Operation Sisterhood

Sunday Saunders is Bo’s new step-sister. She is also 11 years old, and like Bo, is an only child. However, Sunday and her father live with the Dwyers and their twin daughters, so Sunday is used to being around a lot of people and animals. Like Bo, Sunday is a musician; she plays the keyboard.

Sunday is a warm and gregarious personality. She is extremely welcoming of Bo from the moment they meet and extends the same enthusiastic welcome to Lola as well when she discovers that she is marrying her father. Sunday’s sociableness sometimes sees her inadvertently encroaching on other people’s personal space, however. She is unable to recognize that Bo needs more quiet and time alone than Sunday is willing to give her, and in a misguided move, tries to cheer her sister up by organizing her things.

Sunday’s efforts towards Bo in particular also stem from a desire to fit in. Although they have very different personalities—Sunday is as loud and messy as Bo is quiet and meticulous—they do share some similarities. Both girls are only children to single parents, and both of them experience being the odd one out when they move into the brownstone. Lil and Lee are twins and have always had each other, and Sunday longs to have a similar dynamic with Bo, who comes into the family as Sunday’s new step-sister. Thus she tries to spend as much time as she can with Bo and to learn to do things that Bo likes, like baking.

Despite Sunday’s messiness and occasional lack of awareness regarding other people’s space, her warmth and intention to help others also allow her to apologize sincerely and take feedback well. She hears Bo out without any defensiveness when Bo explains how she has been feeling and takes responsibility for her part in contributing to Bo’s discomfort. This openness is what helps Bo eventually feel comfortable enough to be honest with Sunday and not begrudge her the relationship Lola attempts to build with her.

Lil and Lee Dwyer are 11-year-old twin girls. They are Bo and Sunday’s “sisters”; their parents live together as co-housing families. Like Bo and Sunday, Lil and Lee are also musical: Lil plays the electric guitar and Lee sings and plays the bass. Although twins, Lil and Lee have different interests from each other. Lil enjoys physical activities like skateboarding and is a good seamstress; Lee is deeply passionate about animals and volunteers at the animal shelter. Like Sunday, Lil and Lee are also warm and welcoming towards Bo when she first arrives, and all three girls enfold Bo into their sisterhood right away.

As characters, Lil and Lee’s presence contributes to the sense of overwhelm Bo initially feels when she arrives at the brownstone, especially because the girls are twins. However, over time, Bo comes to enjoy the belonging and support she feels with the girls. She has moments of bonding with each of the twins—working the animal shelter with Lee and hanging out at the park with Lil—that establish her independent relationships with them. Within the larger story, however, Lil and Lee exist to complete the quartet that eventually forms the band and help Bo see the positives of being part of a blended family.

Lola is Bo’s mother. Until Lola marries Bill, she raises Bo alone as a single mother. Lola’s parents owned a bakery, and she passes on the skills and love of baking to Bo. After marrying Bill, Lola loosens up a little; Bo reflects that her mother has begun to embrace the fluidity and spontaneity of the Dwyer-Saunders household. Lola is a thoughtful and considerate person, like her daughter. She understands how, despite Sunday’s enthusiastic welcome of her, it must not be easy for the young girl to adjust to a new stepmother. Thus, Lola looks to return Sunday’s efforts by thinking up the Sunshine Surprise Smilecake, especially for her.

Lola is also someone who cares deeply about having a community, possibly because she spent years raising Bo on her own. She is thrilled that her marriage to Bill will afford both Bo and herself such a community and encourages Bo to develop these bonds. Lola, too, invests in fitting into the family. She willingly readjusts her finances and expenditures to match the family’s needs and works to have the family integrate better into the neighborhood by fighting for the community garden.

As a character, Lola is not extremely visible in the story; there is more focus on Bo’s changing relationship with Lola than on who Lola is as a person, reflecting the perspective of an elementary-school-aged child. However, by the end of the book, it is evident that mother and daughter are as close as ever as they finally sit down to have an honest conversation about their now-changed circumstances. Bo is left reassured of her mother’s love for her and is more comfortable sharing Lola’s time and affection with the rest of her new family.