By 
I can’t explain why it took me until 2013 to read my first Monica McInerney novel. She is an Australian-born author with international bestsellers including: A Taste for It, Upside Down Inside Out, Spin the Bottle, and most recently Lola’s Secret. I often trade books with friends and family and was not familiar with Monica McInerney until I was handed a book called The Alphabet Sisters. The book was a quick read filled with dynamic characters brought to life with the authors’ great details on physical and emotional attributes. McInerney wove a beautiful story of a family in turmoil that overcame its own fears and selfish pride. I can only apologize for not having read this lovely story earlier (it was copyrighted in 2004) and I can say without a doubt that I will be reading more of McInerney’s books in the very near future.
This beautiful play takes place in the Clare Valley of South Australia, just before the celebration of the 80th birthday of Lola, the grandmother of the Alphabet Sisters. Lola has decided to reunite her separated granddaughters at the family’s small motel in the beautiful wine country. The girls indulge their grandmother (somewhat reluctantly) and come to the motel. They have no intention of being as close as they once were as a touring singing group like the infamous Alphabet Sisters, with their eccentric outfits and show tunes. Family dynamics vary from awkward and tense to cuddly and loving as the story unfolds. McInerney has a way of bringing characters to life without any individual becoming antagonists. There’s something to love about each of the sisters: Anna is the oldest and rushes to take over, Bett is the middle daughter who feels awkward and unsure of herself from time to time, and Carrie is the youngest and the only one. Sister who had never left and was still in Clare Valley running the motel with her parents when her brothers returned. Lola is the funny grandmother and matriarch of the family; she also has a secret that is not revealed until near the end of the book. To learn more about her secret, you can get a copy of Lola’s Secret shortlisted for General Fiction Book of the Year at the 2012 Australian Book Industry Awards and published in the US in October 2012.
The Alphabet Sisters takes a closer look at family dynamics, sibling relationships and rivalries, secrets, and different points of view. McInerney brought to life the many unique characters whose ties and relationships delighted her aging grandmother, Lola, who was the catalyst for reuniting the family and mending broken relationships. McInerney’s first job after high school, at 17, was as a wardrobe girl and then as a screenwriter. She drew from her own past as the story of the Alphabet Sisters unfolded with a local play, auditions, local amateur talent, and a packed performance to fund a new ambulance for her city.