One Two Three
Seventeen years ago, the water in the town of Bourne turned green. An unusual number of residents got cancer. Some died. Babies were born with disabilities, physical and mental. The chemical plant closed, but no one could ever prove it caused the problems. Now, Bourne is a dying, insular town. The teenage Mitchell triplets–Mab, Monday, and Mirabel–are well-known and beloved, but they each have challenges stemming from that environmental disaster, and their mother Nora remains obsessed with bringing the company to justice.
When a family moves into town–the first in years–they present new opportunity, but the town is divided on what kind. Some hope for revitalization, while others hope for justice. The triplets are determined to learn the truth about what happened. With captivating, alternating voices, Mab, Monday, and Mirabel tell their story.
This book from the author of the wonderful This Is How It Always Is was fantastic on audio–the characters were distinct and quirky, perceptive, and heartfelt. I’ve seen other reviewers say they are tougher to distinguish in print, so I do recommend the audio.
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Publisher’s Description
From Laurie Frankel, the New York Times bestselling author of This Is How It Always Is, a Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine Book Pick, comes One Two Three, a timely, topical novel about love and family that will make you laugh and cry…and laugh again.
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.
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