Sister in the Wind by Angeline Boulley

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Boulley has an innate way of spiraling her story to provide her audiences with the most unexpected twist. This story is told with a series of flashbacks that work to explain the current timeline of the story. Lucy loses everything she knew in life when her father dies at a very young age. Although he tried to ensure that she was taken care of by marrying a woman, the woman, Bridget, really just wanted his money and did not want to care for Lucy. With nowhere to turn, Lucy ended up in the foster system.

Boulley is careful to create a character who is not so jaded and unlikable. It would be easy to make Lucy so protective of herself that audience would find it hard to like the character. However, Boulley gives us a softer side with Lucy as she tries to reach out and make bonds with the foster sisters she encounters. Lucy has learned how to protect herself while in the foster system, but Boulley has crafted a character who’s softer side appears as her become nostalgic about her past. Lucy is truly trying to connect with someone in her life.

Boulley also weaves social justice into her story. Lucy was told as a child that she was Italian and not Native. When her father dies, she’s told that she is Native, but her father never allowed her to know that aspect of herself. As she was dealing with the foster system, her social worker told her not to ever mention that she was native. Boulley surrounds Lucy with a cast of characters who help her understand her Native roots. It is the foundation of who Lucy is and chooses to be. Boulley creates a caring community around Lucy of people who just want the best for her, but for Lucy this is a new experience that she approaches with trepidation.


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