Fifteen-year-old Al Miller is counting down the days until her over-bearing, over-achieving older sister, Larrie, finally finishes Year 12 and leaves the school they both attend. This, Al is certain, will allow her to escape from her sister’s shadow, leaving her to shed her status as “Larrie’s little sister” and exposing to the world “the real Al Miller”.

However Al’s world is rocked when vicious rumours begin to circulate about Larrie, causing both she and Larrie to become the target of in-school and cyber bullying. How will this affect her chance with the school’s soccer star Josh Turner? While trying to deal with her elder sister’s problems, Al is also trying to navigate the tough experiences of first jobs and the pressures that come with being a teen.

Set in a small regional town, where everyone knows everyone else’s business, Little Sister captures the world of adolescence and high school in a way which will be accessible to teenage girls while also incorporating many important issues in the age of technology. The internet, Facebook in particular, and mobile phones both play an important role in the characters’ lives and are the cause of both positive and negative experiences. The book also deals with some serious issues, which are difficult to navigate on one’s own, in particular sexual identity and alcohol. It shows that teenagers struggle to confront these issues, and cyberspace is one way of hiding from them, but that there is always someone who can offer a helping hand.

Aimee Said successfully captures the love-hate relationship that is only found between sisters and this quickly becomes the main issue for Al. The jealousy and injustice Al feels towards her sister quickly escalates throughout the book and as a reader we develop the impression that Al is, in fact, a nightmare little sister and a brat. However, as the story progresses and Al redeems herself in the readers’ eyes, the sisters’ relationship begins to mend itself. But despite a positive ending the reader is left with a slightly unresolved feeling, as though there was something not quite explained. Little Sister is humorous and quirky and will appeal to girls 13 and up, especially if they are the younger sibling!