Amazon recommends products to me based on my buying history all the time. It had been a while since it had recommended a book for me that I felt intrigued enough to buy. The premise of “Sick Girl” a psychological book with some dark turns was enough to get me to give the Kindle version a shot. Two women, with very different lives, both have cancer. One, Aubrey, is obsessed with the other woman, Melissa’s, husband and wants to help the other’s demise speed up so she can take the other woman’s place for the rest of her life. Some reviewers said the book had an amazing twist ending, and that was the final nudge I needed to give it a chance.
The book lets you inside the head of Aubrey and Melissa both. Aubrey thinks Melissa has the perfect life with a great husband and kids. when we see things from Melissa’s point of view, we see troubles in her marriage and even one of her kids keeps complaining of stomach aches – yet the author wouldn’t let the ambiguous girl in the title mean her young daughter also has cancer, right?
The further the book progresses, the more we see how many day to day problems they have outside their common fats. Aubrey is young with a cashier’s job she hates and a manager who has it out for her. Melissa seems rich from the outside, but the cancer made her quit the company she founded and she worries about the company being sold and her contributions erased.
Yet, they both have Tom in their lives. Tom is a devoted father and husband to Melissa, yet behind her back he’s constantly seeing Aubrey. They each think they know who he is, and yet, they both don’t know a lot about the man in their lives. At least one of them is very mistaken about who he is. Aubrey gets close to Melissa in part to be rid of her rival, yet finds herself actually liking her.
I had a hunch on what the major twist of the book would be, and I’m happy to report that I was wrong. While the one I had in mind would have made for a good story, the author’s one made for a great story. That with an unusual premise, and great attention to detail without even telegraphing the twist in advance, makes this a fascinating read.
Rating – five baby booties out of five
~ Danielle
Over 40 First Time Mom 