Blue Sisters

Blue Sisters is a novel by the American writer Coco Mellors; it is the second novel by Mellors, following her successful debut Cleopatra and Frankenstein. Blue Sisters was published in 2024 and focuses on the relationship between three sisters in the wake of the death of the fourth sister. Mellors explores themes of grief, family, addiction, and self-awareness. 

This guide references the 2024 4th Estate UK edition.

Content Warning: The novel and the guide reference alcohol and drug addiction, overdose, sexual assault, and child abuse.

Plot Summary

Avery, Bonnie, Nicky, and Lucky Blue are four sisters who grew up in a volatile home environment in New York City. Their father’s alcohol addiction made him unpredictable and angry, and their mother largely abdicated responsibility to Avery (the eldest sister). Nonetheless, the sisters went on to be high achievers. After grappling with heroin addiction in her early twenties, Avery achieved sobriety and became a successful lawyer. She moved to London and married a woman named Chiti. Bonnie discovered her love of boxing and trained for years with a man named Pavel, for whom she secretly harbored romantic feelings. Nicky settled in New York City, teaching English and aspiring to eventually have a family of her own. She suffered intense chronic pain due to endometriosis and became addicted to pain medication as a result. Lucky became a successful model, although she dreamed of a more meaningful career path.

A year before the action of the novel begins, Nicky dies from a drug overdose. Bonnie finds her sister’s body. In the wake of Nicky’s death, the sisters withdraw from one another and spiral into grief. Avery isolates herself from her wife and begins shoplifting; Bonnie suffers a disastrous loss in a fight, quits boxing, and moves to California, where she works as a bouncer at a bar. Lucky leads a reckless, partying lifestyle, frequently and excessively consuming alcohol and drugs. The sisters are surprised to learn that their parents plan to sell the apartment where Nicky lived and died; it has been standing empty since her death. Lucky spontaneously goes to visit Avery in London, but the visit mostly exacerbates tension between the sisters; Lucky also continues to party and frightens Avery with the way she consumes substances. Avery has recently agreed to start trying to conceive a child with her wife but is secretly harboring an attraction to Charlie, a man she has met at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. While Lucky is in London, Avery secretly has sex with Charlie.

Meanwhile, Bonnie has an altercation with a man at the bar where she works. Fearing legal reprisal, she decides to go to New York City. Lucky decides to join Bonnie in New York since she is frustrated with Avery; once Lucky arrives, she attempts to quit using substances under Bonnie’s care. Chiti realizes that Avery has been unfaithful and confronts her; after the fight with her wife, Avery also travels to New York City to join her sisters. The three sisters initially enjoy spending time together, but eventually, tensions flare and they get into an intense fight. After the fight, Lucky goes out drinking, but a man named Riley shows kindness and care to her, prompting her to realize that she needs to get sober and find a different career path. Lucky goes to her first AA meeting. Meanwhile, Bonnie finds Pavel and confides her feelings to him: It turns out that he also loves her, and the two embark on a romantic relationship.

After fighting with her sisters, Avery goes to stay with their mother. Through a series of candid conversations, she comes to a better understanding of their childhood dynamics and accepts that she does not want to become a mother herself. Avery and her sisters reconcile and enjoy a peaceful time together. When Avery goes back to London, she tells Chiti that she does not want to have children, and the two women decide to end their marriage. In the Epilogue, 10 years later, Bonnie gives birth to her first child with Pavel: a daughter named Nicole. Avery and Lucky welcome their new niece. Avery has remarried and moved back to New York, and Lucky has become a successful musician. Lucky still struggles with addiction, but the novel ends on a note of resilience and hope.