What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

Book that are about or contain large age gaps between siblings and how that age gap affects them and/or their parents.


The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Tibby has two younger siblings, Nicky and Katherine, who are respectively thirteen and fourteen years younger than her. Tibby often feels like an outcast in her own family, viewing herself as a leftover of her parents' former life. As a result, she resents her younger siblings and tries to distance herself from them

Seven Minutes in Heaven (view spoiler)[.Laurel finds out she has an sister who's eighteen years older than her (hide spoiler)]

Artemis Fowl Butler is twenty years older than his sister Juliet. (view spoiler)[When Artemis is about fourteen his parents have twins. (hide spoiler)]

The Turner House by Angela Flournoy. The age gap between the first and the last child was 23 years. (Though there were 13 siblings altogether in the story, the focus is primarily on the first and the last.)

El wrote: "The Turner House by Angela Flournoy. The age gap between the first and the last child was 23 years. (Though there were 13 siblings altogether in the story, the focus is primarily on..."

Thank you.

The Magic City
A Vintage Affair
Prom
World of Pies

Rosa wrote: "The Magic City
A Vintage Affair
Prom
World of Pies"

Thank you, Rosa.

The Hundred Brothers
Boy: Tales of Childhood
The Truth About Twinkie Pie

The main character of Naked Came the Sasquatch is raising his two much younger brothers, and they’re a handful. He also has to deal with

1) A brother close to his own age who is the town troublemaker and obsessed with catching a Bigfoot.

2) Running the local newspaper, which has been in the family for generations but is close to being destroyed by a rich preacher that recently moved to town.

3) His growing attraction to the new reporter he recently hired.

4) A string of grisly murders that are terrorizing the area and for which the prime suspects are either the MC’s brother or the Bigfoot he’s pursuing.

The book is a great read and much funnier than my description makes it sound.

Rosa wrote: "The Hundred Brothers
Boy: Tales of Childhood
The Truth About Twinkie Pie"

Thank you, Rosa.

Peter wrote: "The main character of Naked Came the Sasquatch is raising his two much younger brothers, and they’re a handful. He also has to deal with

1) A brother close to his own age who is the..."

Sounds great, Peter thank you.

Wolf with Benefits PNR (humourous) where the MC has 10 younger brothers and sisters--the 2 youngest of which are 3 year old twins while she's in her 20's. Oh--and all ten are child prodigies. She's the only "normal" one in her family except for her father. Her mother was also a child prodigy.

The Accidental TV Star Marissa has 2 half brothers that are about 10 years younger than she is. This is a YA/NA romance, but it's a fun, quick read that would be perfect for the beach/poolside--especially if you have a nook or kindle--or even a tablet that doubles as an electric reading device. (And I won't tell you how old I am--but I will admit to having grandkids, and I still enjoyed the entire Accidental series by Emily Evans. Pure escapist literature, but when you don't feel good or you are looking for light and fluffy, this series is a great "go to."

Unexpected Ray, the female MC, is raising her younger brother and working as a mercenary part time for the funds needed for that.

Dragon Actually Annwyl the Bloody has an older brother who's out to kill her (which is how she gets her nickname.) PNR with dragon shapeshifters. Also, has a good bit of humour in it.

Blue Christmas (which has the added advantage of being a Christmas book AND has the ghost of Elvis in it) in one of the stories has 2 older siblings and I believe their aunt raising the much younger kids while trying to hold onto their family farm.

Yours, Mine and Howls while not siblings per se', Ally is raising her younger cousin. She was 16 when she "inherited" him after his step-father killed his mother. PNR

Most of the books that I have read with large age ranges between siblings are ones where the older sibling (real, step or even just "I love the kid and s/he's all the family I have even if we aren't related) is raising the younger one or ones.

And I have to say--I do understand those older (and younger) siblings. My oldest (half) sibling is 19 years older than I am and my youngest (half) sibling is 18 years younger. There are 14 of us altogether by 4 different combinations of parental units.

Ann aka Iftcan wrote: "Wolf with Benefits PNR (humourous) where the MC has 10 younger brothers and sisters--the 2 youngest of which are 3 year old twins while she's in her 20's. Oh--and all ten are child ..."

Wow, Thank you, Ann aka Iftcan.

Large Bump from the last Bump*

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius - young man raises his much younger sibling after their parents die (non fiction)

Depends what you consider a big age gap, but Anastasia Krupnik was ten when her brother Sam was born.

Similarly Adrian Mole got a new baby sister when he was a teenager, in The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole.

The Flossie Teacake series is about a 9 year old whose older siblings are 16 and 18, and she feels left out due to the age gap. Then she finds a magic fur coat that lets her experience life as a teenager. The first book is Flossie Teacake's Fur Coat

Rachel wrote: "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius - young man raises his much younger sibling after their parents die (non fiction)

Depends what you consider a big age gap, but [book:Anastasia..."

Thank you very much, Rachel.

I can't believe no one's mentioned Sharp Objects!

Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas.

This is interesting but it's a memoir, not fiction: In My Brother's Shadow: A Life and Death in the SS

The author, Uwe Timm (b. 1940), had a brother who was almost 20 years older than him, he volunteered in the SS and died in the war in 1943. Timm barely remembers him.
The book is about his attempt at finding out more about this long lost brother from his diary and letters from the front, understanding how his parents coped with his death, the Nazi regime and its aftermath, the responsibilities of the German people, all from the point of view of one of the "after war" generation (the ones that were too young to be responsible and try to understand how it was possible). (so the age gap between the two brothers is a key point).

The Case of the Missing Marquess is the first in one of my favorite series.

Rosa wrote: "The Case of the Missing Marquess is the first in one of my favorite series."

Moloch wrote: "This is interesting but it's a memoir, not fiction: In My Brother's Shadow: A Life and Death in the SS

The author, Uwe Timm (b. 1940), had a brother who was almost 20 years older tha..."

Thank you guys, these books sound great.

The Transit of Venus

The two protagonist sisters have a much older half-sister who raises them when they're orphaned.

Troublemakers
Looking for Jamie Bridger

Thx ladies

I don't know if this is already included
but you can check out
The Making of May by Gwenyth Reese

Rash wrote: "I don't know if this is already included
but you can check out
The Making of May by Gwenyth Reese"

It hasn't. Thank you.


The Making of May clickable

One of my favourites (which I reconnected with through this forum) is The Lark Shall Sing
An older book, from England, regarding a family with three older siblings and three much younger ones. The eldest looked after the younger ones when their parents got sick and then passed away. They've been separated for a year and the family house rented out. The eldest decides to put the house on the market at the end of the year, and the rest flock home to prevent her, bringing various helpers and hangers-on. Sweet, funny book.

Valerie wrote: "One of my favourites (which I reconnected with through this forum) is The Lark Shall Sing
An older book, from England, regarding a family with three older siblings and three much you..."

Aw! Thank you so much.

Sister of the Quints by Stella Pevsner features a thirteen-year-old girl whose stepmother has baby quintuplets. Sister of the Quints

The Other Shepards

Rainbowheart wrote: "The Other Shepards"

Thank you.

Thin Ice