Publisher: Turner Publishing Company / Dreamscape Media
Published: June 8, 2021
Source: Print – ARC via Turner Publishing / Audio – via library
Summary:
A story of survival, sisters, and secrets.
The Fehler sisters wanted to be more than bug girls but growing up in a fourth- generation family pest control business in rural Missouri, their path was fixed. The family talked about Fehler Family Exterminating at every meal, even when their mom said to separate the business from the family, an impossible task. They tried to escape work with trips to their trailer camp on the Mississippi River, but the sisters did more fighting than fishing. If only there was a son to lead rural Missouri insect control and guide the way through a crumbling patriarchy.
After Robbie Fehler’s sudden death, the surprising details of succession in his will are revealed. He’s left the company to a distant cousin, assuming the women of the family aren’t capable. As the mother’s long-term affair surfaces and her apocalypse prepper training intensifies, she wants to trade responsibility for romance.
Facing an economic recession amidst the backdrop of growing Midwestern fear and resentment, the Fehler sisters unite in their struggle to save the company’s finances and the family’s future. To survive, they must overcome a political chasm that threatens a new civil war as the values that once united them now divide the very foundation they’ve built. Through alternating point-of-views, grief and regret gracefully give way to the enduring strength of the hive.
My thoughts:
As soon as I was pitched this book, I knew I had to read it…and I’m so glad I did. This one surprised me in so many ways and I loved it for that.
I loved that this character-driven novel really had me invested in all the characters. I always love books about families, but this one especially grabbed me. Maybe because it was about a family of four sisters and I just found it so compelling how well-crafted and real these characters were or maybe it was the situation they found themselves in, but I was completely captivated by this story. This book takes you on quite the emotional roller coaster and I found myself laughing and crying along with these characters.
I also found it quite interesting the political commentary that was peppered in throughout the book. I don’t go looking for these books, but I don’t mind when it pops up here and there. The girls’ mother is a doomsday prepper and their father is stuck in the old ways. This causes much angst throughout the book and I loved that we see the girls really come into their own throughout, seeing that they have their own power whether they see it or not.
I really enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it. If you like quirky, yet relatable characters and a story about the importance of family, this book is for you.
Audio thoughts:
This book translated very well onto audio and I very much enjoyed the narration. The narrator, Hallie Ricardo, was new-to-me, but I thought she did a great job voicing this book, really bringing the story to life.
