![When We Believed in Mermaids: A Novel by [Barbara O'Neal]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41DPq03IAOL.jpg)
An Amazon Charts, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller.
From the author of The Art of Inheriting Secrets comes an emotional new tale of two sisters, an ocean of lies, and a search for the truth.
Her sister has been dead for fifteen years when she sees her on the TV news…
Josie
Bianci was killed years ago on a train during a terrorist attack. Gone
forever. It’s what her sister, Kit, an ER doctor in Santa Cruz, has
always believed. Yet all it takes is a few heart-wrenching seconds to
upend Kit’s world. Live coverage of a club fire in Auckland has captured
the image of a woman stumbling through the smoke and debris. Her
resemblance to Josie is unbelievable. And unmistakable. With it comes a
flood of emotions—grief, loss, and anger—that Kit finally has a chance
to put to rest: by finding the sister who’s been living a lie.
After
arriving in New Zealand, Kit begins her journey with the memories of
the past: of days spent on the beach with Josie. Of a lost teenage boy
who’d become part of their family. And of a trauma that has haunted Kit
and Josie their entire lives.
Now, if two sisters are to reunite,
it can only be by unearthing long-buried secrets and facing a
devastating truth that has kept them apart far too long. To regain their
relationship, they may have to lose everything.
When
We Believed in Mermaids is an engrossing, turbulent, and poignant book
about two sisters, Kit and Josie. When the story begins, Kit is shocked
to see her sister in the background of a news broadcast from New
Zealand, thousands of miles away from their home in
California--especially since Josie had been killed 15 years earlier.
When she goes to New Zealand to find her sister, Kit unknowingly sets
off a chain of events that will impact her own life, as well as that of
her sister and the life she has built. Kit and Josie were such complex,
fascinating characters, each of them reacting to the pain of their
childhoods which left them emotionally scarred. The flashbacks in the
story give so much insight to the horrors of their childhood; the
neglect, the abuse, the addictions. But they also show us the love the
two sisters had for each other, the closeness they shared until it all
went horribly wrong. The setting of the book was fantastic, from the
beaches of Santa Cruz to the beauty of New Zealand. And the surfing! The
author's descriptions of the girls as they surfed from the time they
were children made it feel like I was in the middle of those waves with
them! The pages of this book are filled with love; love between sisters,
the love of children for their parents, steadfast love, and new love;
and how love can somehow withstand everything that threatens to destroy
it.
This
is my first book by Barbara O Neal. I instantly connected to her
writing style, her storytelling, her characters. It doesn’t hurt that
I’m a fan of mermaids. I’m at a loss for words to convey how much I
loved this book, how sad I was to finish it. When you feel as though
you’re losing friends, well that says something. The story weaves
between settings, the past and present...there are many opportunities to
feel lost. I wasn’t. This is poignant, horrifying, happy, yet
confusingly always amazing. My heart for those sisters, their
connection. Read this book. I’m trying to decide what my next from this
author will be..
Californian
Dr. Kit Bianci believes her sister Josie Bianci is dead, killed in a
terrorist attack. Josie survived the attack but reinvented herself as
Mari Edwards in New Zealand. Kit and her mother see Mari on television
and their hope of Josie’s survival is revived.
Kit travels to
Auckland to see if she can find her sister. There, she meets musician
Javier Velez. He assists her in her search and Kit recalls her troubled
childhood. Soon, they become romantically involved. Mari also recalls
their childhood, which was more difficult for her than Kit. But more
than anything, Mari loves her new family and doesn’t want it to be put
in jeopardy.
When they finally do meet, the emotional fallout is
almost too much for them to handle. Secrets are revealed, as they
generally are in situations like these. I loved the way the point of
view switched between the sisters, and the rich emotions displayed this
writer’s amazing ability to tell a story. Love wins in the end, and
that’s exactly how it should be.
I am having a hard time finding the right words. I feel bereft! The book ended! NOOOO!!!
The words: incredible, awesome, truth-filled,, loving, real, dysfunctional (did I not say 'real'?). Family.
Thank you, Barbara O'Neal, from the bottom of my heart. Please have a sequel!!
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