Sisters of Misery by Megan Kelley Hall
Release Date: July 29, 2008
Publisher: Kensington
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 308
Summary:
Hawthorne may be a sleepy seaside town, but historically it is known for the witch hunts that aspired there and the death of three women. Much like it’s neighboring town Salem. The town today, however, seems to be full of modern day bit****, I mean witches!
Maddie Crane has lived in Hawthorne her whole life and thanks to her mother she runs around with the girls that have everything, Kate, Darcy, Hannah and Bridget. They even have an exclusive “club” they all belong to, and they call themselves Sisters of Misery. Even though the girls are supposed to be Maddie’s best friends, she has never felt like she belonged. That is until her Aunt Rebecca and her cousin Cordelia come to live with her.
Rebecca and Cordelia are a breath of fresh air into Maddie’s life. She can’t help but be drawn to their free spirit and knowledge of runes and herbs. The Sisters of Misery, don’t exactly share the welcoming feeling toward the beautiful Cordelia the way that Maddie does. When Cordelia makes it clear that she doesn’t care what Sisters of Misery think of her, they are determined to make her pay.
After a ceremony conducted on the Island of Misery, Maddie finds herself at home in her bed, unable to remember the events the night before. Cordelia is nowhere to be found.
Review:
My initial reaction is...Okay, WOW! Megan Kelley Hall where have you been my whole life. This was an incredible novel. I don’t even know where to start. Let’s start with characters. I’ve discovered the most evil person I’ve ever come across in literature and her name is Kate Endicott. I seriously hope that people aren’t that mean, but I’m sure somehow, somewhere there is a Kate clone. I hope I never met her. Maddie on the other hand, while initially I was a little annoyed with her character, my main reason being, why would you want to be friends with girls you didn’t even like! But I also understand that she was in a really tough situation and given her history with these girls, I wouldn’t have expected her to act any different. Who am I to pass judgement like that when, if I really think about it, I probably wouldn’t have had the guts to stand up to them either. By the end of the story my admiration for Maddie increased substantially. Now to the plot. Don’t even try to figure the ending out in this one folks, you will fail miserably! Every one of my theories was shot down one by one! It was that good. And the climax, totally stunned me! I’m still stunned hours later. One word UNFORGETTABLE! I’m more than thrilled to also discover a continuation of the story. The Lost Sister will be available August 2009!!