The Secret Language of Sisters

by Luanne Rice

Overview

When Ruth Ann (Roo) McCabe responds to a text message while she's driving, her life as she knows it ends. The car flips, and Roo winds up in a hospital bed, paralyzed. Silent. Everyone thinks she's in a coma, but Roo has locked-in syndrome -- she can see and hear and understand everything around her, but no one knows it. She's trapped inside her own body, screaming to be heard.

Mathilda (Tilly) is Roo's sister and best friend. She was the one who texted Roo and inadvertently caused the accident. Now, Tilly must grapple with her overwhelming guilt and her growing feelings for Roo's boyfriend, Newton -- the only other person who seems to get what Tilly is going through.

But Tilly might be the only person who can solve the mystery of her sister's condition -- who can see through Roo's silence to the truth underneath.

Somehow, through medicine or miracles, will both sisters find a way to heal?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545910873
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	02/23/2016
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 6.00(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Luanne Rice is the New York Times bestselling author of several novels for adults. There are upwards of twenty-two million copies of her books in print across the world, and five of her novels have been adapted into TV movies and miniseries. The Secret Language of Sisters is her YA debut. Luanne divides her time between New York City, Connecticut, and southern California. Visit her online at www.luannerice.net.

Date of Birth:

September 25, 1955

Place of Birth:

New Britain, CT

Editorial Reviews

04/25/2016
Rice’s YA novel begins with talented and beautiful 16-year-old Roo McCabe texting while driving, overturning her car, and winding up in a hospital, bloodied and paralyzed. Seemingly in a coma, she can see and hear everything, but can’t respond in any way. She’s filled with guilt and despair, while her 14-year-old sister and best friend, Tilly, on the other end of the text, blames herself for causing the crash. The sisters narrate the book in alternate chapters, with Pressley giving voice to Roo and Rudd portraying Tilly. Both actors do extremely well with the highly emotional story, which follows the sisters’ reestablishment of communication and includes several rocky impediments, including Tilly’s short-lived crush on Roo’s boyfriend. The actors convey a genuine sense of teenage angst and ebullience and are just as successful in presenting the few adults—the girls’ concerned mother, dedicated doctors, and a kindly and philosophical older woman whose dog was mildly hurt during the accident. Ages 12–up. A Scholastic/Point hardcover. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly - Audio

05/01/2016
Gr 7 Up—High school junior Roo McCabe's life is full: she needs to choose a college, capture a scholarship-winning photo, and figure out if she still loves her boyfriend, Newton. But then, en route to pick up her sister Tilly, who is incessantly texting for updates on when she'll arrive, an exasperated Roo breaks protocol and replies. A swerve, a skid, and an end-over-end tumble result in paralysis compounded by locked-in syndrome. Told in alternating chapters and perspectives, Tilly's and Roo's individual journeys toward recovery finally join together, sealed with the healing gift of unconditional love between sisters. Kate Rudd (Tilly) and Brittany Pressley (Roo) provide solid narrations for all secondary characters, but each shines as her respective sister. Rice's YA debut with its timely don't-text-and-drive story line will give teens much to think about in relation to their texting habits. VERDICT A first-pick choice. ["A good purchase for libraries with teens craving realistic but not edgy fiction": SLJ 12/15 review of the Scholastic Point book.]—Cheryl Preisendorfer, Twinsburg City Schools, OH

School Library Journal - Audio

11/09/2015
Sisters Tilly and Roo have been through everything, including their father’s sudden death only a year ago. When an impatient Tilly texts Roo to pick her up at a museum, Roo makes a split-second decision that changes her life forever. Paralyzed and feeling hopeless, 16-year-old Roo, the “perfect, genius, made-for-the-Ivy-League” sister, finds herself stuck in a body that won’t respond, surrounded by loved ones slowly drifting away from her. Alternating between the perspectives of both sisters, bestselling adult author Rice (Home Fires) navigates the delicate territory of sisterhood and accountability in her first book for teens. When 14-year-old Tilly discovers that she is responsible for the text that harmed her sister, this knowledge instigates a series of actions that damage relationships, possibly beyond repair. Rice skillfully examines the way one mistake can shatter the lives of many, though the dialogue centering on disability language and the dangers of texting is heavy-handed in places. With the help of supportive doctors and new friends, both girls find ways to express themselves and prove that sisterhood is an unbreakable bond. Ages 12–up. Agent: Andrea Cirillo, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Secret Language of Sisters:

"Riveting and heartbreaking... a glorious affirmation." -- Lauren Myracle, bestselling author of Shine

"Luanne Rice brings her trademark grace and lyricism to a suspenseful story about sisters and life-changing chances." -- Huntley Fitzpatrick, author of My Life Next Door

"A moving story, beautiful told, about art, hope, and all kinds of love. Welcome to the YA world, Luanne Rice!" -- Natalie Standiford, author of How to Say Goodbye in Robot

"Raw and emotional. A novel you'll want to discuss, and one that will stick with you long after you've turned the last page." -- Tamara Ireland Stone, bestselling author of Every Last Word

"Rice skillfully examines the way one mistake can shatter the lives of many." -- Publishers Weekly

"Genuine and heartfelt. . . fans of Gayle Forman's If I Stay. . . will find another favorite in this." -- School Library Journal.

"Rice, a bestselling adult author, employs alternating chapters in the sisters' voices with clarity and honesty in her YA debut." -- Booklist

Praise for Internationally Bestselling Author Luanne Rice

"Luanne Rice has enticed millions of readers." -- USA Today

"Rice has an elegant style, a sharp eye, and a real warmth." -- San Francisco Chronicle

"Rice's trademarks are fine writing, a good eye for small detail, and an uncanny way of conveying the mysterious glue that holds families together." -- Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

What if your whole life changed in the matter of a few seconds? One glance down at a cell phone while driving, a quick text back— “5 mins away”—and Roo’s life changes forever. Ruth Ann (Roo) is a smart and practical girl; she knows that texting and driving is a terrible thing to do, but the impatience of her young sister Tilly causes her to make a rash decision that leaves her paralyzed. Tilly has always thought of herself as the polar opposite of her smart and creative older sister. Now that her sister is hospital-bound, because of the text she sent, she cannot help but blame herself for the horrific accident and uncertainty of her sister’s new way of life. Even though each sister is working through some very deep and dark things, the fact remains that their love as sisters is more powerful than anything life can throw at them. Rice has done a great job of showing how a quick decision can change everything. Roo’s accident, Tilly’s texting and then her choices and actions that follow, all help readers to see the hardships life can bring. In the end though, this book does more than just shine a light on the problem of texting and driving. It definitely explores this issue, but it also focuses on love, heartbreak, and growing up. Rice uses both Roo and Tilly as narrators for this book, which allows readers to understand what each sister is going through. While this title may not fly off the shelves, it is a great addition to library collections. Reviewer: Loryn Aman; Ages 12 to 18.

VOYA, February 2016 (Vol. 38, No. 6) - Loryn Aman

Ruth Ann (Roo) and Mathilda (Tilly) McCabe are as close, and as different, as two sisters can be. Roo is beautiful, smart, and has her heart set on attending an Ivy League university. Tilly is creative, insecure, and going through a major identity crisis. Having recently lost their father, they rely heavily on each other for just about everything. It’s not until Roo gets in a horrific accident after responding to one of Tilly’s texts that they both realize how one poor decision can change everything. Roo is paralyzed and unable to speak. Tilly must deal with the guilt about the accident as well as her increasing feelings towards Roo’s long-time boyfriend, Newton, the only person who can relate to what Tilly’s feeling. Through alternating viewpoints between Roo and Tilly, the story follows Roo’s journey as she faces her new reality, and Tilly’s growth as she is forced to mature and face her insecurities and guilt head-on. The story directly addresses a chronic problem in the life of most teens: texting and driving. While a story about texting and driving has been a long time coming, the extent of Roo’s injuries and the impact they have on her life and future plans are about as extreme as it gets. Also, the story puts a fair amount of emphasis on Tilly’s responsibility for texting Roo when she knew she was driving, when it should put responsibility on the driver’s choice to ignore the text as the key to preventing an accident. An incredibly powerful story, and very appropriate given the pervasiveness of texting and driving, it is very dark and offers little hope in the end, which makes it a very depressing and sad read, despite the importance of the lesson. Reviewer: Emily B. Cook; Ages 12 up.

Children's Literature - Emily B. Cook

12/01/2015
Gr 7–10—This realistic, if a bit heavy-handed, emotional ride takes readers through two sisters' perspectives on a life-altering accident. Tilly and Roo, close friends as well as siblings, find their lives thrown upside down when Roo gets into a devastating car accident. She survives but goes into a coma and eventually suffers from locked-in syndrome—she can hear and see, but she just can't move. Everyone rallies around her, but Tilly, her younger sister, finds herself increasingly on the outside and increasingly attracted to Roo's boyfriend, Newton. Tilly's feelings of guilt multiply when everyone in school discovers that she was texting Roo at the time of the accident. Newton and Roo's relationship, while emotionally deep, remains modest, so middle schoolers would be quite comfortable with the romance here. The alternating chapters, from Tilly's and Roo's perspectives, add to the authenticity of the story; the emotions are genuine and heartfelt. The "don't text and drive" message is a little overdrawn, but readers will be engaged in the emotional and physical recoveries of both sisters. Fans of Gayle Forman's If I Stay (Dutton, 2009) will find another favorite in this. VERDICT A good purchase for libraries with teens craving realistic but not edgy fiction.—Lisa Ehrle, Falcon Creek Middle School, CO

School Library Journal

2015-11-03
Nature, photography, sisterhood, and severe consequences for texting while driving. Sisters Roo, 16, and Tilly, 14, live right where the Connecticut River meets Long Island Sound. Between Roo's stunning photographs (of river, beaches, marshes, and people) and her off-the-charts academic test scores, she's a shoo-in for Yale—until one fateful day. Roo's late picking up Tilly; Tilly pesters her by text, demanding a response; Roo glances down to reply "5 mins away" and flips her car, ending up paralyzed and in a coma. The sisters alternate first-person narration. Via Roo's chapters, readers know long before her family and doctors that she's actually not in a coma—she has locked-in syndrome and can't move, but she's fully sentient and as sharp as ever. Themes are plentiful and include guilt and confession; recovery (Roo uses a brain-computer interface to communicate and eventually take photos with her one mobile eye); boyfriends and loyalty; and, of course, the warning about texting while driving. Textual insistences that the sisters are best friends with an unbreakable relationship and that Roo's the most "special, luminous girl"—both before and after paralysis—are unduly explicit, and Tilly's voice is sometimes uncharacteristically florid. White characters are white by default, while characters of color are specified, stereotyped, and mainly present to supply support and wisdom. Choppy and an issue book to the core, though certainly effective on the texting-and-driving message. (Fiction. 12-15)

Kirkus Reviews