Description
When Makeda and her twin sister Abby are born, they come into the world conjoined and sickly. The surgery to separate them weakens Abby so much that she will surely die-unless her parents make a bargain with the gods. For Makeda and Abby are not ordinary children, they are the offspring of Boysie, god of growing things, and his wife, a beautiful human woman. In exchange for Abby's life, Boysie agrees to live as a human, and his wife must spend her days as a monstrous sea creature.
Twenty years later...
Physically healthy but with no magical ability, Makeda has spent her whole life in the shadow of her sister Abby, who has twisted legs but an enchanted singing voice. By their magical relatives' standards, Makeda is just a "donkey"-a worthless human valuable only for her role in helping Abby survive. Tired of feeling second best, Makeda decides to move out on her own.
Makeda discovers that her new apartment building is also home to a talented rock band, and the band's leader, Brie, is a very cute boy with a distinct aura of magic about him. When Makeda's father goes missing, she must decide if she can trust Brie, or not...and her life may depend on the answer.
The long-awaited return of a beloved writer--Nalo Hopkinson is a homegrown, award-winning GCP author who has consistently garnered tremendous and widespread acclaim.
About the Author
Nalo Hopkinson has published a number of short stories and is the author of four novels including The Salt Roads, Brown Girl in the Ring, Midnight Robber, and New Moon's Arms. She is also the award-winning author of the short fiction collection Skin Folk. She is currently a professor at UC-Irvine.
Reviews
Acclaimed novelist Nalo Hopkinson is well-known for her unique postmodern mythos, often drawing on Caribbean folklore, and placing complex characters smack in the center of worlds whose magic isn't always kind and in which decisions are rarely easy. Her newest novel, Sister Mine, has a lighter edge than some of her previous work; it's an engaging, messy fable about the interconnectedness of even the little things in our lives...This is a book about family, and Sister Mine remains a suitably imperfect and vibrant story of family in all its unfathomable wonders and annoyances, and the power it holds over us - or gives us. - NPRShe's a powerful writer with an imagination that most of us would kill for. I have read everything she has written and am in awe of her many gifts. And her protagonists are unforgettable - formidable haunted women drawn with an almost unbearable honesty - seriously, who writes sisters like Nalo? Takes courage to be that true. - Junot Diaz, in the LA TimesHopkinson's most wildly imaginative novel since Brown Girl in the Ring.... and some of her most accomplished prose to date; at one point, she conveys the multivalent perceptions of Makeda through stunning passages of pure synaesthesia. - LocusWhile the fantastical is ever-present, it's the personal and familial that make Sister Mine engaging and captivating. Self-doubt, interpersonal conflict and the struggle for acceptance are just as powerful as the novel's magical objects. Hopkinson's deeply saturated, poetic language is perfect to relate this story, which is deeply felt. - Globe and Mail (Toronto)The comingling of the fantastical and the real world in this urban fantasy is seamless and surprisingly credible . . . complex relationships and knotty family ties, all with a tasty supernatural flavor. - School Library Journal blogHopkins writes in the tradition of African-American science fiction authors like Samuel R. Delany and Octavia Butler, but her approach is singularly expansive, a mythography of the black diaspora. (There are parallels with fellow Caribbean native Junot Diaz's work, not to mention King Rat, China Mieville's similarly musical urban fantasy.) . . . Hopkinson's prose intermingles the quotidian settings and cosmic mysticism with sly, assured ease. - National Post (Canada)Hopkinson is extremely talented at crafting complicated protagonists, and Makeda is no exception...Her books always feel like glimpses into worlds that are fully detailed and stand on their own...Another great novel from one of the best fantasy authors working today. - io9.com
Book Information
ISBN 9781455528400
Author Nalo Hopkinson
Format Paperback
Page Count 336
Imprint Grand Central Publishing
Publisher Little, Brown & Company
Weight(grams) 268g
Dimensions(mm) 201mm * 135mm * 22mm
