I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be a twin. What is it like to have someone else walking this earth that looks just like you? But to take it one step further, what is it like to live your life with two other people that look just like you? It’s hard for me to imagine life as a triplet, but that’s exactly the focus of Liane Moriarty’s debut novel, Three Wishes, about a set of 33-year-old triplets in Australia. Now that I’ve finished this one, I’ve officially read all of Moriarty’s adult novels. I can say that it has all of the qualities of her novels that I really enjoy.

I think Moriarty is excellent at writing characters. I like the way they talk and think. She usually writes in third person, so you get to hear the inner dialogue of whatever character the chapter focuses on. I think this is especially helpful in telling the triplets: Cat, Lynn, and Gemma Kettle apart.

Specifically, I really like that she gave each triplet a distinct personality that clashes yet still vibes with the other sisters.  Cat is short-tempered and assertive and she is struggling with her marriage, while Lynn is type-A to a fault and is juggling a family and business. Gemma takes a more relaxed approach to life, but she struggles with committing to relationships.

Moriarty also has a creative narrative style. Not only does she use third person, but she also includes these accounts from strangers peppered throughout the novel, where they speak about their chance encounters with the Kettle sisters. In the main chapters, you only hear how the sisters perceive themselves and each other. The strangers’ accounts give you a whole new perspective on the sisters.

Like a lot of Moriarty’s novels, this one revolves around a dramatic event that we’re introduced to in the beginning and then the rest of the novel builds up to it. The novel starts with a major fight between the sisters that ends with one of them throwing a fork at the pregnant sister. It lands in her belly (, but the baby is okay if you were worried).  When I first read about it, it sounded very cartoonish, but it makes more sense toward the end of the novel.

I think Three Wishes plays to one of Moriarty’s greatest strengths, which is tackling darker themes like infidelity, toxic relationships, pregnancy loss, and mental health  while still being able to balance it out with lighter moments. If you want to read this rollercoaster of a novel, I say do it. You only live once. And you might as well get to know what it’s like to do so in a trio.