Little Sister

Gowdy’s (The White Bone) new novel weaves an inventive, spellbinding tale of loss, regret, and redemption that takes a heartfelt look at what it means to be a mother, daughter, and sister. Lately, whenever it rains in Toronto, Rose Bowan leaves her own body and enters the body of another woman. She can hear, see, smell, and touch what Harriet Smith senses, and quickly becomes wrapped up in her life problems. Harriet reminds Rose of her dead sister, Ava; Rose sets out to save Harriet’s troubled life to make up for not being able to save Ava’s. Meanwhile, Rose’s mother is in the early stages of dementia, talking about seeing Ava again, and Rose must nurse her mother through these end times while trying to uncover the reasons why she’s in another woman’s body every time it rains and why she, too, sees Ava in Harriet. A thrilling, captivating exploration of guilt, the female psyche, and the bonds of womanhood. (May)