The Runaway Sisters Book Review

This post contains affiliate links. I was doing my work at the library when I saw The Runaway Sisters by Ann Bennett on the shelf. I grabbed the book and was happy to see that it was about World War II, one of my favorite time periods for historical fiction. Luckily, this book turned out to be a good find!

About The Runaways Sisters by Ann Bennett

Helen and Laura are two very different sisters who have always had a rocky relationship. However, they’re forced to work together going through their mother’s house after she had a stroke because they need to sell her home to pay for her care.

As they dig through the house, they find random items that make it clear their mother, Daisy, led a life during World War II that they never knew about. As the two sisters dig deeper, they begin to unravel the mystery of Daisy’s life during that time.

The author alternates between telling the story of Helen, Laura, and Daisy in the present tense narrated by Helen and the story of Daisy (narrated by Daisy) as a young 15-year-old girl whose life is turned upside down when German troops begin bombing England.

My Thoughts about the Book

Most of the books I read about World War II are about soldiers or Holocaust survivors, and this book was neither, which I appreciated. Instead, I learned about a different facet of the war, and, unfortunately, new ways people use other vulnerable people for financial gain.

I also enjoyed that this book was about two sisters in the present and two sisters in the past. The two sets of sisters had different relationships, but by the end of the story, the reader can understand why each set of relationships are the way they are.

I liked this story and was curious to find out more about Daisy’s life during World War II. However, at the end, there was one significant development that I felt wasn’t explained fully, or really explained at all. I can’t tell you what it is without spoiling the book, but I wanted to know how did this happen?! What is the story here? Unfortunately, it was never explained.

I give The Runaway Sisters by Ann Bennett 4 out of 5 stars on the Mom’s Plans’ scale.