What Happened to My Sister: A Novel [Kindle Edition]

Elizabeth Flock (Author)

Book Description

From the author of Me & Emma comes a dazzling novel of two unforgettable families bound together by their deepest secrets and haunted pasts—perfect for fans of The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes and The Book of Bright Ideas.

Nine-year-old Carrie Parker and her mother, Libby, are making a fresh start in the small town of Hartsville, North Carolina, ready to put their turbulent past behind them. Violence has shattered their family and left Libby nearly unable to cope. And while Carrie once took comfort in her beloved sister, Emma, her mother has now forbidden even the mention of her name.
 
When Carrie meets Ruth, Honor, and Cricket Chaplin, these three generations of warmhearted women seem to have the loving home Carrie has always dreamed of. But as Carrie and Cricket become fast friends, neither can escape the pull of their families’ secrets—and uncovering the truth will transform the Chaplins and the Parkers forever.
 
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From the Trade Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Absolutely unforgettable . . . Haunting, harrowing, and exquisitely told, Flock’s brilliant, bold novel is all about imagination, grief, and one stunning young narrator’s struggle to transcend an unimaginable past in order to carve out a future.”—Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You
 
"A gripping read that is at once heartbreaking and heartwarming. Flock masterfully combines a deeply affecting family drama with relentless suspense. You'll find yourself reading late into the night to find out what life has in store for the indomitable Carrie Parker.”—Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Weight of Silence

“From the opening sentence of Elizabeth Flock’s exceptional new novel, I was at its tender mercies. These memorable, lovable characters jumped off the page and lodged themselves in my heart.”—Elinor Lipman, author of The Family Man and Then She Found Me
 
“Elizabeth Flock has created a young heroine who will win your heart. Caroline Parker is fierce, bright, and endlessly lovable. Amid this well-plotted mystery, there’s a story of great hope, survival, and resilience.”—Julianna Baggott, author of Girl Talk and Pure

“Readers who loved Me & Emma will pounce on the sequel.” —Booklist

"Flock conjures the world of young Carrie with the pathos and heartbreak of Mary Karr's The Liar’s Club.  You will not put this novel down.” —Antoinette van Heugten, bestselling author of Saving Max

“Carrie Parker is one of the toughest, scrappiest, most endearing child protagonists I've ever encountered in a novel. I fell in love with her immediately, and also with the rest of this wonderful cast of survivors—compelling characters the world has kicked hard, but who rise up and become stronger at those broken places. I was rooting for every one of them and haven't stopped thinking of them since.” —Katrina Kittle, author of The Blessings of the Animals

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Flock is a former journalist who reported for Time and People magazines and worked as an on-air correspondent for CBS. She is the author of several acclaimed novels, including But Inside I’m Screaming and Me & Emma. She lives in New York City.

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Product Details

• File Size: 1948 KB
• Print Length: 305 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0345524438
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (August 7, 2012)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005X0K8KO
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,672 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Read "Me And Emma" first... together, they are fabulous July 15, 2012

By Carol M

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

What Happened to My Sister is a sequel to Me and Emma. Do read Me and Emma first. The first book is one of my all-time favorites. It ends with a shocking twist that I didn't see coming, and it has stuck with me for years. If you read the second book first, it will be a "spoiler" for the first book and you'll miss the impact of that twist.

What Happened to My Sister picks up where Me and Emma left off. Young Carrie living a transient with her mother, and is sadly neglected. The child does not even have food, scrounges where she can, and resorts to eating paper when she can't find anything else. It's horrible. Then she meets and befriends a girl from a normal family, but the "normal" family has its own sad history. Carrie and the Chaplin family are good for each other.

I loved this book, and hard a time putting it down. I'm not sure how much of that was because of this book itself, or because I was already so invested in Carrie from reading Me and Emma a few years ago. Either way, I highly recommend both books.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars I, CAROLINE PARKER, AM NOT CRAZY September 1, 2012

By Pamela A. Poddany VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SISTER

Go to the library, your local book store, or better yet, click on AMAZON, and get a copy of ME & EMMA and read it, front to back. Then, sit yourself down and read WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SISTER. You will be glad you did.

ME & EMMA is a book I read years ago and one that has stuck with me. The ending was a super shocker, a total surprise, leaving me stunned. WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SISTER picks up from that point and moves on fluidly.

Caroline, better known as Carrie, is a sad little girl who has led a life full of misery and physical/emotional abuse. She is constantly hungry, unkempt, unloved by her mother, yet she somehow manages to be a sweet and polite little girl, trying hard to make her Momma love her. Horrible things happen to her; one incident so terrible that Carrie and her Momma move out of town. They end up at a no-tell motel in a town much larger than the one they ran from. The size of the town, along with everything that a big city has to offer, is awesome to little nine year old Carrie.

Even though they have changed their address, Momma hasn't changed at all and is very cruel to Carrie. Momma doesn't love or even like Carrie much and beats her and speaks horribly to her. It's amazing what a kind child Carrie is, and even though she is constantly belittled and beaten by her momma, Carrie tries so hard to please her to no avail. Fate will be fate and one day Carrie meets up with Cricket and her mom -- they are a family trying hard to over come their own family tragedy -- and a friendship blossoms quickly.

With Cricket and her mom Honor in her life, Carrie tries hard to reach for some happiness and find some comfort and love in these people. However, she still has to deal with her own mother and the many buried secrets in the past. Carrie is trying hard to forget Emma, her make believe playmate from long ago. Carrie's imagination works overtime and she tries to forget about her pretend friend and the horrible past they shared together. Her momma constantly tells Carrie that if she keeps talking about Emma she will end up in the loony bin for kids.

Cricket and Honor also have sad memories and are trying valiantly to rebuild their own lives after experiencing a life-altering catastrophe. It seems like destiny has stepped in, bringing Cricket and Carrie together.

What follows is eerie and earth-shattering, opening up truths and setting records straight, breaking hearts while at the same time mending those same hearts.

You should read ME & EMMA first and then jump right into this book. Elizabeth Flock writes a great story and one can't help but fall in love with little Carrie and her mysterious past. Her vocabulary and outlook on life is funny and quaint and her strength is amazing. The other characters are fleshed out and human, the entire book generates family, love, togetherness, healing.

Enjoy the two books as one; you will be glad that you did.

Thanks.

Pam

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars I wish I never read it, ruined her first book for me... August 30, 2012

By Kathy Couchon

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Her first book, Me and Emma was a very good read. It had me thinking for several days afterwards, and it had an excellent ending (I won't spoil it, but it was a twist, and it took me by surprise, I am seldom surprised by plots).

I was excited to read this book, the follow on.... Well, I wish I hadn't. It absolutely RUINED the first book for me... it took away the excellent twist, and in my opinion, cheapened the whole first book's story.

This book felt like it was thrown together, sloppy writing, sloppy plot development, and very, very unbelievable. It was as if she had to re-invent her story just to write this book. I say read the first one, don't bother with this one.

More About the Author

*** BREAKING NEWS: I am delighted to announce that "O, The Oprah Magazine" named WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SISTER one of "Ten Titles To Pick Up Now" (September, 2012). ***

The single best career decision I ever made was chosing to leave something safe to try something risky. I look back now and smile at how blissfully unaware I was of all that is involved with getting something published but I am grateful I didn't have that as my goal.
All I wanted was to see if I could write a book I had in mind. My wish for everyone would be to experience the joy of completing something they feel so passionate about.
Being a writer is the hardest job I have ever had but it is also the best, most gratifying job I could hope for.
Visit my website (www.elizabethflock.com) and join me on Facebook: facebook.com/elizabeth.flock.author