Book Review: One Two Three by Laurie Frankel
One Two Three by Laurie Frankel
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date: June 8, 2021
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
In a town where nothing ever changes, suddenly everything does…
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 sock 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. 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 taking on a system stacked against them and uncovering mysteries buried longer than they’ve been alive. Because it’s hard to let go of the past when the past won’t let go of you.
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.
Seventeen years ago, Belsum Chemical set up shop in Bourne and turned its water green. Since then, most of Bourne’s residents have come down with or been born with health problems, including the Mitchell triplets, who refer to themselves in birth order number, which also corresponds to the number of syllables in their names. Mab, or One, is a “normal” sixteen-year-old girl. She’s on the track for high-achieving kids at school. Monday, or Two, is on the autism spectrum. When the town library closed, she took custody of the books, which are now crammed in every nook and cranny of their house. She knows the exact location of every single one though. Mirabel, or Three, has what appears to be cerebral palsy, although I don’t think it’s ever specifically stated. She is in a wheelchair and has the use of just one arm and hand. She uses a voice machine to communicate.
The triplets’ father, who worked in the chemical plant, died of cancer before they were born. Their mother Nora has been trying to get a class-action lawsuit going against Belsum ever since. Then one day, Nathan Templeton, the son of Belsum’s founder, comes to town promising a new beginning. But can he and Belsum be trusted?
One Two Three alternates between the first-person perspectives of the three girls. Each has a distinctive voice and their own fully developed personality. It’s a heavy story but there is some humor as well. Especially from Monday, who is endearing, yet frustrating in the way that overly literal people often are. Mirabel, because she has been an observer of people for her whole life, is wise beyond her years. My favorite line from her is:
“There are two kinds of people in this world: the ones who split the world into two kinds of people, and the ones who know that’s reductive and conversationally lazy.”
I enjoyed One Two Three quite a bit. I like books that are about the people in small towns or communities pulling together to help each other out, as long as they don’t get too cheesy. One Two Three certainly doesn’t. If anything, it’s a little on the darker side, but not in a bad way. This is the third book of Laurie Frankel’s that I’ve read and loved – she’s officially going on my list of favorite authors!
(I received a complimentary copy of this book for review.)
Other books by Laurie Frankel that I’ve reviewed:
Goodbye for Now
This is How It Always Is
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