A Sister’s Gift

by Giselle Green

  The bus screeches to a halt on the other side of the road. The little lad waves goodbye. I can just about see him still, his fists flailing a wave over his mum’s shoulder, still holding tight onto that crumpling red balloon, the one that has travelled so incredibly and inexplicably far to get to me today. I take in Emoto’s puzzled face, realising that I’ve still got some explaining to do.

  Whatever you need, don’t look too far for it, because it’ll be right there in front of you…

  I glance back towards the airport doors. The weltering throng heaves and settles like an Amazon Blue parrot shaking out its feathers on some branch high up in the mist-topped canopy.

  I don’t know where that bus is going. I shake my head at the lady from the coach because, wherever it’s headed, I’m not getting on it. Instead, I turn to cross back over the road with Emoto, back towards Caracas International.

  I am going home.

  About the Author

  A SISTER’S GIFT

  Brought up on the peninsula of Gibraltar, Giselle Green moved to London to attend university. Giselle is now a full-time mum to six boys, including twins, and a part-time astrologer who specialises in medieval astrology. A Sister’s Gift is her third novel.

  To find out more about Giselle Green go to www.gisellegreen.com

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.

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  Points for discussion on A Sister’s Gift

  1. Sisterhood is shown as conveying a great responsibility in A Sister’s Gift. How does it affect Scarlett’s decision to become a surrogate? Is Hollie wrong to place such a large demand on her sister?

  2. Examine Scarlett’s role as a botanist. In what way does this highlight the differences between her and her sister?

  3. In what ways are the themes of fertility and infertility explored in the book?

  4. What is the significance of the balloon imagery and the Old Rochester Bridge throughout?

  5. Consider the sisters’ relationship. In what ways are the two similar/different? How does Hollie’s role as the older sibling affect her outlook on life?

  6. Compare and contrast the different male figures within A Sister’s Gift – Richard, Duncan, and Guillermo. What are their values, concerns and priorities?

  7. How much of Scarlett and Hollie’s behaviour can be attributed to the fact that they were deserted by their mother at a young age?

  8. Every character has something to hide. What and why? What are the repercussions of their respective secrets?

  9. ‘Single-Minded and Heartless’. Despite Richard’s love, Hollie feels that she is not complete without a child. Are her actions in trying to get ‘the miracle she so desperately craves’ selfish?

  10. What is Scarlett’s attraction to Richard? What does he represent to her? How much sympathy do we feel for her when Richard denies her his love?

  Copyright

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

  AVON

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  FIRST EDITION

  Copyright © Giselle Green 2010

  Giselle Green asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

  A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  EPub Edition 2010 ISBN: 978-0-00735-803-8

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