Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Length: 416 pages
Audiobook Length: 15 hours and 59 minutes
First Published: 2021
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Rachael’s Review
Seventeen years ago, contaminated water runoff from a chemical plant caused deaths and birth defects throughout the small town of Bourne. One Two Three tells the story of sixteen-year-old triplets: Mirabel, a genius trapped in a wheelchair using a computer to speak; Monday, a neurodivergent bookworm; and Mab, who feels guilty for being “normal.” When the company decides to reopen the chemical plant, the sisters become obsessed with finding the necessary proof to stop them with the help of the owner’s grandson who just moved to town.
I have mixed feelings about One Two Three. The highlight of the book was the Mitchell sisters, with chapters cycling between the three, each with a distinct voice. The interplay between the sisters fascinated me and I loved seeing how their actions and abilities affected each other. Yet, the evil corporation storyline was a bit trite and the second half of the book was overly long and repetitive.
Publisher’s Description
In a town where nothing ever changes, suddenly everything does…
Everyone knows everyone in the tiny town of Bourne, but the Mitchell triplets are especially beloved. Mirabel is the smartest person anyone knows, and no one doubts it just because she can’t speak. Monday is the town’s purveyor of books now that the library’s closed―tell her the book you think you want, and she’ll pull the one you actually do from the microwave or her sock drawer. Mab’s job is hardest of all: get good grades, get into college, get out of Bourne.
For a few weeks seventeen years ago, Bourne was national news when its water turned green. The girls have come of age watching their mother’s endless fight for justice. But just when it seems life might go on the same forever, the first moving truck anyone’s seen in years pulls up and unloads new residents and old secrets. Soon, the Mitchell sisters are taking on a system stacked against them and uncovering mysteries buried longer than they’ve been alive. Because it’s hard to let go of the past when the past won’t let go of you.
Three unforgettable narrators join together here to tell a spellbinding story with wit, wonder, and deep affection. As she did in This Is How It Always Is, Laurie Frankel has written a laugh-out-loud-on-one-page-grab-a-tissue-the-next novel, as only she can, about how expanding our notions of normal makes the world a better place for everyone and how when days are darkest, it’s our daughters who will save us all.
About Laurie Frankel
Laurie Frankel is an author whose works include One Two Three, This is How it Always Is, Goodbye for Now, and The Atlas of Love. Frankel currently lives in Seattle, Washington. Visit the author’s website →
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