The Wide Smiles of Girls

Summary (from the publisher): Sisters Mae Wallace and March are two years apart, and worlds away from being anything alike. Mae Wallace is the dependable, older sister, who weighs her words before she speaks, and sees the world as a project to be saved. March, happily overweight and charismatic, has the world on a string. Babies, men, and teachers love March, and she loves them right back. Mae Wallace doesn’t so much live in her sister’s shadow as be amused by it, and generally try to manage her younger sister’s scrapes.  


But a tragic accident tears them apart, and all of a sudden the vivacious March is incapacitated and Mae Wallace bears the guilt from the incident. Relocated to a small island-town in South Carolina where March undergoes therapy, Mae Wallace befriends a local artist who is still grieving his wife’s mysterious death. As the two become closer, their mutual pain turns into a budding friendship. But Mae Wallace must free herself from guilt if she’s ever to live and love again---and March must grapple with the loss of her vibrant self, and accept the new realities of her life and sisterhood.


The Wide Smiles of Girls is a poignant ode to the bond of two sisters, the grief we sometimes have to overcome, and the redemptive power of love that can make us smile again.


Review: The Wide Smiles of Girls is about the bond (or lack thereof) between sisters Mae Wallace and March. Mae Wallace, who narrates the story, is the responsible and predictable older sister. March is the younger, vivacious, voluptuous younger sister who is impulsive and constantly falling in and out of love. When March has a tragic accident, it transforms their relationship and both of their lives dramatically. 


Following March's accident, Mae Wallace quits her job and leaves her home and boyfriend Vince to move to the small town where March's care facility is located. Mae Wallace becomes best friends with widower Hale who is mourning the death of his wife Ruth. I found Mae Wallace's obsession with Ruth rather unnatural. The only reason I felt like she might fixate on Ruth - a woman she never met in life - was if she was interested in her husband. But it turns out they're just best friends for sure when March is the one who starts dating Hale. Ruth, this unknown entity, is such a strong presence in the book, and is even mentioned in the introduction. Yet she's not central to the novel or the main characters. I didn't really understand why so much time was spent on her. Maybe just to show that you can have it all and lose it in the blink of the eye? But March's accident demonstrates that...I don't know what her function is.


I was also frustrated with Mae Wallace's relationship with Vince. She makes this big deal about how serious their relationship is and how much she regrets breaking things off with him in the wake of March's accident but she never tries to repair their relationship. What is her deal?? Furthermore, March is a huge bitch to Mae Wallace basically the whole book. I found it implausible that Mae Wallace would throw her whole life away to spend her days with someone who clearly resents her every step of the way.


I liked Mae Wallace and Hale as characters, and thought their story lines had potential, but I was disappointed with how the story played out in this novel. I don't have a sister, and after seeing these two interact in this novel, I'm glad I don't have one. 


Stars: 3