Review by Daniel Muky -- The Reel Sisters

[Daniel Muky]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Reel Sisters" by Michelle Cummings.]

---

4 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

The possibilities are almost endless when it comes to sports, but Michelle Cummings' The Reel Sisters has taught me not only to expect fun, but also lessons where I see non.

The story is that of four women who have become family through their mutual love for the sport of fly-fishing.

Rose had always been a fly-fisher. One day she bumped into Sophie who had just found interest in the sport.
They talked for a while and immediately hit it off, they became friends for life.

Sophie later met Veronica and also convinced and invited her to join them. She was reluctant at first, but she's finally hooked, and she too joined the family.

Amanda is also invited by Sophie to try the sport. She immediately fell for it, and she too joined the family, bringing with her, youthful energy and enthusiasm, all the better for the group.

The four friends often met at Rose's cabin to relieve themselves of there stifling routinely jobs and have fun fly-fishing at a river together.

One day, as they were fishing, a naked girl was swept downstream by a rapid current. She screamed for help and they rushed to her rescue.
After her rescue, she too was intrigued by their sport, and from then becomes family as well.

I was surprised, after many years seeing fishers fishing for food, to learn that there was such a thing as sport-fly-fishing—catching the fish just for the fun and then releasing it after.

But after my initial shock wore off, I convinced myself this 'sport' must be very boring; that was a mistake.

Michelle Cummings, through her story, convinced me not only of the interesting nature of this sport, but also of the many life-lessons that it holds.

After joining in the sport, each of these five women in the story quickly discovered there was a lot to learn; so much that even those thought to be masters, like Rose, still had a lot to learn.

From learning to cast the line, to 'reading the water', knowing what 'the fish are biting on', netting the fish and then releasing him safely back into the water,  there is certainly a lot to learn; and that alone in itself makes the sport challenging, and thus interesting.

Then there are the life-lessons one gets from it that can be applied almost everywhere.
Michelle Cummings connected many life's challenges to those experienced by a fly-fisher, and then showed that the same methods—like patience, focus, planning, analysis, and many others—used by a fly-fisher to overcome there challenges, can be applied anywhere in life.
I liked this because, to me, even if one, after trying the sport, doesn't find as fun or interesting as they hoped, they at least will have lessons to take home.

I also liked Michelle's character development.
The story was told, in turns, from each characters view point. This allows the reader to almost become one with the character, experiencing their inner struggles, fears, best moments and much more, that otherwise wouldn't  have been obvious.

The reader is sure to find at least one character they relate to; Rose the mother figure, Sophie the heartbroken, Amanda the struggling mother and wife, or Melody the loner.

I am more of a Melody, and I loved to learn of how true friends, with a shared interest, can transform one's life in ways unknown before.

Michelle Cummings also divided the book into ten sections, and each section starts with a quote from other books about fishing, mainly fly-fishing.
These, and all her other descriptions of the sport, intrigued me, and one day, when I become a bit richer, I will try the sport—because apparently it's an expensive sport.

The book was well edited and formatted; no mistakes, and apart from an ending I didn't like that much, there was nothing I disliked about it.
I rate it 4 out of 4.

Whoever loves a good tale of friendship,—especially female friendship,—learning about things things many don't even think exist, or just a good adventure from the perspective of a those from different backgrounds, with different tastes, and different age-groups, should try this book.

It has a good share of profanity, but it's mainly there for character development.

******
The Reel Sisters
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon