Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Favorite Daughter

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Favorite Daughter by Morgan Dick

15 reviews

grumpyreading's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

⚱️ Favourite Daughter by Morgan Dick ⚱️

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mickey and Arlo are half sisters who’ve never met. After their father’s death, Mickey inherits his fortune—on the condition she attends therapy. Her assigned therapist? Arlo, unaware they’re related. As buried secrets surface, the sisters edge toward a revelation that could heal or shatter them both.

Okay first - the superficial: I love this cover. I got a copy from the library so I don’t know if this is the same for all copies, but: it’s so soft. The cover is that soft velvety feeling but like less than usual and it’s perfect. I’m obsessed with the colour scheme (the green and pinkish purple). The font is lovely. It’s small and perfectly spaced. And the best part? HUGE margins so the small font is in a small little part of the page in this soft book and I’m truly obsessed. I might buy a copy just for that.

Okay, now the book - I loved this. The characters were messes in a way that felt very genuine to the story. The book was well-paced, and the story progressed in a way that made me not want to put the book down. I feel like I got to understand why the characters made the decisions they did, and go to see the ways they grew and better understood themselves throughout the book. I think the storyline with Ian allowed us to see who Mickey was a little bit outside of what was going on. The writing in this was great as well. I really enjoyed this and hope to read more by this author!

Read this if you like:

dual POV
third person
complex family relationships

Vibes: 👩🏼‍🏫🛩️⚱️🥃📒💵👯‍♀️

Song that matches the vibe: Song In E by Julien Baker

Content Warnings

kirstym25's review against another edition

3.75

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

svetere1979's review against another edition

3.5

emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Overall I enjoyed this one a lot. Family dramas are a favorite genre so this was right up my alley. Plus the mental health aspects were interesting and accurate IMO. Nuanced portrayal of grief and family boundaries. Some parts feel contrived and a bit forced.

Content Warnings

nat_fuentes03's review against another edition

4.0

funny reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

tessvosper's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

sarahbsews's review against another edition

4.25

emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

litty_lydi's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

this was messy, but in a good way. both sisters were flawed (& quite frankly unhinged at times) which I really enjoyed. especially Arlo, who going into this I was picturing the stereotypical perfect daughter from the deranged father who up and turned his entire life around, but completely took me by surprise as her character started to unfold. if you’re a fan of messy family dynamics & imperfect characters I highly recommend this one!

Content Warnings

okayletsread's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

5 stars. No notes. You know when you get so lost in the pages of a book that you forget you're reading? That was my experience reading Favorite Daughter.

The premise alone drew me to the book—two half-sisters who unknowingly reunite due to their father's will—but the execution was incredible. The pacing, the honest portrayal of alcoholism, the dynamics between the characters... perfection. And it's a debut novel! I can't wait to read what Morgan Dick reads next.

CW: alcoholism, death of a parent, child neglect, suicide, cancer, infidelity

Content Warnings