Intense family drama on the subject of adoption, questions of omission & divided loyalties.
The Forgotten Sister starts in the most dramatic and ominous of fashions with two parents receiving the devastating news that their daughter has been brought into A&E and this sets the tone for an intense family drama that often makes for difficult reading. Caroline Bond’s story certainly pulls no punches with a look at the secrets between families and the devastating repercussions they can have in the complex situation of adoption and divided loyalties.
Seventeen-year-old mixed-race, Cassie Haines, has never given much consideration to where she belongs or whom her real family are. Adopted as a two-year-old and raised by Grace and Tom Haines’, a professional and affluent couple in suburban Leeds, the arrival of Erin, a ‘miracle’ natural child two years later, has done nothing to alter Cassie’s place in the families hearts as the big sister. Thirteen-year-old, Erin, and Cassie are in everything aside from blood, the very truest of sisters. In fact Cassie’s biggest nightmare at present is her interfering, overprotective parents who disapprove of Ryan, her boyfriend from the local council estate. Until, that is, a visit to a family planning clinic and questions about the medical history on Cassie’s mother’s side of the family gives her biological origins a bearing on everyday life, and a growing awareness that she needs to “reclaim control over her past” and understand her life before her adoption.
When a simple enquiry to her parents provides very few answers and leaves her convinced that they are stonewalling, it sets wilful Cassie on her own personal investigation via Facebook and soon uncovers a birth sister, Leah, whom her parents have never mentioned. Incensed and impelled to discover more about her past, Cassie is determined to establish a relationship with her biological sister, regardless of their different starts and diverging paths in life. Socially awkward, volatile and exceedingly bitter, Leah is the forgotten sister of the title and soon makes clear how fortuitous Cassie has been. But as Cassie’s secret meetings with manipulative Leah bring revelations that neither of Cassie’s adopted parents have disclosed, it only serves to drive a wedge between her and her adoptive parents and send her into the arms of Leah. As Cassie wrestles with the veracity of Leah’s disclosures she is torn between her adopted family whom she can’t confront and a virtual stranger. Cassie has to make some serious decisions before her actions destroy the only family life that she has ever known and the people she holds dear... but where does the truth lie and Cassie really belong?
Although I enjoy reading family dramas they do tend to be slightly more uplifting than The Forgotten Sister. The story is deeply involving and as Cassie opens up her life to dangerous and reckless Leah the events do not always make for pleasant reading and there is a palpable menacing atmosphere to the whole drama which keeps intrigue high. Whilst the novel held my attention, I found it an increasingly depressing read and felt decidedly ambivalent as to the fate of the Haines’ family. A raft of unaddressed questions also left me of the opinion that the story was heavily dramatised; from why Leah is not under closer monitoring by the social services to why Grace and Tom were so loathe to discuss things honestly with Cassie and why neither her absence from college or missing monies came to anyone’s attention. The narrative encompasses all of the perspectives of the family and often shifts abruptly mid chapter which some readers may find disconcerting.
I found Cassie a slightly contentious character and her the lack of gratitude or appreciation towards her hardworking parents left me feeling rather indifferent to her fate. Given her supposed stubbornness and opinionated nature I felt Cassie’s pandering to spiteful and malicious Leah didn’t really ring true and for all Grace and Tom’s behind the scenes efforts with the Adoption Agency their inability to sit down and talk honestly to Cassie left me dubious about the much-vaunted close-knit family dynamics. I did think it was pretty unlikely that Cassie had never asked questions or wanted to know more about her biological mother before the age of seventeen, especially given she is forthright, independently minded and switched on in all other areas of her life.
I was deeply disappointed with the denouement which I felt was extraordinary rushed, especially given that the pace of the preceding story up until that point is on occasions painfully slow. For a novel that deals in harsh truths and secrets with the potential to rip a family apart I found the ending trite and unrealistic. Given the events leading up to it and the havoc they had wreaked in the lives of all the Haines family the final nail in the coffin was the lacklustre denouement which felt like the least likely course of action imaginable for Grace, Tom or Cassie Haines and made the entire story feel rather like a worthy life-skills lesson!
I would recommend the book to readers interested in serious women’s fiction and found much of the story made for harrowing and fairly depressing reading. Although the book is well-written, thought-provoking and provides a well-rounded look at the perspectives of all the members of the family, I must admit that I found reading the story rather akin to a dirge. The details on the process of adoption are however fascinating and for this alone I am pleased that I have read the story.
With thanks to Readers First who provided me with a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.
Seventeen-year-old mixed-race, Cassie Haines, has never given much consideration to where she belongs or whom her real family are. Adopted as a two-year-old and raised by Grace and Tom Haines’, a professional and affluent couple in suburban Leeds, the arrival of Erin, a ‘miracle’ natural child two years later, has done nothing to alter Cassie’s place in the families hearts as the big sister. Thirteen-year-old, Erin, and Cassie are in everything aside from blood, the very truest of sisters. In fact Cassie’s biggest nightmare at present is her interfering, overprotective parents who disapprove of Ryan, her boyfriend from the local council estate. Until, that is, a visit to a family planning clinic and questions about the medical history on Cassie’s mother’s side of the family gives her biological origins a bearing on everyday life, and a growing awareness that she needs to “reclaim control over her past” and understand her life before her adoption.
When a simple enquiry to her parents provides very few answers and leaves her convinced that they are stonewalling, it sets wilful Cassie on her own personal investigation via Facebook and soon uncovers a birth sister, Leah, whom her parents have never mentioned. Incensed and impelled to discover more about her past, Cassie is determined to establish a relationship with her biological sister, regardless of their different starts and diverging paths in life. Socially awkward, volatile and exceedingly bitter, Leah is the forgotten sister of the title and soon makes clear how fortuitous Cassie has been. But as Cassie’s secret meetings with manipulative Leah bring revelations that neither of Cassie’s adopted parents have disclosed, it only serves to drive a wedge between her and her adoptive parents and send her into the arms of Leah. As Cassie wrestles with the veracity of Leah’s disclosures she is torn between her adopted family whom she can’t confront and a virtual stranger. Cassie has to make some serious decisions before her actions destroy the only family life that she has ever known and the people she holds dear... but where does the truth lie and Cassie really belong?
Although I enjoy reading family dramas they do tend to be slightly more uplifting than The Forgotten Sister. The story is deeply involving and as Cassie opens up her life to dangerous and reckless Leah the events do not always make for pleasant reading and there is a palpable menacing atmosphere to the whole drama which keeps intrigue high. Whilst the novel held my attention, I found it an increasingly depressing read and felt decidedly ambivalent as to the fate of the Haines’ family. A raft of unaddressed questions also left me of the opinion that the story was heavily dramatised; from why Leah is not under closer monitoring by the social services to why Grace and Tom were so loathe to discuss things honestly with Cassie and why neither her absence from college or missing monies came to anyone’s attention. The narrative encompasses all of the perspectives of the family and often shifts abruptly mid chapter which some readers may find disconcerting.
I found Cassie a slightly contentious character and her the lack of gratitude or appreciation towards her hardworking parents left me feeling rather indifferent to her fate. Given her supposed stubbornness and opinionated nature I felt Cassie’s pandering to spiteful and malicious Leah didn’t really ring true and for all Grace and Tom’s behind the scenes efforts with the Adoption Agency their inability to sit down and talk honestly to Cassie left me dubious about the much-vaunted close-knit family dynamics. I did think it was pretty unlikely that Cassie had never asked questions or wanted to know more about her biological mother before the age of seventeen, especially given she is forthright, independently minded and switched on in all other areas of her life.
I was deeply disappointed with the denouement which I felt was extraordinary rushed, especially given that the pace of the preceding story up until that point is on occasions painfully slow. For a novel that deals in harsh truths and secrets with the potential to rip a family apart I found the ending trite and unrealistic. Given the events leading up to it and the havoc they had wreaked in the lives of all the Haines family the final nail in the coffin was the lacklustre denouement which felt like the least likely course of action imaginable for Grace, Tom or Cassie Haines and made the entire story feel rather like a worthy life-skills lesson!
I would recommend the book to readers interested in serious women’s fiction and found much of the story made for harrowing and fairly depressing reading. Although the book is well-written, thought-provoking and provides a well-rounded look at the perspectives of all the members of the family, I must admit that I found reading the story rather akin to a dirge. The details on the process of adoption are however fascinating and for this alone I am pleased that I have read the story.
With thanks to Readers First who provided me with a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.