Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee

Posted on by Carol @ Bookaria
Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee
Published January 16th 2018 by Pamela Dorman Books
368 pages | Goodreads

Description: ❝Two sisters: Miranda, the older, responsible one, always her younger sister’s protector; Lucia, the vibrant, headstrong, unconventional one, whose impulses are huge and, often, life changing. When their mother dies and Lucia starts to hear voices, it’s Miranda who must fight for the help her sister needs — even as Lucia refuses to be defined by any doctor’s diagnosis.

Determined, impetuous, she plows ahead, marrying a big-hearted Israeli only to leave him, suddenly, to have a baby with a young Latino immigrant. She will move with her new family to Ecuador, but the bitter constant remains: she cannot escape her own mental illness. Lucia lives life on a grand scale, until inevitably, she crashes to earth. And then Miranda must decide, again, whether or not to step in — but this time, Lucia may not want to be saved.

The bonds of sisterly devotion stretch across oceans, but what does it take to break them? Told from alternating perspectives, Everything Here Is Beautiful is, at its core, a heart-wrenching family drama about relationships and tough choices — how much we’re willing to sacrifice for the ones we love, and when it’s time to let go and save ourselves.❞ (end of description)

MY RATING: ★★★★☆ (4/5)

REVIEW

This is a novel about mental illness and how it affects the people close to the person suffering from it. It is also a story about love, sisterhood, and perseverance.

Miranda and Lucia are sisters. They grew up in the States and are the daughters of a Chinese immigrant. Miranda has always felt responsible for her younger sister Lucia, not only because she’s the oldest one but also because since she was a young adult Lucia has suffered from a mental illness in the form of schizophrenia.

The book describes Lucia’s episodes throughout her life and it is told in alternating points of view. Most of the novel takes place in New York, Minnesota and Ecuador.

I found the story incredibly detailed and heartbreaking. My favorite characters were

Miranda, a compassionate sister who made many sacrifices to help Lucia; and Yonah, what an uplifting man!

Overall I enjoyed the novel and recommend it to readers of contemporary fiction.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via Edelweiss