The Gifted Gabaldón Sisters

Rating: 3.75 stars The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters is about four sisters who were taken care of by a mysterious elderly woman named Fermina. Upon Ferminas death, the girls all seek to discover the special gifts Fermina claimed to have left for them. Each chapter skips ahead a couple of years and the story takes readers from childhood to adulthood. The story is told by each of the sisters in alternating chapters with varying points of view, from first person to second person to third person. This book was nothing like I expected. Most of the chapters reveal devastating and sometimes difficult hardships that the sisters faced, with little pause for comic relief. I was expecting a tale of magic and intrigue, but the primary plot left no room for mystery because the secret the sisters were searching for throughout the novel was revealed earlier on to the reader. Having said that, I really did enjoy Lorraine Lopezs writing itself. Her unique use of different perspectives was refreshing and kept my attention. Lopezs strength definitely lies in her vivid descriptions because each character and setting managed to come alive for me, which perhaps was what made some parts of the book so incredibly heartbreaking. The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters is a worthwhile read, despite its lack of suspense and melancholy themes. Lorraine Lopez is a talented writer and I look forward to reading more from her in the future. [...]

The book is written in such a way that each chapter is one of several sisters voice (Im not even sure how many sisters there were!). Also between the chapters are documents found and written about another character in the book. I never really followed the meaning behind the research documents and keeping track of which sister was which was extremely complicated. Im an avid reader. I think if the book was better written this would not have been a problem. Bottom line, I didnt really care too much about what the sisters went thru. There would be times when it seemed that it was getting interesting only to have the chapter end and then the story line not pick up again. Dont waste your time.

The Gifted Gabaldón Sisters by Lorraine López is at once a coming of age story, a testament to the enduring nature of family ties, and a portrait of Chicano subculture in Los Angeles. The book begins in 1966 as the Gabaldón sisters struggle to adjust to life without their recently deceased mother. The girls live in Los Angeles with their father, their brother and an aging Hopi housekeeper named Fermina. Each sister is named after a movie star: the eldest (an eighth grader) is Bette Davis, and then there is Loretta Young, Rita Hayworth, and Sophia Loren Gabaldón, who is an infant when their mother dies. (In case youre wondering, their brother is named Cary Grant Gabaldón.) About a year after their mother dies, Fermina, who has lived with the Gabaldóns as long as the girls can remember, succumbs to pneumonia. Just before she dies, Fermina promises that each girl will soon receive a gift. The girls are naturally curious about the nature of the gifts and this becomes a central, yet underlying story line. Each chapter is narrated by a different sister. The reader follows their lives over the course of twenty years as they attend college and find jobs; fall in love, marry and divorce; and have children. Each Gabaldón sister has a distinctive voice that the reader quickly comes to know and recognize. In chronicling the lives of the Gabaldón sisters, López portrays in vivid and often comical detail the nuanced form of interaction that is unique to sisters. They are brutally honest and sarcastic, yet full of love and loyalty. Interspersed throughout the book are notes taken in 1938 by a journalist who was researching the housekeeper Ferminas life for FDRs Works Progress Administration. These notes - which for much of the novel, the Gabaldón sisters dont know exist - reveal a secret about Fermina. This secret will have a profound impact upon the girls when they finally discover it. López has been favorably compared to Julia Alvarez, and there are indeed parallels between this novel and How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. The Gifted Gabaldón Sisters is about the immigrant experience from the perspective of future generations. Its about family, sisters, fathers and daughters. And it speaks to the universal human need to know our cultural and familial roots as a means of understanding who we are and where we came from.

While the character relationships within this family were very interesting and easily relateable to my life, I found the constant switching of view points and years in each chapter hard to follow. Once I felt like I was getting to know one charachter, another would jump in and describe them differently. There were several weird incidences in this book and odd habbits of the sisters. The end of this book lacks a true finish and left me feeling annoyed since I had figured out what their gift was early on in the book, which was NO gift at all! Just the transcripts throughout the book. It was a quick read and an intersting story but I am not sure I would reccomend it to others.

In Southern California, their mom named her four daughters after Hollywood actresses she enjoyed. When she passed away while her children were young, their dad raised them with the help of caretaker Fermina; though in reality Fermina raised the kids with the help of their father. When the ancieno Fermina realized she was dying after a century of life, she tells her beloved girls she will give each of them a special gift that they must use wisely. Bette Davis obtains the skill of making anyone believe anything no matter how farfetched or exaggerated she says; Loretta Young has the ability to heal injured animals; Rita Hayworth can curse anyone with bad things happening to them; and Sophia Loren has the uncanny gift of making anyone even those depressed and despondent laugh. Over the next two decades they help each other and wonder about Ferminas paranormal gifts; as they investigate their family tree and the background of their caretaker, the four GIFTED GABALDON SISTERS begin to question what was bestowed on them. This is an intriguing paranormal sister-lit tale with psychic elements crossing the story line. The four siblings rotate viewpoint, which enables the audience to understand their differences and more important their similarities and concerns; this makes each seem real even with possession of otherworldly powers. Fermina for the most part remains mystical and with each revelation her mysticism grows. Although the intermingling of Spanish throughout enhances the sense of reality, it also slows down the plot for many readers who stop to interpret within the context of the paragraphs. Still Lorraine Lopez provides a unique refreshing paranormal family drama. Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer on 09/17/2008 Loretta, Bette, Rita, and Sophie Gabaldón lost their mother when they were very young. The ancient housekeeper who helped raised them promised each girl theyd receive a gift after her passing. Over the following two decades, the girls grow into women, each of them uniquely gifted. One heals, one tells splendid lies, one curses, and one makes others laugh. Time can only tell whether or not the gifts are blessings. The bonds of sisterhood are explored and tested as the sisters Gabaldón search for meaning in a sea of questions about their family. Each chapter is told in a different sisters point of view, and each voice is beautifully rendered through first, second, and third-person narrative, and past and present tense--a different style for each of the sisters. On the surface, the story may seem complex, maybe over-ambitious. But Lorraine López skillfully weaves the story of five women into a complete saga. Her use of scenery, emotion, and flat-out characterization is entrancing. I smelled the kitchen aromas and cringed at bad karaoke. I saw the sisters as young children, then mothers. I enjoyed the characters and was sorry to parts ways with them. Each sister was wonderfully flawed, yet deliciously vibrant. It would be a joy to meet them again. 4.5 Books The reviewer may have received a free copy of this novel from the publisher, author, or other representative in this books interest. This has no impact on the quality or consideration of the review. Wantz Upon a Time has not and will not accept money in exchange for reviews.

The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters by Lorraine Lopez follows the lives of four sisters named for classic movie beauties: Loretta Young, Rita Hayworth, Bette Davis, Sophia Lauren, and their brother Cary Grant Gabaldon, and their mysterious connection to their Indian maid Fermina, whose hidden letters and notes contain shocking revelations about the Gabaldon sisters. Motherless, the girls increasingly resent their father and rely on each other to get through Catholic school and beyond. Fermina, it was rumored, hung out with friends who dabbled in magic. The girls believe that Fermina left each one a magical gift unique to her, including telling believeable lies, healing animals, making others laugh, and the power to curse people to die. Along the way, they struggle through abusive relationships, childbirth, and heartbreak. Each chapter is narrated by a different sister, and interspersed between these are WPA archives of interviews with Fermina that gradually reveal the girls lineage piece by piece. The magic is largely psychological, but Lopez captures the cultural nuances of two decades that seem to pass in the blink of an eye, from the mid-1960s to the 1980s, and paints a lush, loving portrait of a chaotic family bound by secrets and tradition. Hispanic culture permeates the pages with hints of chile and hot buttered corn tortillas dripping with butter and a drizzle of lime, with the smoky incense of churches, and in the Spanglish spoken by family and relatives. Each of the girls must make her own way into the world, each fighting a personal demon: alcoholism, drug abuse, absent husbands, sexual orientation. They find strength in their shared memories and secrets, and return two decades later to fulfill a long-delayed journey to discover the real gift that Fermina left for them. Lopezs style is familiar and engaging; each sister has a unique voice and worldview, from the cynical and emotionally scarred Bette (who swears constantly and drops acid on her wedding day) to Rita, whose quick temper curses people to horrible fates (she ends up silent for most of her school years in order to avoid cursing people inadvertently). The four narrators are effective, although the flashbacks provided in the supposed WPA interviews felt disjointed. The writing style wouldnt have been permitted in actual reports; the supposed narratives are written in a highly ornamented style that the uneducated subject being interviewed wouldnt have been capable of expressing. But other than a few small missteps, this is a rewarding novel that reminded me of Joanne Harriss

I loved reading about sisters that act like sisters really act. Lopez has a gift for painting families.

Believable, I laughed I cried. Im going to have my sisters read it too! Im going to look for other works by this author.

This book had enough plots and subplots to keep me entertained throughout. However, the magic part of the book was very minor. It was more general family chic lit with just a hint of the magic subplot.