Julia's Daughters

Colleen Faulkner

Nov 2015 · Kensington Books

About this ebook

A novel that explores the surprising ways that families—even the most fractured—can save each other, over and over again by the author of Finding Georgina.

Julia Maxton can’t imagine anything worse than losing one of her three daughters—until the day seventeen-year-old Haley runs a stop sign, killing her younger sister Caitlin. Six weeks after the crash, the family is falling apart. Julia struggles not to show hostility toward Haley, but her deep-rooted anger won’t go away. Her husband, Ben, has drifted away emotionally. Their youngest daughter, Izzy, is lost in the shuffle. And despite Haley’s insistence that she’s fine, her actions scream otherwise.

Fearing that she’s about to lose a second child, Julia decides to take Haley on a cross-country drive. Maybe somewhere between Nevada and Maine they can bridge the gulf between them. But first there will be painful questions to face—is Julia a good mother? Did she secretly love responsible, respectful Caitlin more than defiant Haley? Can Haley ever find peace with her mother—and herself—again?

In Colleen Faulkner’s most thought-provoking and complex novel to date, an unthinkable tragedy becomes the starting place for a powerful journey toward healing and hope.

Praise for Colleen Faulkner’s Just Like Other Daughters

“This deeply moving story of maternal love and renewal will touch your heart. It’s a celebration of the capacity of the human heart to heal itself and embrace change, beautifully written with rare insight.”—Susan Wiggs, #1 New York Times–bestselling author

“Be prepared to weep tears of sorrow as well as tears of joy. This is a novel you won’t soon forget.” —Holly Chamberlin, author of Barefoot in the Sand

Ratings and reviews

I just finished reading Julia’s Daughters by Colleen Faulkner. Julia Maxton just lost her middle daughter, Caitlin. Julia has been grief stricken for the six weeks since her death. Haylie is the eldest daughter at seventeen. She was driving the car with Caitlin inside when she went through a stop sign and into a truck (she did not see it). Since Caitlin’s death she has been acting out and has now been expelled from school. The youngest daughter, Lily has not talked to Haley since Caitlin died. Ben, Julia’s husband has been very distant since their daughter’s death (he talks more to his mother than to his wife). Linda, Julia’s mother-in-law believes that they should send Haley away to boarding school. Julia does not feel that is a solution. Then Julia finds out that Haley is cutting herself. Julia knows that she now has to climb out of her bed and do something before it is too late. She decides to take Haley on a road trip from Las Vegas (where they live) to her best friend’s home in Portland, Maine. Ben does not support the decision especially since Julia plans on leaving Lily at home (she has school). As Haley and Julia are departing, Lily begs to go with them. Lily ends up going on the trip (and sneaks Mr. Cat in as well). Julia is hoping this journey will bring her closer to her daughters and help them to heal from Caitlin’s death. She is hoping that being away from the town where Caitlin died and the memories in the home will be helpful for all of them. Julia asked Ben to come along, but he refused (this does not bode well for their marriage). Will this journey work out that way Julia hopes? What will the future hold for the Maxton family? Julia’s Daughters is a story about healing and overcoming grief. Julia and her daughters needed this journey to help them move on after the death of Caitlin. Julia’s Daughters was a very slow moving novel. I liked Julia’s commitment to her children. She did what was needed for them and for herself despite what her husband told her (good for her). The one thing I did not like was that it was told from the perspective of Julia, Izzy, and Haley. It flipped back and forth. Izzy point-of-view was basically a waste of space (it did not help or enhance the novel in any way). I felt that the novel would have been told from Julia’s perspective alone. I give Julia’s Daughters 3 out of 5 stars (it was a satisfactory novel, but I did not like or love it). I received a complimentary copy of Julia’s Daughters from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Colleen Faulkner writes books that feature strong women going through difficult circumstances. The themes of Julia’s Daughters are quite heavy: grief, guilt, failure to live up to others’ expectations, but those are balanced out by true comic relief in the interactions between these complicated characters. I enjoyed the book. It made me think long after I finished it. And there’s no higher compliment than that. Highly recommended.

It was an awesome book. It's one of those books that the page just keeps turning. Hard to put down

About the author

Colleen Faulkner lives in Delaware, where her family settled more than three hundred years ago. She comes from a long line of storytellers and spends her days, when she’s not writing, running the family farm, reading, and traveling the world. She has four children and six grandchildren. Look for Colleen on Facebook or visit her website at: www.colleenfaulknernovels.com.