The Book:
One Two Three by Laurie Frankel
Expected publication: June 8th 2021 by Henry Holt and Co.
Date read: April 21, 2021
The Characters:
Mab (One), Monday (Two), and Mirabel (Three)
Their mother Nora
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon
The Plot (from Goodreads):
Everyone knows everyone in the tiny town of Bourne, but the Mitchell triplets are especially beloved. Mirabel is the smartest person anyone knows, and no one doubts it just because she can’t speak. Monday is the town’s purveyor of books now that the library’s closed—tell her the book you think you want, and she’ll pull the one you actually do from the microwave or her underwear drawer. Mab’s job is hardest of all: get good grades, get into college, get out of Bourne.
For a few weeks seventeen years ago, Bourne was national news when its water turned green and was declared unfit for use, but it was too late for its residents, and the girls have come of age watching their mother’s endless fight for justice. But just when it seems life might go on the same forever, the first moving truck anyone’s seen in years pulls up and unloads new residents and old secrets. Soon, the Mitchell sisters are uncovering mysteries buried longer than they’ve been alive and taking on a system stacked against them. And in a town where nothing ever changes, suddenly everything does.
Three unforgettable narrators join together here to tell a spellbinding story with wit, wonder, and deep affection. As she did in This Is How It Always Is, Laurie Frankel has written a laugh-out-loud-on-one-page-grab-a-tissue-the-next novel, as only she can, about how expanding our notions of normal makes the world a better place for everyone and how when days are darkest, it’s our daughters who will save us all.
The Twist:
The owners of the chemical plant knew all along that it would cause harm, and didn’t care.The dam belonged to the town, so they had the power to stop the repair to halt the company’s progress. The information was in Monday’s library all along.
The Ending:
The triplets steal a backhoe and destroy the dam. This halts the chemical company’s progress and saves the town. Eventually word gets out about their shady practices thanks to Mirabel’s newsletter, and the company gets what’s coming to them.
The Review:
Thank you to Libro.fm and Macmillan Audio for an ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve seen this book around a lot recently, so when it popped up as one of the ALC options on Libro.fm I knew I had to request it. The premise is unlike anything else I have read before! Those who enjoyed Good Neighbors will also enjoy this read, though.
On audio, I was worried that it would be difficult to keep these three sisters straight, but that wasn’t the case at all, thanks to a clever little trick the author tells us right in the beginning. The three narrators also do an incredible job of making their voices sound like the character’s personality, if that makes sense. Especially well done are the voices of Monday, who is autistic, and Mirabel, who is unable to speak without the use of technology. I loved how each of the triplets was telling her own perspective of the same story, but how the three different narrations came together to tell the whole thing. I thought the overlapping points of view were very well done.
Frankel attacks many complicated themes, foremost being the environmental and political issues that the chemical plant poses. She also addresses disability, misdiagnosis of diseases, ableism, elitism, and income inequality.
Overall, this book was extremely clever and unique, both in the plot and also the characters and the narration. This is definitely one you should try to get your hands on!
