The Sisters of Summit Avenue

Author: Lynn Cullen
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Gallery Books, 2019
Pages: 320
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Ruth has been single-handedly raising four young daughters and running her family's Indiana farm for eight long years, ever since her husband, John, fell into a comatose state, infected by the infamous "sleeping sickness" devastating families across the country. If only she could trade places with her older sister, June, who is the envy of everyone she meets: blond and beautiful, married to a wealthy doctor, living in a mansion in St. Paul. And June has a coveted job, too, as one of "the Bettys," the perky recipe developers who populate General Mills' famous Betty Crocker test kitchens. But these gilded trappings hide sorrows: she has borne no children. And the man she used to love more than anything belongs to Ruth.

When the two sisters reluctantly reunite after a long estrangement, June's bitterness about her sister's betrayal sets into motion a confrontation that's been years in the making. And their mother, Dorothy, who's brought the two of them together, has her own dark secrets, which might blow up the fragile peace she hopes to restore between her daughters.

Review: Sometimes you pick up a book and you're at the right time or right place in your life to read it. This is that book for me. Not only did the plot and characters appeal to me, so did the way the story unfolded. I may have written a different ending, but all-in-all, this was a great story.