My Sister's Bones - Paperback

by Cathi Hanauer (Author)

A touching coming-of-age novel featuring a protagonist who's the kind of girl every woman wishes she'd had as a best friend growing up

Billie Weinstein sees things most people don't see. Her sister, Cassie, has always been her touchstone, the person she turns to for advice and guidance, the person whose opinion means the most to her. But ever since Cassie left for college, she's seemed different--withdrawn, obsessed with studying, and she barely eats. Billie can't talk to her parents about it; they act as if nothing is wrong, refusing to see the changes in their older daughter.

Now Billie has become Cassie's confidante, the only one Cassie trusts enough to tell the truth to, and Billie is suddenly thrust into an unfamiliar--and disturbing--role; one that drives her to make choices that will forever change the way she looks at the world.

A poignant story of self-discovery, My Sister's Bones explores the shifting landscape of family, friendship, and love through the eyes of a young girl possessed of a wisdom far beyond her years. In Billie Weinstein we meet a character as funny, vivid, and endearing as any in recent memory, and watch her transformation as she achieves freedom from the seemingly unbreakable web of family ties.

Praise for My Sister's Bones

"A poignant but also lively and humorous novel, with characters so believable you expect them to rise up off the page."--New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Berg

"My Sister's Bones works a miracle. . . . Funny and idiosyncratic, elegant and simple . . . Cathi] Hanauer gives power and dignity to the subject of anorexia."--The Village Voice

"A persuasive, well-rendered, and rich first novel about family."--Kirkus Reviews

"Beautifully written . . . Hanauer paints a disturbing picture of the horrific effects of anorexia on patient and family."--Library Journal

Front Jacket

At sixteen, Billie Weinstein has plenty of problems: She's the only Jewish girl living in the all-Italian neighborhood of West Berry, NJ; she's trying hard to please her know-it-all father who listens to opera at full volume and drives full speed, and her too-accommodating mother who is either taking care of Billie's father, or Billie and her sister, or the two dogs; and on top of everything else, her older sister Cassie goes off to college, leaving Billie to fend for herself.

And now Billie's studying for the SATs. The task her father has given her is to learn twenty words a day, read the New York Times at least twice a week and watch Masterpiece Theatre whenever he tells her to, mostly because he likes it. Then Billie discovers her sister's secret: Cassie is battling anorexia and Billie's parents excuse Cassie's weight loss as stress due to the competitive atmosphere at college. Billie knows something is drastically wrong with her sister; something that could be fatal.

This novel is touching and funny and moving, and it got great reviews. And Billie Weinstein is so wry and humorous a protagonist, she's the kind of girl every woman wishes she'd had as a best friend growing up.

Author Biography

Cathi Hanauer is the author of three novels--My Sister's Bones, Sweet Ruin, and Gone--and is the editor of the New York Times bestselling essay collection The Bitch in the House. A former columnist for Glamour, Mademoiselle, and Seventeen, she has written for The New York Times, Elle, Self, Real Simple, and other magazines. She lives in Northampton, Massachusetts, with her husband, New York Times "Modern Love" editor Daniel Jones, and their daughter and son.