The Book Sisters is a family saga, told in vignettes, that chronicles the lives of Vern and Valley Book and their six daughters. Set against the decades from the turbulent 60s to the election of 2016, this character-driven novel explores the ways that events shape and define the Books and, ultimately, us all.

The Book Sisters is a family saga, told in vignettes, that chronicles the lives of Vern Book, an alcoholic farmer; Valley Book, the depressed mother; and the six Book sisters – Victoria, Veronica, Violet, Vera, Virginia, and Viveca. After his horrific experiences during World  War II, Vern Book wants nothing more than the peace and quiet joy that come from raising corn and a family on a farm in Iowa.  Unfortunately, life ambushes them. As the world around them is torn apart by war and civil strife, as assassinations and riots erupt, as Nature ravages his fields and Valley breaks his heart, Vern watches his six daughters throw his dreams away. His solution is to drink himself to death, which he does, taking Valley with him.  Once their parents are gone, the sisters are free to explore their own lives, to determine who they will become. The roads are often rocky, and their histories hold them prisoner. From the eldest, a serial bride who runs away to join the circus, to the baby who sacrifices her life at a young age, the Book sisters emerge as interesting , sometimes disturbing, women. 

Hope Andersen wrote her first novel at the age of 60. In her early career as a writer, she published both short fiction and poetry. She was awarded the Wellesley College Playwriting Award for her one-act play Room, which was produced at the Lyric Stage, Boston. She has worked intermittently over the years as a newspaper critic, a ghostwriter, an editor, a teacher, and a screenwriter. A native New Englander, she now lives in North Carolina with her husband Thom. They have three grown children, two dogs, a cat and a fish. She is currently at work on a young adult novel titled An Accidental Thief.