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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This weaves the lives of two sisters that have had very different lives. It confronts how we process our upbringing, grief, anger, loss, addiction and the impact each has on us.
Morgan and Arlo come alive off the page, they are real, raw and flawed and the dark humour is perfection.
It also has family drama on so many levels and I drank it up and didn’t want to put it down.
This is an incredible debut.
Pub date: April 29
Thank you so much for the copy Morgan dick I am so excited for you 🤍
Morgan and Arlo come alive off the page, they are real, raw and flawed and the dark humour is perfection.
It also has family drama on so many levels and I drank it up and didn’t want to put it down.
This is an incredible debut.
Pub date: April 29
Thank you so much for the copy Morgan dick I am so excited for you 🤍
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
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
dark
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Yes, that was true. Everything she’d ever done for her father—every mess she’d cleaned up, every toenail she’d clipped—had served one purpose: to remain the most important person in his life. As if his heart were a piece of land she had to occupy at all times, or else someone else might come and take it from her.
Let me say ahead of everything: this is not a bad novel per se. It’s solid, both in writing and in premise. But it also misses its potential and thus ended up being a disappointment for me.
The initial concept was unique and compelling: a therapy session between two estranged sisters, unaware of their connection, promised a layered and insightful look at grief, family, and identity.
These sessions, however, were only touched on briefly, while the narrative focused instead on a contrived plot driven by implausible and often absurd decisions. There was a persistent sense that the characters were being maneuvered to hit thematic milestones. Rather than feeling like individuals responding to lived experiences, they seemed to be performing assigned roles — meant to illustrate contrast, spark transformation, or deliver revelations. They became caricatures, and their interactions felt inauthentic and flat, with reactions that often strained plausibility in service of the narrative.
It doesn’t help that the novel leans heavily on telling over showing, and that the first third dragged without meaningful layers or emotional progression. And as more characters conveniently crossed paths to facilitate personal growth and a likely happily ever after, the whole thing began to resemble a lower-budget Netflix drama with a holiday release date: well-meaning, predictable, and emotionally engineered to a fault.
And yet, I don’t think the author lacks sensitivity or insight. The underlying themes — grief, neglect, addiction, loneliness — are handled with care. The frame that carries them, however, is too flimsy to support their weight.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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 is a novel about grief, sisterhood, and the tangled mess of family—both the kind you choose and the kind you don’t.
Mickey and Arlo have just lost their father. What they don’t know (yet) is that they’re also half-sisters. They meet at a time when everything feels raw and impossible, but somehow, they keep moving forward. Their resilience makes you root for them, even when they’re frustrating, even when they make choices that hurt. Because grief is messy, and so is family.
This book is tender, frustrating, sad, and hopeful—exactly what you want a literary fiction novel to be. It lingers in the quiet spaces between loss and understanding, where healing isn’t linear, and love isn’t always easy
Mickey and Arlo have just lost their father. What they don’t know (yet) is that they’re also half-sisters. They meet at a time when everything feels raw and impossible, but somehow, they keep moving forward. Their resilience makes you root for them, even when they’re frustrating, even when they make choices that hurt. Because grief is messy, and so is family.
This book is tender, frustrating, sad, and hopeful—exactly what you want a literary fiction novel to be. It lingers in the quiet spaces between loss and understanding, where healing isn’t linear, and love isn’t always easy
challenging
emotional
fast-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
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m not sure what I expected from this novel but I requested an ARC from NetGalley because I liked the sound of the blurb.
The cover wasn’t especially eye-catching, but there’s nothing I disliked about it either.
However, it belies this great story.
Full of heart, honesty and raw emotion, Morgan Dick’s novel about two sisters who discover each other after the death of their alcoholic father is gripping and bursts with character growth.
Charlotte (Arlo), the dutiful daughter who nursed her millionaire father through the final stages of his illness, is devastated when her entire inheritance is left to the step sister she’s never met. Well, hadn’t met, until her dysfunctional father made therapy a condition of Mickey’s (said step sister) inheritance. Did I mention that Arlo is a therapist?
You can imagine the chaos and moral dilemmas that abound as a result of this irresponsible plan. Mickey has her own troubles, not least of which is an alcohol dependency, along with complete ignorance that her therapist is her step sister.
Definitely check the trigger warnings on this one, but definitely read it!
It’s a story about love, compassion, facing your demons and battling the little buggers on a daily basis. It’s a story about finding your truth and getting up, no matter how many times you get knocked down.
I lost myself in this story. Five stars from me, with thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK for the chance to read an ARC.
Favourite Daughter releases on 1 May.