One Two Three
Laurie Frankel
5 stars
Format: Paperback
“The metaphor is always David and Goliath.”
Nearly 20 years ago, the water in Bourne turned green. Bourne’s residents got sick, many died, the lucky ones left and didn’t look back. Since then, those stuck behind in the small town have lived a half life. One full of debilitating mental and physical hardships. Since then, one woman has expended all efforts to hold Belsum Chemicals and Duke Templeton, the owner of the chemical plant responsible for the poisoned water, accountable through a class action lawsuit.
The triplet daughters of Nora Mitchell, the tenacious warrior of justice, were born the year after the contamination. Mab, the oldest, bears no scars of the bad water. She is able-bodied and works hard in order to leave for college. Monday, the middle sister, acts as the town’s librarian since the actual library shut its doors. Implied that she is on the spectrum, Monday has no shortage of boldness and intellect. Mirabel, the youngest and most beloved triplet, can only speak through a keyboard and her electronic Voice and because of congenital disorders, she is confined to a wheelchair and has extremely limited movement. But she is also the smartest. The triplets call themselves One (Mab), Two (Monday), and Three (Mirabel).
When the triplets are sixteen, a moving truck comes to town and starts unpacking at the library (or what used to be the library). The next generation of Templetons are back and ready to reopen the factory. They bring a promise of safety, good jobs with much-needed benefits, and a teenage son, River. Now, Nora and her daughters must fight harder to protect what’s left of their broken town, to ensure the plant does not open again and repeat history. Has anything changed? Are the townspeople desperate enough to accept Belsum’s jobs even after it took life and limb two decades ago?
As teenagers often are, Mab is drawn to River and they form a relationship. The comparison to Romeo and Juliet is frequent, as Mab is the daughter of the woman leading the lawsuit against River’s family. She convinces him to work with her family against his own by telling him, “Maybe they – you – weren’t sure it would kill us, but you weren’t sure it wouldn’t.” The mysteries they then begin to uncover are unexpected and life-changing.
One Two Three is a poignant story about greed laying waste to a small town and those affected by groundwater contamination. While this is a work of fiction and Bourne is a fictional town, the reader is reminded of real tragedies such as in Flint, Michigan and Hinkley, California. The people and places may be fictitious, but the story is real.
Each chapter is told from the Mitchell triplets’ points of view. In Monday and Mirabel, we hear from voices that are frequently underrepresented. Mirabel, especially, has a complex narration and is full of empathy, wisdom, and strength. She is the most interesting character, possibly the most full of life, and yet she is the one with the least amount of autonomy. Monday provides a smart and endearing neurodivergent perspective. Very plainly, she opens the door into her thoughts without explanation or embarrassment. It is both refreshing and enlightening to hear from these voices. Each character, including the Templeton family, is unique and well-developed. Frankel is a storyteller and I was invested by page one.
The New York Times described One Two Three as “amiable,” and I have to agree. The subject is heavy but the descriptions are not gruesome. There is heartache but I am not haunted. There is something indescribably optimistic about Bourne and its residents. I root for them. I want to see the bad guys fall. And in the end, I am pleased.
