When a bird flies into a window in Spring Green, Wisconsin, sisters Milly and Twiss get a visit. Twiss listens to the birds’ heartbeats, assessing what she can fix and what she can’t, while Milly listens to the heartaches of the people who’ve brought them. These spinster sisters have spent their lives nursing people and birds back to health.

But back in the summer of 1947, Milly and Twiss knew nothing about trying to mend what had been accidentally broken. Milly was known as a great beauty with emerald eyes and Twiss was a brazen wild child who never wore a dress or did what she was told. That was the summer their golf pro father got into an accident that cost him both his swing and his charm, and their mother, the daughter of a wealthy jeweler, finally admitted their hardscrabble lives wouldn’t change. It was the summer their priest, Father Rice, announced that God didn’t exist and ran off to Mexico, and a boy named Asa finally caught Milly’s eye. And, most unforgettably, it was the summer their cousin Bett came down from a town called Deadwater and changed the course of their lives forever.

Rebecca Rasmussen’s masterfully written debut novel is full of hope and beauty, heartbreak and sacrifice, love and the power of sisterhood, and offers wonderful surprises at every turn.

Milly and Twiss are two peas in a pod. Uncomfortable as that pod may be, they are sisters for better or worse. Throughout their lives they’ve sought to support the other in their own unique ways, but what happens when a visitor comes for the summer? Could their cousin Bett cause a rift that is beyond repair or will the two ban together? Their love for each other will need to survive the ultimate choice as their family faces an internal battle with lasting consequences. The Bird Sisters is a story of love and the choices we make based on that love.

My real question should be, how do I write about a book that’s so carefully crafted with multiple layers and characters that have you thinking about them days after you finish reading it? Not only that, but one that lives up to every bit of expectation and hype that has been circulating? It’s been a delight getting to know author Rebecca Rasmussen over the last few months and in all honesty I worried that the book wouldn’t connect with me, that though well written I would struggle through it in some way. I always worry about this when I know the author before reading their book(s). Well, I had nothing to worry about. Rebecca’s writing is perfectly timed, quiet, but extremely powerful. I’m beyond thrilled and overjoyed to share this gorgeous book with everyone I know for those very reasons.

As I mentioned Milly and Twiss’ story is layered through a story rich in personal experiences divided between the two sisters. As the story progresses, first starting in their latter years and then slowly revealed through a time in their youth, you discover how these sisters are twined together by a love that many of us long to share with another person. A love so deep it trumps our personal choices in such a way that would lead you to forgo your own desires to protect the other. Who wouldn’t want another individual in your life that you knew with an absolute certainty would always protect and love you? Though Milly and Twiss have their typical sibling disputes, there’s always that underlying love you can feel. The love of a sister who accepts you for who you are, strengths and faults.

It wasn’t only a story about Milly and Twiss, though that’s what it revolved around primarily. Characters like Rollie and Adele, who long for a child of their own, add another layer to the story that I simply adored. Of course there was also the relationship between their parents, Margaret and Joe, which is troubled from the very beginning and continues to be a source of struggle for all involved. And Asa, the love of Milly’s life. Though his character has relatively few appearances throughout the story his impact is no less important and perhaps even more so (I think can still see the blond hairs on the back of his neck glistening in the humid summer afternoon).

In a story so powerful, but quiet it’s hard to accurately explain how I feel about The Bird Sisters. Milly and Twiss slowly twine themselves around your heart and never let go. Theirs is a story about making difficult choices, the affects of poorly made choices and how love has the ability to last a lifetime and beyond. It’s also a story about sacrifice, which often goes hand in hand with love. Sacrifices that if made can alter the lives of everyone involved. There is so much more to this story that I’m leaving out and I know should be mentioned, for that I’m sorry. What I can say though is that this is an absolute must read. The Bird Sisters is a story I will long be thinking about and know I’ll be recommending for a long time to come.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Crown Publishing, for providing a copy of the book for review!

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