Review: Trust Me On This

Publisher’s Description:
Zahra Starling and her younger half sister, Aurora, have nothing in common. Not their childhoods or their personalities. And certainly not their outlooks. After a terrible loss, Zahra prefers the solitude of her LA kitchen to people, especially family. Bubbly Aurora, a rising Hollywood starlet, has everything she’s ever dreamed of, except a relationship with her sister.
Then comes a plea from their dying father, who wants both daughters by his side. He has a secret to share that’s been a long time coming.
It’s Zahra’s last chance to bring closure to the past, even if traumatic memories mean there’s no way she’s stepping foot on a plane. For Aurora, road-tripping to Seattle is the perfect escape and the chance to win over prickly Zahra.
What starts as a rough ride reopening old wounds evolves into something neither expects. When they finally reach their destination—and the truth that awaits them—the sisters will need each other like never before.

My Notes:
This book can be a good read if you can put the lack of noted diversity aside. I enjoyed the road trip format, and the increasing connection as the trip went along. The younger sister is quite naive at the start of the story to an extreme level but given her circumstances and personality as they become apparent through the story it doesn’t read as overly off. There is significant character growth in sometimes abrupt ways, but it doesn’t read as overly jarring in the storyline. The descriptions of food and flavors are lovingly and wonderfully done; my mouth watered, and I wished I could really taste some of the dishes. I loved how food is related to family and heritage, as well as to personal connections and sharing one’s self with others. I grew up with food as a point of heritage and a family connection as well, and this brought back good memories. Overall, there are a few flaws, but it is a good story.

Location/Setting:
Mostly on major roads (with a few minor offshoots) between Los Angeles, California and Seattle, Washington. There are some stops along the way, with bits specifically in LA, and a few bits specifically in Seattle.

Diversity:
The youngest sister is white. The older sister is half-Iranian, with “dark dyes, dark hair, browner skin, and better cheekbones” than her white father or sister. Based on interactions in the story, she is not so dark as to be on the receiving end of prejudice the majority of the time. Several other characters have names that are not usually given to folks of white heritage, but descriptions do not include enough features to tell if they are non-white or not. Both sisters are cis/hetero. There is no mention of any characters being anything other than cis and hetero.

What genres would this book fit in? Women’s Fiction, Family Dramas, Road Trips, Contemporary Fiction

From whose point of view is the story told? The POV alternates between the two sisters.

Has this book been banned? It is not on any of the banned lists I have access to.

How are non-white people treated? Defined non-white people are nonexistent.

How are GLBT+ people treated? Defined queer people are nonexistent.

Is there neurospicy / disabled representation? Defined neuro/dis people are nonexistent.

Scoring:
Plot: 0.8 – Solid, with a couple of less-likely choices that do not break the flow of the story
Characters: 0.8 – Interesting without being over the top a majority of the time
Setting: 0.9 – Mostly car interiors, but enough local color to fit the storyline
Pacing: 0.9 – Good general pacing without significant lulls or speed runs that effect the story flow
Ending: 1.0 – It works. Most questions answered, with reasonable emotional payoff. The epilogues are well done and tie things up well.
Emotional Impact: 0.8 – Most readers should be able to feel for one or both siblings. At least some emotional elements in the story should resound with a majority of readers.
Writing Style: 0.8 – Easy to read and follow. Style is concise, bordering on minimal, and is consistent throughout. There are very few areas where verbiage gets in the way of story flow.
Themes: 0.8 – For the most part themes are well-woven into the story. Most themes are reasonably explored for the storyline, but there are a few superficial areas. Theme development does not get in the way of the story.
Other Scales: 1.0 – The levels of heat, scare, and violence are appropriate to the story, and the elements flow well into the storyline.
Overall Enjoyment: 0.8 – I enjoyed reading, and recommend this book to readers who enjoy family drama, sister stories, slice-of-life stories, rebuild relationships, second chances, stories with food as an integral part of the story, or women’s fiction and who are able to deal with the lack of noted diversity on most fronts. I will probably reread this book at some point.
Total Score 8.6

Heat:
1 out of 5 – Has some brief descriptions of romance and physical affection. There is some lightly described romantic or sexual tension. Has minimal detail in descriptions of physical affection or sex.

Scare:
0 out of 5 – A walk in the park. Focus is on solving plot puzzles and related plot elements. May have some suspenseful moments, but nothing overtly scary.

Violence:
1 out of 5 – Very light violence. May have a slap, or physical shoving, or similar. No violent deaths on page. May have some lightly intense verbal conflict. May have death on page without graphic detail.

Grade:
B+ – Very good. A few flaws that may or may not influence the plotline, but are less likely to kick you out of the story. Recommended, but without jumping up and down and shoving it at people.

Tests:
Bechdel = pass – although a lot of conversations between the sisters are about their father and past/future relationships, there are a number of conversations that are not about their father or mates, and there are several conversations with minor characters that pass the Bechdel test
Mako Mori = pass – both sisters have a narrative arc that is not about supporting a man’s story (One of the plotlines is explicitly about removing someone from a situation that is beneficial to a man to the detriment of the woman.)
Deggans = fail – there are no noted non-white characters in the main cast
Vito Russo = fail – there are no noted non-cis/hetero people in the main cast
Babs and Kara = pass – both sisters have sufficiently developed personalities that they could be distinguished if both were to speak a bit from behind screens
Finkbeiner = pass – both sisters are depicted in multiple ways separate from their relationships with males or children
Fridge = pass – No woman’s suffering or death is used to initiate or progress a male character’s storyline.
Sexy Lamp = mostly pass – None of the main woman characters could be replaced by a sexy lamp with a post it note on the shade, but several other woman characters could
Ars Marginal = fail – There is not a named character that is noted as being non-white.
Roxane Gay = pass – There are central woman character(s), with at least one supporting woman character, who does not compromise herself for love, or who doesn’t live extravagantly for no explained reason.

About the author:
Lauren Parvizi won the 2024 Women’s Fiction Writers Association STAR award in the Debut category for her book “According to Rose”, and has also written the book “La Vie”. She has an MFA from San Francisco State University and has worked as a digital editor and content writer for more than a decade. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and sons.