Grace and Favor is the story of two sister who have never met. Grace is the elder sister and Favor (so-called because Grace always assumed she was the favorite) is the younger by 5 years.
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When their mother is due to give birth to Favor, Grace is sent to stay with friends of the family. When the mother dies shortly after having Favor, their father, Lukas Cammell, takes the baby, saying he will send for Grace later. He never does and Grace is fostered by the couple she was staying with. Thus the two sisters grow up separated, each knowing about the other but never meeting.
The book opens when they are adults - 35 and 40 respectively. They could not be more different. Grace is a cynical, rich and very successful novelist. Disappointed in love she has gone to live by herself on a wild Long Island beach. Favor is a typical Mom battling with two teenage kids and an overworked husband. Seeing Grace's picture on the back of a library book, she resolves to find her and when her husband goes to New York to a convention, Favor and the kids go too - and Favor tracks Grace down.
GRACE AND FAVOR is about what happens when the two sisters meet for the first time and get to know each other.
The review of this Book prepared by Caroline Upcher
GRACE & FAVOR
Kensington, Jul 2001, 14.00, 368 pp.
ISBN: 1575669048
are sisters, although they never met though each one is aware that they have a sibling. Grace and Favor believe that they know what happened to split the family years ago, but each one has a different spin on the tragic events.
Grace is a writer living on Long Island. She feels her father rejected her by giving her away. To this day she never knew why. Perhaps that is why her relationships with men always fail.
Favor lives near London. She is married to a locksmith and has two teenage children who know everything. Her father raised her.
Grace comes to England on a book tour. She and Favor come to the family farm, but just miss meeting one another. That near miss serves as the final impetus for Favor to seek out her sister. Grace learns a woman is stalking her. Favor wants to introduce herself, but cannot take the final step. She is afraid that Grace will reject her. Surprisingly, Grace wants to meet Favor, but fears the reception from her younger sister.
GRACE & FAVOR is an exciting relationship drama that alternates first person chapters between the two siblings. This allows the reader to observe the thoughts and feelings of each sister as they take one baby step at a time closer to meeting each other. Caroline Upcher has written a powerful character study that hooks readers because the plot concentrates on the emotions of the sisters and the impact on other family members while limiting the melodrama of the events that separated them over three decades ago.
Harriet Klausner
The review of this Book prepared by Harriet Klausner
