The Faraday Girls by: Monica McInerney

***Purchased through Barnes and Noble

Synopsis

With the arrival of baby Maggie, the Faraday household increases to six girls and one hapless father, yet there is a seventh Faraday woman whose absence is a keenly felt burden. That Tessa Faraday died too young, leaving her husband to raise their five daughters, was unbearable enough, but when teenage Clementine, the youngest, announces she's pregnant and that she intends to raise the baby with her sisters' help, Tessa's absence becomes overwhelming. Though they have been locked away since her death, Tessa's private diaries prove to be an irresistible lure to Sadie, who betrays the family trust by reading them in hopes that their mother, who had achieved iconic status in death, would reveal the secrets of perfect motherhood. What Sadie discovers, however, ends up shattering the family. Decades later, it falls to Maggie to put the Faraday clan back together again. Crossing the globe, from Australia to Manhattan to Dublin, McInerney's bewitching multigenerational saga lavishly and lovingly explores the resiliency and fragility of family bonds.

My Review Comments:

This is a story about an Irish family set in the backdrop of Australia, and crosses over to Dublin, Ireland, and finally ends up in Manhattan, New York. The Faraday girls lose their mother at a very young age, and or left to live with their eccentric inventor father, Leo. He is a very secretive man who holds his late wife in high regard. Leo works out in his shed everyday on his numerous inventions while surrounded by his wife’s most valued possessions. There are five Faraday sisters with many secrets too, which secrets will eventually be revealed with the discovery of their late mother’s diaries, which will break this once close-knit family apart. The key to bringing this family back together will be their niece Maggie who is brought back upon her Grandfather’s request to do the annual celebration of “Christmas in July”, a longstanding tradition for the Faraday girls. Her Grandfather has a special surprise gift for his daughters that will bring them back to the love, loyalty and connection that they once shared, along with forgiveness. I really did enjoy this book and the different paths the lives the sisters took to find their own sense of happiness and self.