The Campbell Sisters

The Campbell Sisters by Eileen Joyce Donovan is a story about a family of strong willed sisters making their way in 1950s NYC.  The oldest Helen, works at an orphanage and takes some ribbing for being the old spinster sister at the ripe age of 25.  The middle daughter, Carolyn, is feisty.  She does what she wants, when she wants, others be damned.  The youngest, Peggy, is working her way through med school.

 As was typical of the time, all three girls are sharing a bedroom in their parents crowded apartment.  Their parents are immigrants from Ireland who have strong views on how the girls should be acting. At times the parents talk to them like they are in high school or younger and I had the thought that pretty soon they were going to ground 20 - something year old women!

The book covers a very short time period where Helen meets a boxer and falls in love, Carolyn gets into many a jam, and Peggy proves that she can be a trusted mature sister. A love story of the time.

Description: Helen Campbell is the eldest and most practical of three sisters, daughters of hard-working Irish emigrants living in New York City in the 1950s. She does what she can to keep the wild-child middle sister, Carolyn, in line and support the youngest, Peggy, as she pursues her dreams of becoming a doctor. Then Helen meets Charlie.

While it’s love at first sight for those two, Carolyn’s antics threatens to derail all the sisters’ future happiness. However, through thick and thin, the three sisters strive to prevail, though not necessarily in the ways they thought they wanted.

About the Author: Eileen Joyce Donovan has been writing her entire life, in one way or another, whether it was imaginative stories for friends, or advertising copy for clients. At the persistent urging of her husband, she finally agreed to seriously edit and revise one of her stories and take the plunge. Years later, her persistence paid off and both her debut historical fiction, Promises, and her second novel, A Lady Newspaperman’s Dilemma, won prestigious awards. Her short stories have appeared in several anthologies, and her essays have been included in various Chicken Soup for the Soul editions.

She lives in Manhattan, New York and is a member of Authors Guild, Women’s National Book Association, Women Fiction Writers Association, and The Historical Novel Society.

I was given a copy of this book for review from Premier Virtual Author Book Tours.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.