True Colors by Kristin Hannah

Title: True Colors
Author: Kristin Hannah
# pages: 393
Date published: 2009
Genre: women’s fiction
Challenge(s): 100+ Challenge, Countdown Challenge, 999 Challenge, Pages Read Challenge, Support Your Library Challenge

Rating: (highly recommended)



First paragraph:

“Fifteen-year-old Winona Grey stared out at the waterfront ranch that had been in her family for four generations, looking for something that had changed. Loss like theirs should leave a mark--summer grass gone suddenly brown, dark clouds that refused to lift, a tree split by lightning. Something.”

What is it all about? True Colors is a story about three sisters--Winona (a lawyer and the oldest sister), Aurora (the peacemaking middle sister), and Vivi Ann (the baby). But the story is not only about the relationships between the sisters, it’s also about the relationships between lovers, between a parent and a child, and between a husband and a wife.

From the book jacket:

The Grey sisters have always been close. After their mother’s death, the girls banded together, becoming best friends. Their stern, disapproving father cares less about his children than about his reputation. To Henry Grey, appearances are everything, and years later, he still demands that his daughters reflect his standing in the community.

Winona, the oldest, needs her father’s approval most of all. An overweight bookworm who never felt at home on the sprawling horse ranch that has been in her family for three generations, she knows that she doesn’t have the qualities her father values. But as the best lawyer in town, she’s determined to someday find a way to prove her worth to him.

Aurora, the middle sister, is the family peacemaker. She brokers every dispute and tries to keep them all happy, even as she hides her own secret pain.

Vivi Ann is the undisputed star of the family. A stunningly beautiful dreamer with a heart as big as the ocean in front of her house, she is adored by all who know her. Everything comes easily for Vivi Ann, until a stranger comes to town…

In a matter of moments, everything will change. The Grey sisters will be pitted against one another in ways that none could have imagined. Loyalties will be tested and secrets revealed, and a terrible, shocking crime will shatter both their family and their beloved town.

Random thoughts: I really enjoyed True Colors. It was just one of those books that I couldn’t put down (I read it in 2 days) and that I closed with a big, satisfied “Ahhh....” It was a great story.

Fun tidbits:

• Kristin Hannah’s Website

Recommended for readers who like: contemporary romance. If you enjoy authors like Debbie Macomber, JoAnn Ross, or Luanne Rice, you would probably enjoy True Colors, too.