The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters

The Amir family is one of the few Bangladeshi families in an English village. A seemingly close knit unit of four sisters and a brother most of who still live with their parents or live very involved with their parents and siblings.

Like all siblings, there are the wacky ones, the black sheeps and the good ones, but they are close. Or so they thought until tragedy strikes.

Each of the four sisters have struggles of their own which come to fore at this time.

It was an interesting read, with lots of cultural references which captivated me. The whole situation of immigrant parents bringing up children in a different culture while hanging on to aspects of their culture was relatable and interesting.

This is the Great British Bake Off Winner Nadiya Hussain's fiction debut. I started off with no real expectations. just curiousity. To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the book. I will be looking out for her books for sure.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the review copy of the book.

As I came to the this book with lots of excitement, not only because I really liked Nadia in British bake off, but because she is new voice in ethnic minority writing scene , And it is hard to find any voices out there. Most of books from them is historic fiction, no contemporary books of now as we know it ,not our past.

I loved these sisters, reminded me of mine( first time in long time I can relate to the characters,It is very hard to find contemporary book that have ethnic minorities as there main characters.)
Mae stood out the most , I loved her and all of her thoughts.

The story reminds me of (My Crazy Greek Wedding) , because of the family love and how gently it was dealing with issues . It was about four sisters in small English town and something happens that make them come together,understand each one and help each other deal with issues .

Great first book from Nadia , I hope we see more from her and from new voices out there

I approached this story with trepidation: Nadiya Hussain is an engaging, charming and likeable person on TV, but that does not mean she can tell a story and not all celebrities can write. I was relieved to find myself quickly immersed and engrossed in the secret lives of the Amir sisters (from the only brown/British Asian family in the small community of Wyvernage). The book explores themes of identity, family, love, culture and expectations. A major crisis has repercussions for each of the sisters as secrets are revealed which shake the whole family to the core, and all of them must change. The sisters are all interesting and likeable, the story is fascinating and very well crafted, and there is plenty to think about. It is a very good read.

In the acknowledgements at the end, Nadiya gives thanks to her writer. It is an excellent collaboration.