One Two Three
Fiction
Henry Holt and Company
June 8, 2021
Hardcover/Audio
416
Purchased/Free ALC via Libro-fm
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.
A story about triplets, given names of one (Mabs), two (Monday), and three (Mirabel) syllables. The story is told in alternating chapters from each of their perspective (as one two or three). Each of the siblings has a unique personality and two of the three have special needs. The oldest bears the guilt of being the "normal" one, and they all feel responsible for taking up the cause their mother has been fighting since shortly before their birth. A chemical plant in their small town sent pollution into the water supply, and the residents have a much higher incidence of anomalies and diseases as a result. Once the chemical plant decides to return to production, things escalate for the triplets' mom and her devotion to keep the plant closed. Lots of things come into play though, including the fact that the plant will create much needed jobs and growth for the area, so not all residents can afford to fight this. Add to it that the plant creator's grandson is befriended by the Mitchell triplets, and he may be more on their side than his grandad, and things get interesting. The girls were really well characterized, particularly Mirabel, who is confined to a wheelchair and needs the use of a robotic speech synthesizer to communicate. They each are sympathetic to their mother's efforts, but at the same time questioning how/if they can ever leave her and their small town behind them. My only complaint would be the actions at the very end, which seemed to veer into a bit unbelievable spy kids territory, but I'm going to let that slide since it was a tiny portion of the plot.
I listened to this book on audio, and can highly recommend this format. The three sisters are all voiced by different narrators to give them distinct voices as well as personalities, and the AAC parts sound like an automated speech device.
An excellent story of the fight against chemical pollution, told from three of the best narrators you will ever meet. It covers the ideas of family, community, young love, and what is "normal".
