True Colors

Book No: 19
Title: True Colors
Author: Kristin Hannah
Genre: Fiction
Completed: 5/7/09
No. of Pages: 343
Rating: 3.5/5*****

Kristin Hannah’s books are some of my favorite reads, focusing on women, family, friendship and what I suppose is often labeled chick lit or women’s fiction.

True Colors centers on the three Grey sisters, Winona, Aurora and Vivi Ann, sisters who have a special relationship because their mother died when they were young and they have been each others closest allies and friends since then. When Vivi becomes engaged to Luke, whom older sister Winona is secretly harboring a long time crush on, the sister’s loyalty to one another is put to the test. A murder tears the family apart as one sister turns her back on the other. Over the next sixteen years a fragile peace will be forged between the three, until questions are raised about the murder, reopening old wounds as one sister tries to atone for her betrayal.

I have to admit that I had a little trouble getting into the story at the start, as the three women seemed written as stereotypes, the fat sister struggling to prove she is good enough, the middle sister trying to keep the peace and the oh so perfect beautiful young sister who seems to sail through life. Although it took a while for me to warm up to the story once I became involved with the characters the pages began to fly, especially the last third of the book. My biggest quibble is with the father of the Grey girls- there seemed to be no depth to him and I would have liked a deeper look into why he was the way he was.

As usual Hannah knows how to tug at the heartstrings and sometimes I felt a little manipulated, but all in all I enjoyed the story, was happy with the ending and look forward to another book in the near future.