In THE ORPHAN SISTER, when her father mysteriously disappears, Clementine Lord, one part of a set of triplets, struggles to understand the secrets surrounding his disappearance. One of her pregnant sisters, Olivia, harbors the secret her father carries, but refuses to share it with her siblings and her mother. Clementine and her sister, Odette, attempt to use abilities that they have possessed since childhood to either wear Olivia down or read her mind to find the secret. Neither sister is aware that the secret they'll find tucked away in their sister's mind will change their family forever.

While their mother attempts to keep her cool and O & O deal with the pending births of their children, Clementine recalls how close her sisters have always been and how she has always felt like an extra part in what should have been a pair. She ponders the unorganized pattern of her life as opposed to the perfect flows of those of her sisters. As she looks back over her life and how lonely she has always been, she finds love, understanding, trust, and forgiveness in the places that she never imagined they would be.

Gwendolen Gross explores the mysterious power of multiples in THE ORPHAN SISTER. The triplets finish each other's sentences as well as tap into each other's thoughts; yet Clementine feels so disconnected that she considers her sisters twins (removing herself from the equation). Gross masterfully creates a bond that is close and distanced at the same time. Although Clementine shares life and date-of- birth with her sisters, she is clearly carved out as a unique individual. In this powerful and mysterious telling of how messy the road of life can be, Gross also deals with infidelity, rags-to-riches, and how finding oneself can sometimes only be done when someone else loses their way. In the end, Clementine finds more than just her place amongst her sisters. She finds her family in the midst of the biggest storm they have ever faced.

Book Summary

Clementine Lord is not an orphan. She just feels like one sometimes. One of triplets, a quirk of nature left her the odd one out. Odette and Olivia are identical; Clementine is a singleton. Biologically speaking, she came from her own egg. Practically speaking, she never quite left it. Then Clementine’s father—a pediatric neurologist who is an expert on children’s brains, but clueless when it comes to his own daughters—disappears, and his choices, both past and present, force the family dynamics to change at last. As the three sisters struggle to make sense of it, their mother must emerge from the greenhouse and leave the flowers that have long been the focus of her warmth and nurturing.

For Clementine, the next step means retracing the winding route that led her to this very moment: to understand her father’s betrayal, the tragedy of her first lost love, her family’s divisions, and her best friend Eli’s sudden romantic interest. Most of all, she may finally have found the voice with which to share the inside story of being the odd sister out. . . .

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