With more than four different points of view and jumping to many different years, it took a few chapters to find my footing once I started reading Jennifer Weiner’s newest novel THE GRIFFIN SISTERS GREATEST HITS but, once I did, I enjoyed the ride.
The story focuses on two sisters from the Philadelphia suburbs through the past rise and fall of their rock band intertwined with the current day quest for stardom of one of their daughters. Zoe always dreamed of being a rich and famous rock star. Armed with beauty but minimal talent she convinces her awkward, musical prodigy sister, Cassie, to sing in public together.
The band takes off when songwriter Russell D’Angelo collaborates with Cassie’s amazing voice and dates Zoe. A tragedy tears the band apart when each sister wants what the other possesses. Zoe’s daughter, Cherry, never met her famous Aunt Cassie but leaves home hoping she can find her and convince her to act as her mentor in a reality-singing TV show. Fast-paced writing with complex, flawed characters that had me hoping old wounds would heal and reunite the family. Fans of Daisy Jones and the Six would enjoy.
One of the most anticipated books of the year, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner, a glimmering novel set in the world of pop music about sisters, motherhood, young love, and the dreams we chase.
Sisters Cassie and Zoe Grossberg were born just a year apart but could not have been more different. Zoe, blessed with charm and beauty, yearned for fame from the moment she could sing into a hairbrush. Cassie was a musical prodigy who never felt at home in her own skin and preferred the safety of the shadows.
On the brink of adulthood in the early 2000s, destiny intervened, catapulting the sisters into the spotlight as the pop sensation the Griffin Sisters, hitting all the touchstones of early aughts fame—SNL, MTV, Rolling Stone magazine—along the way.
But after a whirlwind year in the public eye, the band abruptly broke up.
Two decades later, Zoe’s a housewife; Cassie’s off the grid. The sisters aren’t speaking, and the real reason for the Griffin Sisters’ breakup is still a mystery. Zoe’s teenage daughter, Cherry, who’s determined to be a star in spite of Zoe’s warnings, is on a quest to learn the truth about what happened to the band all those years ago.
As secrets emerge, all three women must face the consequences of their choices: the ones they made and the ones the music industry made for them. Can they forgive each other—and themselves? And will the Griffin Sisters ever make music again?