A Borrowed Sister

Lois Page has everything an only child could want, except a sister. When Jessie Matthews comes to stay while her family travels, Lois finally gets to experience what it's like to have a sister close at hand. But friendship is more complicated than Lois anticipated. Jessie is gentle and easy to please, while Lois's other dear friend, Ellen, has a temper that flares without warning, making their relationship as thrilling as it is uncertain. As all three girls orbit around each other, learning who to trust and how to share, White captures something true about the fierce, tender politics of childhood alliances. Written in 1906, this is early children's literature that treats young readers as capable of genuine emotional complexity. The borrowed sister arrangement becomes a lens for examining what it means to belong to someone, to share your home and your heart, and to discover that love sometimes means letting go. A quiet, affecting portrait of friendship's delicate negotiations.