The Starfish Sisters - by Barbara O'Neal

About the Book

"Phoebe and Suze used to be closer than sisters. Growing up in a quiet and wildly beautiful coastal town in Oregon, they shared everything. Until the secrets they couldn't share threatened their bond and complicated their lives. Now, decades later, Suze, a famous actress desperate for safe haven following a brutal attack, is back in town. Phoebe, a successful illustrator and fabric designer, has discovered keeping a secret means she can't let anyone get close, aside from her beloved granddaughter, Jasmine. As Jasmine's move to London looms, Phoebe doesn't know how to face the return of her old friend and all that's still unsaid between them. Can the two women who've never confronted their past do it now when the choice is between healing and survival?"--

Book Synopsis

From the USA Today bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids comes an emotional novel about two women facing the betrayals, heartbreaks, and refuge of true friendship.

Phoebe and Suze used to be closer than sisters. Growing up in a quiet and wildly beautiful coastal town in Oregon, they shared everything. Until the secrets they couldn't share threatened their bond and complicated their lives.

Now, decades later, Suze, a famous actress desperate for safe haven following a brutal attack, is back in town. Phoebe, a successful illustrator and fabric designer, has discovered keeping a secret means she can't let anyone get close, aside from her beloved granddaughter, Jasmine. As Jasmine's move to London looms, Phoebe doesn't know how to face the return of her old friend and all that's still unsaid between them. Can the two women who've never confronted their past do it now when the choice is between healing and survival?

Heartfelt and layered, The Starfish Sisters is a moving story about the complicated nature of female friendship, the joys and heartbreaks of life, and the resiliency and power that women possess.

Review Quotes

Praise for The Starfish Sisters

"Barbara O'Neal is at the top of her game. The Starfish Sisters is a gorgeous, heartfelt story about two lifelong friends who, now estranged, must battle their way back to each other after years of betrayals and jealousy and misunderstandings. Suze is a famous, world-traveling movie star who seems to have everything but love--while her former best friend, Phoebe, does art and nurtures the people around her. O'Neal has written a deeply harrowing, suspenseful, and ultimately loving book that explores the nature of women's friendships and the lengths to which we all will go to protect those we love from danger. I read it far into the night, and, yes, I wept a few tears along the way." --Maddie Dawson, Washington Post bestselling author of Matchmaking for Beginners

Previous Praise

"A wonderfully moving tale...This Place of Wonder will sweep you away." --Colleen Hoover, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"Kristin Hannah readers will thoroughly enjoy the family dynamic, especially the mother-daughter relationships." --Booklist (starred review) on This Place of Wonder

"A woman's strange disappearance brings together four strong women who struggle with their relationships, despite their need for one another. Fans of Sarah Addison Allen will appreciate the emphasis on nature and these women's unique gifts." --Library Journal (starred review) on The Lost Girls of Devon

"An emotional story about the relationship between two sisters and the difficulty of facing the truth head-on." --Today on When We Believed in Mermaids

"Elegiac but also forward-looking...I loved every moment of it." --Julie Powell, author of Julie & Julia and Cleaving on This Place of Wonder

"Great writing, terrific characters, food elements, romance, a touch of intrigue, and more than a few surprises to keep readers guessing." --Kirkus Reviews on The Art of Inheriting Secrets