The Promise Girls

April 1, 2017

Minerva Promise is one of the first women to have in vitro fertilization in the late 1970s. She selects donors with particular talents so that her children become prodigies. There's Joanie, the talented pianist; Meg, the painter in the family; and the youngest, Avery, who can tell a compelling story before she learns to write. Minerva writes a tell-all book that quickly draws an overwhelming amount of attention to the family, and 16-year-old Joanie, on television, decides to take matters into her own hands by purposely fumbling her piano playing. This leads Minerva to react in such a way that changes all of their lives. Now grown, the sisters live far away from their mother and are completely removed from their early talents. When a documentary filmmaker shows up and pursues the "Promise sisters" as his new subjects, more questions than answers arise. VERDICT Bostwick ("Cobbled Court Quilts" series) writes yet another strong, character-driven tale that will have any reader truly invested in the sisters. For fans of Debbie Macomber and Robyn Carr.--Melissa Keegan, Ela Area P.L., Lake Zurich, IL

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