Is there any relationship quite as complicated as the one between siblings? As we celebrate National Siblings Day this April 10, we’re looking at some of the novels we love that highlight that special connection.
The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
Marilyn and David have four radically different daughters, each in a state of unrest. With the unexpected arrival of young Jonah Bendt — a child placed for adoption by one of the daughters fifteen years before — the Sorensons will be forced to reckon with the rich and varied tapestry of their past. As they grapple with years marred by adolescent angst, infidelity, and resentment, they also find the transcendent moments of joy that make everything else worthwhile.
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
In 1893, the Eastwood sisters join the suffragists of New Salem, and they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women’s movement into the witch’s movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote ― and perhaps not even to live ― the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
At first, Jude and her twin brother are NoahandJude; inseparable. Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude wears red-red lipstick, cliff-dives, and does all the talking for both of them. Years later, they are barely speaking. The early years are Noah’s to tell; the later years are Jude’s. But they each have only half the story, and if they can only find their way back to one another, they’ll have a chance to remake their world.
A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
As an Indian wedding gathers a family back together, parents must reckon with the choices their children have made. There is Hadia: their headstrong, eldest daughter, whose marriage is a match of love and not tradition. Huda, the middle child, determined to follow in her sister’s footsteps. And lastly, their estranged son, Amar, who returns to the family fold for the first time in three years to take his place as brother of the bride. What secrets and betrayals have caused this close-knit family to fracture?
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Cyril Conroy’s investment propels his family from poverty to enormous wealth, and when he buys the Dutch House, a lavish estate, it sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into poverty and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakeable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures.
The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin
It begins in a free and feral summer in a middle-class Connecticut town. Caught between the predictable life they once led and an uncertain future, the Skinner siblings — fierce Renee, sensitive Caroline, golden boy Joe and watchful Fiona — emerge staunchly loyal and deeply connected. Two decades later, the siblings find themselves once again confronted with a family crisis that tests the strength of these bonds and forces them to question the life choices they’ve made and ask what, exactly, they will do for love.
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people. In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash. Separated by distance — and Papi’s secrets — the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered. And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.
The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
In 1969, the Gold children — four adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness — sneak out to hear their fortunes from a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The prophecies inform their next five decades. Golden-boy Simon escapes to the West Coast, searching for love in ’80s San Francisco; dreamy Klara becomes a Las Vegas magician, obsessed with blurring reality and fantasy; eldest son Daniel seeks security as an army doctor post-9/11; and bookish Varya throws herself into longevity research, where she tests the boundary between science and immortality.
This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
The death of Judd Foxman’s father marks the first time that the entire Foxman clan has congregated in years. There is, however, one conspicuous absence: Judd’s wife, Jen, whose affair with his boss has recently become painfully public. Simultaneously mourning the demise of his father and his marriage, Judd joins his dysfunctional family as they reluctantly sit shiva and spend seven days and nights under the same roof. Longstanding grudges resurface, secrets are revealed and old passions are reawakened. Then Jen delivers the clincher: She’s pregnant.
Ellen Whitfield is senior publicist at Books Forward, an author publicity and book marketing firm committed to promoting voices from a diverse variety of communities. From book reviews and author events, to social media and digital marketing, we help authors find success and connect with readers.
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