Sign up for our newsletters to receive our Best of 2024 ezine!

Excerpt from Sister Mine by Tawni O'Dell, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reviews |  Beyond the Book |  Readalikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

Sister Mine by Tawni O'Dell

Sister Mine

A Novel

by Tawni O'Dell
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (6):
  • First Published:
  • Mar 13, 2007, 416 pages
  • Paperback:
  • May 2008, 416 pages
  • Rate this book

About this Book

Print Excerpt


"What'd he say?"

"He said he thought you'd take the job."

"No, that's not what I mean. What'd he say about me?"

"He said he thought you'd take the job," he repeats.

The girl crawls inside the car and motions for her brother to follow. Once he's seated beside her she makes him fasten his seat belt but doesn't put on her own.

"What'd he really say about me?" I ask him.

A brief silence.

"He said you're attractive, although he didn't use the word 'attractive,' but I think that was the point he was trying to make."

"Does that make you more eager to have me drive you?"

"I doubt I'd be interested in you in that way."

"Why not? Are you gay? Faithful? Celibate? Impotent?"

"Picky."

"Fair enough," I say.

I'm trying to figure him out. His manner of speaking sounds almost rehearsed. There's not the slightest trace of any kind of a regional accent in his voice; he enunciates too well, and he uses very little inflection. He talks rapidly but he's also fond of dramatic pauses. He's sort of a cross between Captain Kirk and the guy who did the English voice-overs for all the old Kung Fu movies.

My guess is he grew up talking one way and puts a lot of effort into not talking that way anymore.

"Where are you exactly?" I ask him.

"I'm here at this ridiculous, godforsaken excuse for an airport."

"Harrisburg International?"

"International? You can't even fly to New York from here."

"That's true, but there's one flight to Canada."

Another silence.

"Can you pick me up or not?"

"Yeah. Sure. I can pick you up. You realize it's a two-hour drive?"

"Yes, I do. The other cab drivers enlightened me. Is it also true that there are no hotels in Jolly Mount?"

"The nearest motel would be in Centresburg, about thirty miles from here."

"Unbelievable."

"What's your name, sir?"

"Why do you need to know?"

"Because I'm about to invest four hours of my life and sixty dollars worth of gas on the assumption that you're going to be there when I show up. The least you can do in return is tell me your name."

He doesn't answer.

"Fine. I'll just call you Sparky."

"Gerald," he says sharply. "Gerald Kozlowski."

He hangs up.

I click my phone shut happily. A fare from the airport. Big bucks.

Then I notice the two little ones in my back seat.

"Sorry, kids," I tell them while opening the door and motioning for them to get out. "There's been a change in plans. I can't take you to the mall after all."

Kenny does what he's told. The girl glares at me.

"Why the hell not?"

"It was a bad idea to begin with, now that I think about it. If I take you to the mall then you're going to be stranded at the mall. How will you get home?"

She gets out and slams the door. She doesn't answer my question.

"Where is home anyway?" I keep after her. "And what are you doing out by yourself in the middle of town on a Saturday morning?"

"It ain't none of your business where our home is and we can be wherever we want to be. It's a free country."

"So I've been told."

She joins Kenny and takes up a stance next to him with her hands jabbed back on her hips. I notice her gaze flicker toward a red Radio Flyer wagon parked next to the front door of the convenience store.

"Well, I guess you can't live too far away if you pulled Kenny in a wagon," I comment. "Where are your parents?"

All I get from her in reply is hostile silence and sharp elbows.

Kenny gives me the sheep stare.

"Who are your parents?"

Nothing.

"Can I at least know your name?"

She thinks about it.

Excerpted from Sister Mine by Tawni O'Dell Copyright © 2007 by Tawni O'Dell. Excerpted by permission of Shaye Areheart Books, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Beyond the Book:
  US Military Recruitment

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket
    Prophet Song
    by Paul Lynch
    Paul Lynch's 2023 Booker Prize–winning Prophet Song is a speedboat of a novel that hurtles...
  • Book Jacket: The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern
    The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern
    by Lynda Cohen Loigman
    Lynda Cohen Loigman's delightful novel The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern opens in 1987. The titular ...
  • Book Jacket: Small Rain
    Small Rain
    by Garth Greenwell
    At the beginning of Garth Greenwell's novel Small Rain, the protagonist, an unnamed poet in his ...
  • Book Jacket: Daughters of Shandong
    Daughters of Shandong
    by Eve J. Chung
    Daughters of Shandong is the debut novel of Eve J. Chung, a human rights lawyer living in New York. ...

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
In Our Midst
by Nancy Jensen
In Our Midst follows a German immigrant family’s fight for freedom after their internment post–Pearl Harbor.
Book Jacket
The Story Collector
by Evie Woods
From the international bestselling author of The Lost Bookshop!
Who Said...

In war there are no unwounded soldiers

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Big Holiday Wordplay 2024

Enter Now

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.