ParaNormalRomance.org

"Thought provoking drama"

Their father abandoned them years ago and now their compliant mother is dying forcing the recalcitrant younger of the siblings, teenage Molly to move into the home of her older sister the manipulative Amanda. Except for economics, Molly hates this scenario, as she cannot forgive Amanda for her role in abetting their father in his psychological power games when he lived with them. Worse to Molly is Amanda is a chip off the old block as she needs to dominate their relationship.

The sisters quickly find it easier to lie and pretend an understanding rather than any degree of honesty between them. This world of fabrication is fine to both Molly and Amanda until the seventeen-year old obsesses over her sibling's boy friend. Pondering her past when her home was allegedly a happy place to live, Molly sees nightmares and games families play turning her further into a rebel without a cause with no allies not even her friends.

Chicago has probably never looked as scary as it is seen through the eyes of Molly, a deep character whose psychological woes are the centerpiece of this strong drama. IN MY SISTER'S COUNTRY is as astute of a psychological tale as a reader will find as Lise Haines takes the audience inside to the core of Molly and Amanda who see the same event relatively differently. Fans of taut character studies will relish Ms. Haine's triumphant look at a dysfunctional relationship, but the catch is that this is no joyful trek to the Central Park duck ponds.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted March 20, 2002

At first, their sisterly anger appears nearly comical. But the furious passion with which Molly and Amanda face each other-and the most susceptible men who fall inside their borders-marks In My Sister's Country as a private, unexpected place.

Nearly motherless at seventeen, Molly cannot forgive her sister, either for her relentless manipulations or for the role Amanda once played in their father's powerful games. As a result of those mental contests, lying comes easily to both sisters. But this matters little-until Molly realizes that she desperately desires her sister's lover.

Day by day, Molly's sadly comic insights to this uninsulated life propel her into greater deceits and betrayals. Both sisters are emotionally blindfolded, but Molly's powerful voice and her sense of rebellion well up from somewhere smart and self-contained. And when she dares to look to the other side of the blindfold, we discover how absolute a young woman's solitude can be. An insightful and image-filled debut, In My Sister's Country takes us bravely into a world of shadowy hearts and beseeching arms.