Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Rise and Shine

is the story of two sisters--Bridget and Meghan. Orphaned as little girls, they were raised by their aunt. Meghan married young and became a successful morning news person; she and her husband Evan, a lawyer, have a son named Leo and appear to be the perfect couple. Bridget is still single, an adoring aunt to Leo, and works as a social worker. She has a cop boyfriend named Irving who is older and not wanting to get married, but who loves her.

Meghan is famous and Bridget is used to the ups and downs of being around her sister in public; they have a fairly solid relationship and spend a lot of time together. Then something awful happens: Meghan thinks the microphone is off and utters a couple of taboo words in response to a guest who is acting like a jerk on national TV. About the same time, Evan tells Meghan he wants out of the marriage. Meghan goes to Jamaica to get away from it all.

In the meantime, Bridget tries to carry on, and help take care of Leo, who is a young man by now. Since he's out of school for the summer, she enlists his help as a driver at her social work agency. When Meghan doesn't return, Bridget goes to check on her, and finds her sister transformed. She's lost weight, chopped off her hair, and gotten tanned. She swims miles and miles each day. She also has no interest in returning to her old life.

What finally brings Meghan back to New York is something that I will let the reader discover on her own. However, I found this an engaging book. I liked the characters and was drawn in by Quindlen's description and dialogue. You can find it both the CDbook collection and the Adult Fiction section.