The Precious One by Marisa De Los Santos

At seventeen, Wilson Cleary had the ability to devastate his daughter, Taisy.  He was never a warm man and she spent a lot of time working for his approval.  But at seventeen, when their family broke up, he cut her, her mother and her brother completely out of his life.  There was one visit; for them to meet the new baby he had with his new wife but outside of that, not a word, not a visit, not a card or phone call.

Until now.  Wilson has had a heart attack and in the aftermath, he calls Taisy.  She is now thirty-five and has a career as a ghostwriter.  He asks her to come to his house and when there, he asks if he can hire her to write his intellectual life story.  Although this prospect is not appealing, something keeps Taisy there.  Her baby half-sister, Willow, is now the same age that Taisy was when everything went askew.  There is unfinished business with her old love, Ben, who is also back in town.  Maybe it's time to finally put the ghosts to rest and to reclaim her life.

Marisa de los Santos has written a lovely book, a book that makes the reader a better person.  It is told by Taisy and Willow in alternating chapters.  As the book unfolds, the reader sees the glacial moving together that changes the sisters from implacable enemies into loving supportive family.  Many families have schisms and grudges that result in remoteness.  In this season, it is heartwarming to read a tale in which the participants fight the odds to reclaim the closeness that is a family's due.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction and for those interested in relationships.