The Secret Language of Sisters - Hardcover

Rice, Luanne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0545839556 ISBN 13: 9780545839556

Publisher: Point, 2016

Synopsis

New York Times bestselling adult author Luanne Rice makes her dazzling YA debut with this gorgeous, unputdownable story of love, hope, and redemption.

When Ruth Ann (Roo) McCabe responds to a text message while she's driving, her life as she knows it ends. The car flips, and Roo winds up in a hospital bed, paralyzed. Silent. Everyone thinks she's in a coma, but Roo has locked-in syndrome -- she can see and hear and understand everything around her, but no one knows it. She's trapped inside her own body, screaming to be heard.Mathilda (Tilly) is Roo's sister and best friend. She was the one who texted Roo and inadvertently caused the accident. Now, Tilly must grapple with her overwhelming guilt and her growing feelings for Roo's boyfriend, Newton -- the only other person who seems to get what Tilly is going through.But Tilly might be the only person who can solve the mystery of her sister's condition -- who can see through Roo's silence to the truth underneath. Somehow, through medicine or miracles, will both sisters find a way to heal?

About this title

About the Author

Luanne Rice is the New York Times bestselling author of 35 novels, which have been translated into 25 languages. The author of Dream Country, Beach Girls, The Secret Language of Sisters, and others, Rice often writes about love, family, nature, and the sea. She received the 2014 Connecticut Governor's Arts Award for excellence and lifetime achievement in the Literary Arts category. Several of Rice's novels have been adapted for television, including Crazy in Love for TNT, Blue Moon for CBS, Follow the Stars Home and Silver Bells for the Hallmark Hall of Fame, and Beach Girls for Lifetime. Rice is an avid environmentalist and advocate for families affected by domestic violence. She divides her time between New York City and Old Lyme, Connecticut. Visit her online at luannerice.net.

From the Back Cover

When Ruth Ann (Roo) McCabe responds to a text message while she's driving, her life as she knows it ends. The car flips, and Roo winds up in a hospital bed, paralyzed. Silent. Everyone thinks she's in a coma, but Roo has locked-in syndrome -- she can see

From the Inside Flap

When Ruth Ann (Roo) McCabe responds to a text message while she's driving, her life as she knows it ends. The car flips, and Roo winds up in a hospital bed, paralyzed. Silent. Everyone thinks she's in a coma, but Roo has locked-in syndrome -- she can see

Reviews

Gr 7–10—This realistic, if a bit heavy-handed, emotional ride takes readers through two sisters' perspectives on a life-altering accident. Tilly and Roo, close friends as well as siblings, find their lives thrown upside down when Roo gets into a devastating car accident. She survives but goes into a coma and eventually suffers from locked-in syndrome—she can hear and see, but she just can't move. Everyone rallies around her, but Tilly, her younger sister, finds herself increasingly on the outside and increasingly attracted to Roo's boyfriend, Newton. Tilly's feelings of guilt multiply when everyone in school discovers that she was texting Roo at the time of the accident. Newton and Roo's relationship, while emotionally deep, remains modest, so middle schoolers would be quite comfortable with the romance here. The alternating chapters, from Tilly's and Roo's perspectives, add to the authenticity of the story; the emotions are genuine and heartfelt. The "don't text and drive" message is a little overdrawn, but readers will be engaged in the emotional and physical recoveries of both sisters. Fans of Gayle Forman's If I Stay (Dutton, 2009) will find another favorite in this. VERDICT A good purchase for libraries with teens craving realistic but not edgy fiction.—Lisa Ehrle, Falcon Creek Middle School, CO

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From The Secret Language of Sisters"I love you," Tilly said. "I think of you every minute. I can't stand seeing you like this, Roo. I'm a mess. I feel so guilty." She gulped on a big sob, and I saw the tears rolling down her cheeks. My eyes filled, too."I have something to tell you. Something awful."I didn't care what it was. I just concentrated with all my might on getting her look, really look, at me and see me."I did something," she said. "I am the reason you're here. I hate myself." Don't hate yourself, I wanted to say. Just figure this out! "Okay, I'm going to tell you something about the day of your accident. Two things, actually. One thing is good. Lucan, that's the dog, is fine. He has a broken leg, but it's healing well. I saw him. He limps, but he's going to be fine. Okay." A deep breath. "The rest isn't so great. I wish you could hear me. I wish you could just blink and let me know you know what I'm saying." I can't blink, but I know what you’re saying! I wanted to shout. The stress was back, stronger than before, I needed her to get this, I didn't have it in me to go on much longer. I can't move my eyelids at all. Can you ask me something else? Can you look into my eyes and see I'm here? "Can you please just," she began, and I must have been exasperated because all I could do was look up at the ceiling, a heaven-help-me moment. My eyeball flicked up and down. Tilly stopped mid-sentence, mouth dropping open. And then ... "Roo?" I'm here! "Oh, God," she said. "Did you just look up? Did you just move your left eyeball? If you did, and you hear me, do it again." I did it again. "You hear me?" My left eye flicked up then down. I had a very narrow field of vision: Tilly and the ceiling. "Roo, is this real?" I looked up. "You know who I am?" Duh, Tilly. I looked up. "You understand what I'm saying?" I looked up. She grabbed my other hand, she was holding both my hands now, and she did a happy, screaming dance, we were doing a jig, only I was in my hospital bed. Still, I was doing it in my mind, and it felt real.

Edition details

• Publisher: Point
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0545839556
• ISBN 13: 9780545839556
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336