Sisters of Heart and Snow

February 1, 2015
In Dilloway's third novel (The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns, 2012, etc.), two estranged sisters wonder what they can learn from a 12th-century female samurai.Rachel and Drew Snow grew up in an unusual household. Their American father, Killian, had purchased their Japanese mother, Hikari, through a mail-order-bride catalog. Rachel always resented her father's domineering ways; he turned Hikari into a submissive housewife and expected complete obedience from his daughters. Now in their 30s, the sisters rarely talk, and their family is permanently fractured. Their mother is suffering from dementia and living in a nursing home, Killian is battling Rachel for power of attorney so that he can put his wife in a cheaper home, and Drew is adrift, without a steady job or relationship. Only Rachel, happily married with two children, seems to have her life together. That is, until her mother, in a rare moment of lucidity, tells Rachel she must find a special book she left for the girls, a book about the legendary woman samurai Tomoe Gozen. Rachel enlists Drew's help to find the book and get it translated. As they embark on this project together, burdened by years of conflict, hurt feelings and an impossible desire to know more about their mysterious mother, Drew and Rachel discover, in each other and in themselves, a power they didn't know they had-a power to heal, to forgive and become sisters once again. Alternating with Rachel and Drew's story is the story of Tomoe Gozen and her unlikely friendship with her lover's wife, Yamabuki. In the hands of a less experienced novelist, this format might have become trite, but the two narratives don't draw obvious parallels. The ways in which Rachel and Drew learn from Tomoe and Yamabuki and apply those lessons to their own lives are unexpected and ultimately satisfying. In this enjoyable novel, imperfect and at times unlikable women become lovable.

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March 15, 2015
Rachel and Drew's mother, Haruki, is languishing in an upscale nursing home, all but abandoned by her husband, Killian, who is also mounting a vindictive legal battle to wrest power of attorney away from Rachel. Haruki may be suffering from dementia, but she is still savvy enough to guide her daughters to an important book she left behind in the childhood home she was thrown out of when she was 16, after failing to fulfill her father's dreams of her having an Olympic swimming career. Written in Japanese, the book tells the tale of the real-life, tenth-century female samurai, Tomoe Gozen, who may just be their ancestor. As Rachel and Drew overcome their past contentious relationship to unite in a front to protect their mother, the heroic exploits of this honored figure in Japanese history inspire and imbue them with the fortitude to confront their father's overpowering ways. Spanning centuries, Dilloway's intricate, multigenerational saga of repressive family dynamics offers a timeless look at the bonds of sisterhood.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

November 1, 2014

Given power of attorney by her ailing Japanese mother, which angers her uncompromising father, Rachel Snow must ask sister Drew to help find a book their mother wants--the story of real-life female samurai Tomoe Gozen, which ends up illuminating the sisters' relationship. That story-within-a-story will be available as a stand-alone ebook; Dilloway's The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns was a top pick on the 2013 RUSA Reading List.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2015

Mirroring aspects of her successful debut novel, How To Become an American Housewife, Dilloway (The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns) returns to her Japanese American roots with her storytelling. Sisters Rachel Perotti, mother of two, and Drew Snow, a struggling musician, learn more about their mother, Hikari Sato, a Japanese "mail order" bride who married their somewhat sexist and chauvinistic father, Killian Snow. Hikari experiences a brief moment of lucidity from her recently diagnosed dementia and grants Rachel power of attorney, enraging Killian. The sisters come back together over a photo album/book, learning about female samurai Tomoe Gozen, and possible family ties to this late 12th-century Japanese warrior. Story lines move between the lives of Tomoe and the Snow sisters' dysfunctional upbringing and their modern-day struggles. VERDICT Dilloway's characterizations of strong female protagonists are well done. The contemporary sections featuring the sisters provide greater depth and satisfaction than the historical one. Dilloway might have done better creating two independent stories/novels or expanding the tale of Hikari Sato to tie the other plotlines together. Still, the work is a laudable effort overall. [See Prepub Alert, 10/5/14.]--Shirley Quan, Orange Cty. P.L., Santa Ana, CA

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.