"This envy of hers was expanding, taking up too much space in her chest. Sometimes, when she thought about everything Vivi Ann had taken from her, she couldn't breathe."(p89)
"Somehow, impossibly, Vivi Ann had broken all those rules, and a good man's
heart, and still paid no price. Golden." (p192)
Life is far beyond perfect for Winona Grey. Being single and overweight, she is constantly jealous of her sister Vivi Ann. Vivi Ann is beautiful and wins the heart of Luke Connnelly, Winona’s true love. Jealousy causes Winona to be malicious towards her sister; while Luke and Vivi Ann were dating, she fantasizes daily that they would break up and Luke would come running to her for a shoulder to lean on. When Winona finds Vivi Ann sleeping with Dallas, she betrays her by telling Luke right away, not giving her a chance to tell him herself.
The only thing that Winona never doubts is her intelligence. Thinking that she knows what is the best for everyone, her actions cause others to get angry at her. One time Vivi Ann actually slaps her and tells her that she never wants to see her again. She recommends to her father of selling his land while many times he told her that he would never do so. When Vivi Ann thinks of a plan to raise money for the ranch Winona tries to dismiss it because she was angry that she did not think of it herself. During the time Dallas was convicted of murder she tried to convince Vivi Ann that Dallas had to be the murderer, not caring of her sister’s pain. Hypocritically, she steps into case after Dallas spends more than a decade in jail.
In the end, Winona redeems herself. She finds flaws in Dallas’s conviction and goes to court as his lawyer against the will of her father. When the trial fails, she approaches the state attorney. Dallas gets dismissed and Winona is able to compensate for the pain that she caused Vivi Ann. She was also able to have a happy ending too; Luke comes back and asks her for a second chance.
The author's purpose of writing this book is to describe life in a small town and to encourage hope, love, and forgiveness. Growing up in Oyster Shores, the Grey sister's relationship remains strong throughout the years They walk to church every Sunday morning and go dancing and drinking together. Because the town is small, everyone is acquainted with one another. It made me kind of yearn for that type of lifestyle. It seems a a lot more peaceful and fulfilling than living in the city where people are preoccupied with making money and fashion, ultimately caring about themselves.
After Dallas gets arrested, the story is at a standstill. Vivi Ann stays single, never recovering from her pain. Noah gets blamed for starting fights and turns into what people call "like his father". Aurora divorced her husband for infidelity and Winona attempts to find love and fails. This situation creates a very gloomy mood. It had me wondering how the story will turn around.
" "...We're the Greys. That matters. Show us your true colors, who you used to be." " (p 554)Hannah's purpose was achieved in writing this book. When things seems hopeless, miracles happened. Dallas's cased reopens and is eventually dismissed, Luke asks Winona for a second chance, and Noah is able to answer the "Who am I?" question in the journal that Mrs. Ivers gave him. The ending is beautiful; it encourages hope that pain is temporary. Despite her jealousy, Winona loves her sister and family. Through the good times and the bad, the Grey sisters stick together to the very end. Also, Dallas displays an amazing act of forgiveness; he forgives Myrtle Michaelian, whose mistaken testimony had convicted him.
People can be so beautiful when they demonstrate amazing acts. They show their greatest potential as human beings despite the obstacles in their way; they show their true colors. This is my initial interpretation of the title. I think that the author's meaning of true colors is one's true self. For Winona, her sisters, and her dad, there true colors was their identity as Greys and relationship as a family.
This book catches the interest of the reader from the beginning to the end. From how good the book is, I am surprised that it did not win any awards. I really like Kristin Hannah's style of writing. She does not include unnecessary details that bore the reader. It is easy to understand, descriptive and causes emotions to stir.
This book is very easy to understand. Unlike some other ones that I have read, there were no parts where I had no idea what was happening. Hannah uses simple vocabulary and also adds in a lot of dialogue. The dialogue creates a comforting, laid back mood, with the sisters making jokes about one another from time to time. She is very descriptive in her writing; all the situations and people along with their characteristics and apparel are explained thoroughly.
While I was reading, I felt many different emotions. These emotions included pity suspense, anger, and happiness. Knowing that Vivi Ann is beautiful and gets all the good things, I pity Winona, who is fat and lonely. Even though Winona acts badly, I have a harm time blaming her because if I would do the same in her shoes. During the long years Dallas stayed in jail, I was eager to find out how the story ends. I thought to myself, "There's no way it's going to be a happy ending." However, the story ends perfectly with one of Noah's journal entries. He too had found his true colors.
"And my dad said. Yeah. It's about time I taught my son to play poker. His son. That was when I had my answer, when I finally knew who I was. " (p558)
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