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Things I Want My Daughters to Know by Elizabeth Noble

Synopsis:

‘My beautiful girls. If you’ve read this, you’ll know it contains some – not all, but some – of the things I want my daughters to know. And the greatest of these is love …’ How would you say goodbye to those you love most in the world? Barbara must say a final farewell to her four daughters. But how can she find the words? And how can she leave them when they each have so much growing up to do? There’s commitment-phobic Lisa. Brittle, unhappily married Jennifer. Free-spirited traveller Amanda. And teenage Hannah, stumbling her way towards adulthood. Barbara’s answer is to write each daughter a letter, finally expressing the hopes, fears, dreams and secrets she couldn’t always voice. These words will touch the girls in different – sometimes shocking – ways, unlocking emotions and passions to set them on their own journey of discovery through life.

I was so excited about reading this book, and I wasn’t let down. The story follows four daughters after their mother died. The story is full of love, grief, sex, family and of course, death. Noble is a good writer and I enjoyed this book a lot. It took longer to read than I thought it would, but actually that wasn’t a problem. I was gripped and wanted to know the outcome, and at the end I was happy, but sad too. This book definitely sparked emotion; as well as made me laugh and gasp.

It is hard to pick my favourite character. Probably Mark, the step-father. He was strong and held the family together. He remained there, even though he was just the step-father. He seemed like a good guy. I liked all the characters however, and I found myself willing the best for all of them.

This was a fun, engaging book, that I thoroughly recommend.

8/10