by Margo Candela
This book tells the story of three sisters from alternating points of view, none of which are very likable, but all interesting in their own unique way. Maritza is the Bridezilla about to get married to her long-time boyfriend who she clearly doesn’t love and has a bit of a hidden agenda. Claudia is the family fixer who escaped their Mexican-American neighborhood in LA to attend Princeton and then boomeranged back to the LA area to become a Hollywood movie producer. She is constantly getting sucked back into her family drama and deals with it through a kaleidoscope of complex behaviors. And then there’s Dulcina, “Dooley”, a fresh out-of-rehab artist struggling with addiction and ghosts of the past. Throw in the parents — an alcoholic father and a passive-aggressive mother who relies on the daughters for everything — and you get one complex family drama. Add eating disorders, fatphobia, addiction, buried secrets, abortion, and sexual abuse to the mix and it makes for a riveting train wreck of a story. But one I couldn’t look away from. Great writing and character development for the sisters.
