While My Sister Sleeps by Barbara Delinsky ~ Book Review

Molly Snow is the younger sister of Robin Snow.  Though they are close as sisters they couldn't be more opposite and do have their issues just as any sisters do.  Robin is a career long distance runner with her sights on the next Olympics while Molly is a horticulturalist who loves to work with the plants at her Mother's green house business.   Though they have a deep bond, Molly occasionally fights a bit of resentment with all the support and encouragement and time that Robin gets from their Mom.  Because of Robin's Olympic dreams Molly is expected to be there for her sister at every turn even to the detriment of her own plans and dreams.  But she does it because in the end she loves her sister.   When Robin suffers a heart attack on one of her training runs, Molly is overcome with guilt as she wasn't there when it happened choosing instead to finish something at home.  Now with Robin's doctors not holding out for a good prognosis and her Mother refusing to accept that, deep seated tensions surface and the complex relationships within the family are tested as Molly is forced to make decisions she doesn't want to make nor should she have to make.  When a hidden journal is found in Robin's closet it brings to light some family secrets that force the members of the Snow family to face what they truly believe,  feel and think.  

This story was a great family drama played out against the backdrop of a tragedy that occurs.  The author takes the reader on an emotional journey of facing our deepest feelings and secrets even while having to let a loved one go.  So many things come to the surface that no one talked about but they are now forced to face because of the health crisis of Robin.  The characters were well written and ran the gamut of strengths and weaknesses but I have to say the character of the Mother really grated on me at times as she was so overbearing and brutish.  As things were revealed, though, I was able to see how the family history worked into each of their characters and why the family dynamics were the way they were. In the first half of the book the story stalled a bit for me as the Mother dug in her heels no matter who said what to her and the way she treated Molly was getting my back up.  She was so unlikeable.  Then secrets came to the surface and the story really picked up and I found my attention grabbed once more and it became hard to put down.  It turned out to be thought provoking and emotional by the time I turned the last page.

I gave it a 8.5/10

Reading Goal Challenges Met:  Read Your Bookshelf Challenge January Prompt:  A "quiet" word in the title