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A review by lazygal
The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard
4.0
Usually I get annoyed when there's a plot twist that I can see coming a mile away (example? SPOILER ALERT: Darth Vader is Luke's father. oh, and Leia's his sister). For some reason, even though I figured out what the plot twist was in this book, it didn't bother me.
There are three daughters here: Ruth Plank, fifth daughter of Edwin and Connie; Dana Dickinson, daughter of Val and George; and a new strawberry hybrid (I'm not kidding). Ruth and Dana are "birthday sisters", born nine months after a massive hurricane hits their rural NH town. Ruth's family, the Planks, have owned their farm since the 1700s, and while Ruth doesn't really fit in, she adores her father and helps out around the farm to be with him. Dana's family is one of those unsettled families, moving ever few years; the only constants are the George will have yet another failed get-rich-quick scheme and that the Planks and the Dickinsons will see each other for two brief visits every year.
Their lives intertwine more than just these visits, as Ruth has a massive crush on Ray (Dana's older brother), while Dana eventually becomes a farmer and successfully patents Edwin's strawberry. To reveal more would give away the plot twist.
This isn't an action-packed book, but the raveling and unraveling of their lives is well worth the read.
ARC provided by publisher
There are three daughters here: Ruth Plank, fifth daughter of Edwin and Connie; Dana Dickinson, daughter of Val and George; and a new strawberry hybrid (I'm not kidding). Ruth and Dana are "birthday sisters", born nine months after a massive hurricane hits their rural NH town. Ruth's family, the Planks, have owned their farm since the 1700s, and while Ruth doesn't really fit in, she adores her father and helps out around the farm to be with him. Dana's family is one of those unsettled families, moving ever few years; the only constants are the George will have yet another failed get-rich-quick scheme and that the Planks and the Dickinsons will see each other for two brief visits every year.
Their lives intertwine more than just these visits, as Ruth has a massive crush on Ray (Dana's older brother), while Dana eventually becomes a farmer and successfully patents Edwin's strawberry. To reveal more would give away the plot twist.
This isn't an action-packed book, but the raveling and unraveling of their lives is well worth the read.
ARC provided by publisher