Book Review: The Favorite Sister | Jessica Knoll

Wow! The number of twists in this book had my head spinning!

Jessica Knoll brings us a wonderful but terrifying portrayal of the dark side of sisterhood, leaving the reader wondering if the drama we see on Reality TV is actually less twisted than the truth. I found this novel absolutely captivating! Jessica’s use of alternating narrators kept me on my toes—I didn’t know who to trust or believe. Once I thought I had the dynamics and characters figured out, the narrator would change and everything I thought I knew was turned over.

I have followed Jessica Knoll’s work since her days at Cosmopolitan magazine, when she wrote her Josie stories. From there, I followed her blog as she kept Josie alive. Though I liked the Josie stories, it was really when she began writing about Elizabeth that I saw what is so special about Jessica as a writer. She writes damaged characters so well; I hate them, I love them, they break my heart, and then somehow they redeem themselves. Sometimes I want to cover my eyes as they are on paths to destruction. Other times I cheer as they show their human side. More than anything, she writes characters who are so dynamic, which makes them feel real.

She excels at writing the woman who seems so enviable on the outside, only to find out how damaged they are from events in their life. When I read The Favorite Sister, I had no clue who to side with. But that is the point, right? It’s ok to love all of the characters, or to hate all of them. It’s ok to side with one, and then two chapters later side with the other. At times I loved all of the characters, and at other times I hated them all. But ultimately, there wasn’t a moment reading this book where I didn’t feel something. That is so important.

About the Book

The story is about two sisters. But the story is also about four sisters. There are two biological sisters—Brett and Kelly. And then there are the sisters formed through a shared experience—Brett, Lauren, Jen, and Stephanie. Brett, Lauren, Jen, and Stephanie are the only remaining cast members from the original cast of a reality show called Goal Diggers—a show about women in their late 20s/early 30s who own their own businesses and are doing incredible things.

As the novel opens, we are at the end of filming of Season 4, and someone has died during filming. One of the original 4 sisters. Then we move back in time to before Season 4 is filmed, and Brett’s sister and business partner Kelly is joining the cast. But Kelly can’t possibly be prepared for the toxic world these seasoned reality show veterans exist in. They know how to work the system, they know how to interpret how production is manipulating them, and they know when to go with it and when to work against it. They know how to hide the truth—from production, from the public, and most importantly, from themselves. But at what point does the person they are for the show, become who they actually are?

Reflection

One thing I loved about this story was the concept of sisterhood. As all women know, there are sisters you have from your family connections, but there are also the sisters you find in life. And really, these sisterhood connections aren’t so different. Sisters protect one another from outside forces, but despite the love between sisters, there are few dynamics more impacted by competition than sisterhood. We see this play out in the novel, both between biological sisters Brett and Kelly, and between the four original sisters of the show.

I also enjoyed the setting being in this reality television world. It’s so easy to see the contestants as dysfunctional, but when you really dig deeper, it makes you wonder how much of that is caused by these people making money off of their backs, while manipulating them into torpedoing their own lives. Who is to blame, then? The people who want to do it in the first place? The production company for treating people as pawns? Or the public, for making this a lucrative industry? In the novel, we see four women who have already sold their soul to reality television. But then we also have Kelly, who is at the beginning of her contract. Kelly’s progression through the book is fascinating to watch. Will she be able to resist the seductive pull of fame and power? Or will she become another casualty?

Stephanie was a truly magnificent character as well. Stephanie is a woman of color and a famous writer. But she grew up adopted in a white, wealthy neighborhood. Hearing Stephanie’s experience—how her skin color was almost more impactful on her life because of the privilege she grew up with and the absence of other people of color—was really a thought-provoking aspect of this book.

I think from reading some other early reviews, it is easy to see this book as shallow, because on the surface it is about murder and reality tv. But as you read it, and as you really put thought into the characters and what they are telling you—the lies, the truths, the vulnerabilities—this book really is the perfect mix of salacious and deep. It hooked me because of the drama, but it got into my head because of the love and the tragedy and the characters.

Thank you so much to Jessica Knoll and to Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.