"Winter Sisters" by Robin Oliveira- A book review

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A parents worst nightmares usually involve them not being present or able to help their children in a time of desperate need which results in a child's injury. Such is the situation described in Oliver's' "Winter Sisters" where little Emma and Claire, aged 10 and 7, find themselves in the hands of an opportunistic abuser following the aftermath of a sudden and historic blizzard in upstate New York which had killed more than 400 persons in the Northeastern United States shortly after the Civil War. Although eventually able to escape and find safety in the home of family friends (the Stipps), the abuses suffered haunt them while the adults attempt to piece together a legal case against the abuser of whom they have yet to discover a name. Band together alongside the family as they attempt to battle prejudices, old money and mid-1800s social standards in search of justice for those unable to champion themselves.

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As alluded to above, the main subject of the book deals with finding justice in a sexual child abuse case and actually covers a wide range of abuses not uncommon in post-civil war society where the age of consent was 10 years old. The novel is written in the third person which allows the reader to venture into each characters thoughts and, while this gives the reader clues as to who the abuser is, revelations are made within the authors good timing. While the beginning of the book was a little difficult for me to read, again dealing with sexual child abuse, the author was not overly graphic but gave sufficient detail, in the form of medical assessment, to where justice is demanded on the part of the reader. Interestingly enough, the defendants lawyer is a novice which makes this novel a good introductory book for someone who is interested in criminal family law and while set in a historical time frame it is not overloaded with facts so that it would also be a good introductory book to someone wanting to delve into the historical genre. Although an excellent story, I will not be adding it to my library due to the sensitive subject matter.

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~Bookleaf~

Winter Sisters

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