning. The timing of how the book was presented was critical and worked well with the past mixed into the present with each sister’s life. They were all different and yet, they realized how much their relationships meant.

Some lines I had to write down as I’m one of four sisters and pieces made me pause wondering if this was a book meant just for me. I was curious how it would end and felt like it left me with a satisfied conclusion.
Leah C.
4.0 out of 5 stars A Poignant Story of (and for) Sisters
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2024
The Blue Sisters are as different as oil, water, and air. Avery, the eldest, is married to a therapist in London and thriving as a successful lawyer; Bonnie, the next, is a has-been boxing champion now working as a Bouncer for an exclusive Los Angeles bar; and Lucky, the youngest, is an unpredictable, hard-partying model in Paris who's graced every magazine cover worth gracing.

The Blue Sisters are so different, in fact, that the only thing tethering them to each other is the devastating loss of their fourth sister, Nicky, one year ago. Reeling in their own ways from Nicky's unexpected death, Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky are out to sea, barely clinging to the life raft of daily life in an ocean of grief. And all around them, the broken pieces of their sisterhood continue to shatter, leaving shrapnel in the dustiest and most unexpected corners of their private lives.

"Blue Sisters" was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024; having read and loved "Frankenstein and Cleopatra" for the gorgeous, uncomfortably-honest love story that it was, I knew "Blue Sisters" was bound to have the same rawness throughout its pages. That, readers, and so much more. This is a heavy story of loss and longing; it's riddled with topics like addiction, regret, survival, and self-sufficiency. In a way that few authors aside from Coco Mellors can do, it tells what should be an all-too-familiar story in a breathtaking new way: how do sisters go on when they lose one of their own?

While not a completely-perfect story (there were moments I felt could have been even more emotional, more compelling), "Blue Sisters" is without a doubt a must-read of the year. And while not a breezy read, it's one that pulls you in from the first, gorgeous sentence and doesn't relent.

Sisters, sisters, what would we be without our sisters?

*I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this title; all opinions are my own*
Christine Myers
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful read
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2024
The Blue sisters, Avery, Bonnie, Nicky and Lucky, grow up in a very small apartment in New York with selfish, abusive and mostly absent parents. Avery, the oldest, takes over the mother role early on. She is the responsible, smart one who they all look up to. The Blue sisters have a strong bond, they are a perfect foursome. But then Nicky dies and their symmetry crumbles. The sisters are drifting apart and are getting catapulted in very different corners of the world. During the first year after Nicky’s death, each sister is grieving differently, but all are giving in to self-destruction and some sort of addiction. On the first anniversary of Nicky’s death, the sisters are meeting in New York to clean out their childhood/Nicky’s apartment that they hadn’t been able to give up yet. Here they must each face their own demons and finally find their own identities again.
I was really looking forward to reading this book, and it didn’t disappoint. It is beautifully written and takes you on an emotional roller coaster. How do you cope with the loss of a loved one and the guilt of not being able to save them? Each of the Blue sisters are a product of circumstances and are trying to make the best they can of it, each on their own. This book is about sisterhood, grief, and life after loss. The characters are developed through each sister’s alternating perspectives. There is not really a plot, but the story is built by each sister’s memories triggered by Nicky’s death and how they deal with them. I loved, loved, loved this book, and the cover is just gorgeous. I look forward to reading more from Ms Coco Mellors.

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