Book Reviews of The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters

I loved this book. Told as an epistolary novel, this is the poignant story of one sister's attempt to cope with her sister's leukemia. Funny, hopeful and yes, sad, it looks at family, love and career and the stresses and struggles that accompany them. Peopled both with fictional and real life characters (Robin Williams, for example), this book appeals because of the author's grasp of life's small pleasures as much as its larger plights. Highly recommended.

Told entirely through letters, this is the story of two very strong, yet very different sisters, Olivia and Madeline, as they deal with Madeline's fight against leukemia. Olivia is a cynical Hollywood producer whose love for her family is often at odds with her high pressured job; Maddie is the younger, traditional midwestern optimist who stayed behind to marry her true love. Sounds corny as I write this, but it wasn't at all; it's a book that I absolutely loved. I stayed up until 1AM reading it, and then got up and read until I completed it. I loved all the characters and didn't want the story to end. It was funny and heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time. One of my all time favorites.

Excellent book. As a family member of a cancer "survivor" I felt I could relate to the lead. I was moved to tears and laughter upon multiple occasions.

A wonderful story of how you can love tour sister, even if she drives you crazy. Funny, poingnant, and a great read.

love this book! story of sisters Olivia and Maddie...told from Olivia's perspective through letters to different people in her life...if you have a sister or even a close girl friend you should read this book...it's a wonderful read.

A great read! The story of a woman who is a hollywood producer and her family back home. I loved how the story was told entirely through letters.

The story of two sisters told entirely in the form of letters from one sister to the other. An ok read.

interesting and entertaining book altho the main character is a bit crude.

This book was WONDERFUL !!!

"Hollywood and leukemia are the two unlikely poles of this wrenching, tragicomic first novel by independent producer and screenwriter Robinson. Pouring out her troubles in epistolary form, 34-year-old Olivia Hunt, a struggling film producer, chronicles a year of dizzying highs and devastating lows. As the novel begins, she receives news that her younger sister, Madeline, recently married and happily settled in the sisters' Ohio hometown, has been diagnosed with leukemia. Olivia herself is at loose ends, trying to jump-start her career by putting together a big-budget production of Don Quixote. Impatient, ambitious and often caustic, Olivia is very different from her big-hearted, big-haired sister, and as she flies back and forth between California and Ohio, she reflects on the choices she has made in long, searching letters to friends and family."---Publishers Weekly

Wonderful book but bring the tissues!

A book about family and the dynamics that occur only between two sisters.

Outstanding read. I laughed and cried. It deals with the quirks of families but the enduring, loving connection.

The story of 2 sisters told in letter form. A fun summer read.

I really like the writing style of this book - it was all in letter fromat. The book got better, the further along, and I couldn't put it down!

Good book--told in rather unique style through letters, faxes, and e-mails. Can be both sad and funny at times.

I loved this book. It is in the form of letters between a woman and the people most important in her life. It is both funny and sad. I can't wait to read more books by this author.

Good quick read.

From Publishers Weekly
Hollywood and leukemia are the two unlikely poles of this wrenching, tragicomic first novel by independent producer and screenwriter Robinson. Pouring out her troubles in epistolary form, 34-year-old Olivia Hunt, a struggling film producer, chronicles a year of dizzying highs and devastating lows. As the novel begins, she receives news that her younger sister, Madeline, recently married and happily settled in the sisters' Ohio hometown, has been diagnosed with leukemia. Olivia herself is at loose ends, trying to jump-start her career by putting together a big-budget production of Don Quixote. Impatient, ambitious and often caustic, Olivia is very different from her big-hearted, big-haired sister, and as she flies back and forth between California and Ohio, she reflects on the choices she has made in long, searching letters to friends and family. Though she and her ex-boyfriend Michael, a painter living in New Mexico, are still in love with each other, they are both too devoted to their careers to settle down together. Just as it seems things might be patched up between them, Don Quixote swings into high gear and Olivia heads off to film in Spain. Her Hollywood adventures are pitch-perfect and hilarious, with Robin Williams ("like a beaver in a sweatshirt and jeans") and Jerry Bruckheimer, among others, making cameos. No less impressive is Robinson's unsentimental chronicling of the progress of Maddie's illness and the alternately heroic and selfish reactions of those around her, including the sisters' mother, an anxious children's book writer, and their father, a retired attorney and alcoholic. Olivia's cynicism, compassion and loyalty come through as funny, real and inspiring, and the novel's epistolary format is smoothly employed. Moving but never maudlin, this is an accomplished debut.

Great story! The letter format makes a quick read. Our book club enjoyed it!
Lindy

Loved this story. Well written. Interesting. Great read!

I absolutely loved this one makes you laugh and cry and laugh.

A fun, quick read! Told in correspondence format.

Interesting book- story is told in the form of Olivia Hunt's correspondence as she tries to juggle supporting a sister with cancer, her sagging career as a film producer, and a failed romantic relationship.

Good book. I hope to read more by her. This is about two sisters, one of whom is ill. All told in letters and e-mails.

Absolutely wonderful!! Was a hard one to put down.

All told in letters -- SO engrossing!

This is a great quick read. Funny and heartbreaking at the same time. A wonderful story about sisters.

funny - about sisters, one is sick

Advertising pages that precede the actual story in the front are a tad loose.

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