Lydia, a self-made millionaire at 29, is a loner, distrustful of human interaction after a depressing childhood with a miserable father. Dean is 21, a new father who is unemployed and smokes too much pot trying to escape tragedies he can't face. Robyn, 18, is a vivacious medical student with a novelist boyfriend and an apparently perfect life. On the surface, the three protagonists of Lisa Jewell's The Making of Us have little in common--except that they are all remarkably attractive. But then, separately, they make an astonishing discovery: they were all fathered by the same French sperm donor. This knowledge sends each of them on a voyage of self-discovery that will lead them to their father, to each other, to their mysterious fourth sibling--and ultimately to a better understanding of themselves.
Jewell brings these characters to life: exploring their complicated visions of themselves and the way learning about their siblings changes each of them. Though the story threatens to veer toward soap-opera melodrama, Jewell skillfully steers it back to a more believable scenario. The stories of Lydia, Dean and Robyn are each engrossing on their own; combined with the over-arching storyline of their father, they make for an irresistible read. Anyone who has ever pondered the nature of family or imagined finding a long-lost sibling will be captivated by The Making of Us. --Jessica Howard, blogger at Quirky Bookworm