Sisterland: A Novel

An Amazon Best Book of the Month, July 2013: After tackling east coast prep school and the life of a first lady in previous works, writing about twin sisters with ESP might seem like a strange move for Curtis Sittenfeld. But Sisterland is not a book about what it means to live with psychic powers. Rather, it’s a deeply emotional study of two closely-linked siblings who share many similarities but ultimately choose different paths in life. Having grown up with a mild form of ESP—what they call “senses”—the twins are confronted with how to deal with their powers. One chooses to “go straight” and become a suburban housewife and mother, while the other sister drops out of college to become a medium. The ESP part is not overplayed, and the story bears all the hallmarks of Sittenfeld’s other novels: an exploration of adolescence and the choices that people make, expertly drawn inner monologues, an artist’s complete grasp of the little moments in life. This is a unique—and at times pitch perfect—take on family, loyalty, and how people deal with the vapor trails left by childhood. -- Chris Schluep