Wednesday, January 4, 2012

"The Good Daughters" by Joyce Maynard Review and Giveaway! - CLOSED!

I just finished reading a great book entitled The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard.   It is about two girls born on the exact same day in the same hospital - "birthday sisters".  This intriguing story follows the two girls: Ruth and Dana throughout their lives.  Their lives intersect many times throughout the story and you learn some twists in the end.  The author really pulled me into this story.  I could not put this book down and read it in only two days!  This is the first book I have read from Joyce Maynard, but now I am a huge fan and will be reading her other titles.

Ruth was born to Connie and Edwin Plank, and was raised on a farm.  Dana was born to Valerie and George Dickerson, two drifters who moved often to wherever their various projects took them.  Ruth was born in a stable loving home but never felt accepted by her mother.  Dana felt lost in her own world, living with two unstable parents.  One thing that they both loved was Ray, Dana's older brother.  This is such an intriguing story, one that I will be thinking about for a long time!


Book Synopsis:
They were born on the same day, in the same small New Hampshire hospital, into families that could hardly have been less alike.

Ruth Plank is an artist and a romantic with a rich, passionate, imaginative life. The last of five girls born to a gentle, caring farmer and his stolid wife, she yearns to soar beyond the confines of the land that has been her family's birthright for generations.

Dana Dickerson is a scientist and realist whose faith is firmly planted in the natural world. Raised by a pair of capricious drifters who waste their lives on failed dreams, she longs for stability and rootedness.

Different in nearly every way, Ruth and Dana share a need to make sense of who they are and to find their places in a world in which neither has ever truly felt she belonged. They also share a love for Dana's wild and beautiful older brother, Ray, who will leave an indelible mark on both their hearts.

Told in the alternating voices of Ruth and Dana,
The Good Daughters follows these "birthday sisters" as they make their way from the 1950s to the present. Master storyteller Joyce Maynard chronicles the unlikely ways the two women's lives parallel and intersect-from childhood and adolescence to first loves, first sex, marriage, and parenthood; from the deaths of parents to divorce, the loss of home, and the loss of a beloved partner-until past secrets and forgotten memories unexpectedly come to light, forcing them to reevaluate themselves and each other.

Moving from rural New Hampshire to a remote island in British Columbia to the '70s Boston art-school scene,
The Good Daughters is an unforgettable story about the ties of home and family, the devastating force of love, the healing power of forgiveness, and the desire to know who we are.
 
BUY IT:

You can purchase The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard on Amazon for only $10.00!

WIN IT:

Thanks to Harper Perennial, one lucky Adventures of a Thrifty Mommy reader will win a copy of The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard!  Click "Read more" and follow the Rafflecopter directions to enter.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

70 comments:

eclairre said...

I learned that Joyce Maynard first came to national attention with the publication of her New York Times cover story, “An Eighteen Year Old Looks Back on Life”, in 1973.

And I entered The Protein Bakery Ends 1/13

Lori B said...

I learned that Joyce wrote the book To Die For. I loved that movie and while I knew it was based loosely on the Pam Smart story, I didn't know that there was a novel behind it as well! You can bet I'll be ordering that on my NOOK ASAP.

Michelle said...

Maynard is the author of fourteen books, translated into twelve languages. Thanks for the chance to win!
mrsmchappell at gmail dot com

Michelle said...

http://twitter.com/MrsMChappell/statuses/155014520585203712

Tweet
mrsmchappell at gmail dot com

Michelle said...

Entered Aerobie Megatop giveaway
mrsmchappell at gmail dot com

DebbyM said...

Her novel Labor Day is being made into a motion picture.

Thanks.

DebbyM said...

Tweeted: https://twitter.com/#!/VaDebby1/status/155079850498076672

DebbyM said...

Entered the Protein Bakery giveaway.

Thanks,

Tara Oliver said...

she's written 14 books and even has one being made into a movie right now!

Tara Oliver said...

tweeted!
https://twitter.com/#!/th7272/status/155113121575481344

and I entered the Angelina Ballerina giveaway.

sdeokoro said...

I learned her Her novel, Labor Day is being developed into a motion picture

Diana said...

I learned this was her 7th novel
hrddiana556@gmail.com

Kris said...

I learned that Maynard is the author of fourteen books, including the novel To Die For and the best-selling memoir, At Home in the World—translated into twelve languages.

Kris said...

http://twitter.com/#!/loveforcoupons1/status/155351738273103872

Michelle said...

http://twitter.com/MrsMChappell/statuses/155499724412157952

Tweet
mrsmchappell at gmail dot com

Lori B said...

https://twitter.com/#!/BrouseHouse/status/155841268184920064

Amber said...

I learned that Joyce Maynard has been a fellow at the MacDowell Colony and Yaddo.
Thank you for the giveaway :)
hudler4eva(at)gmail(dot)com

Amber said...

I entered your Protein Bakery giveaway
Thank you for the giveaway :)
hudler4eva(at)gmail(dot)com

Amber said...

I tweeted about your giveaway, I'm @AmberGoo:
https://twitter.com/#!/AmberGoo/status/156153836573167618
Thank you for the giveaway :)
hudler4eva(at)gmail(dot)com

Lori B said...

https://twitter.com/#!/BrouseHouse/status/156176371792617472

Anonymous said...

She is the mother of three grown children , teaches writing and workshops

frogz60@hotmail.com

Deborah Wellenstein said...

Joyce Maynard has been a reporter and columnist for the New York Times.

dwellenstein at cox dot net

Lori B said...

https://twitter.com/#!/BrouseHouse/status/156545648404086786

mverno said...

Her latest novel, The Good Daughters, was published in paperback in summer 2011
mverno@roadrunner.com

Tara Oliver said...

tweeted!
https://twitter.com/#!/th7272/status/156862599743549440
and I entered the Miche bag giveaway.

Lori B said...

https://twitter.com/#!/BrouseHouse/status/156920066598895617

McKim said...

Maynard is the author of fourteen books.

Lori B said...

https://twitter.com/#!/BrouseHouse/status/157281324988772352

BusyWorkingMama said...

I learned she runs writers workshops.
aleksnearing gmail com

tammy said...

I learned that Joyce maynard went to Yale

tammy said...

I tweeted
https://twitter.com/#!/TammySigond/status/157470586854064128

tammy said...

I entered Stars n Stripes forever

Tara Oliver said...

tweeted
https://twitter.com/#!/th7272/status/157556953793564674

and I entered the purex ultrapacks giveaway

Kris said...

https://twitter.com/#!/loveforcoupons1/status/157614639700643842

Kris said...

I entered there be dragons

Lori B said...

https://twitter.com/#!/BrouseHouse/status/157644186357743616
Lbrouse1 (at) gmail (dt) com
Tweeted Today 1/12

Hoa said...

I learned that her novel, Labor Day, is currently being developed as a motion picture to be adapted and directed by Jason Reitman.

alittlepieceofheaven777(at)yahoo(dot)com

Hoa said...

Tweet: https://twitter.com/#!/hle123/status/157644587249307648

alittlepieceofheaven777(at)yahoo(dot)com

Lori B said...

https://twitter.com/#!/BrouseHouse/status/158026355462770688

Kris said...

https://twitter.com/#!/loveforcoupons1/status/158303131686543360

Kris said...

I entered purex ultra

Betty2222 said...

Joyce Maynard is a reporter for the New York Times.

Lori B said...

https://twitter.com/#!/BrouseHouse/status/158353362667061248

bored2quickly said...

I learned that Joyce Maynard first came to national attention with the publication of her New York Times cover story, “An Eighteen Year Old Looks Back on Life”, in 1973. Thanks so much for the fantastic giveaway!
Renee Walters
Bored2quickly@hotmail.com

Mindful Autopsy said...

That she has written fourteen books and her book Labor Day is being made into a movie.

Lori B said...

https://twitter.com/#!/BrouseHouse/status/158715048146108416

trichie said...

She has written 14 books

Unknown said...

Her novel, Labor Day, is currently being developed as a motion picture

Miranda Ward said...

she went to Yale!


freebiegoddess03@aol.com

Lori B said...

https://twitter.com/#!/BrouseHouse/status/158862322952175616

Kris said...

https://twitter.com/#!/loveforcoupons1/status/158981928547135488

Sherry said...

she wrote her first book when she was a freshman at yale


sherwalk at yahoo dot com

babytrees said...

learned she's written 14 novels

theresa _ heppner at yahoo dot com

Valerie Taylor Mabrey said...

Maynard is the author of fourteen books
vmkids3 at msn dot com

Bonni said...

I learned that "she has been a reporter and columnist for The New York Times, a syndicated newspaper columnist whose “Domestic Affairs” column appeared in over fifty papers nationwide."

Anonymous said...

Her book Labor Day is being made into a movie, and she has writing workshops in Guatemala
robinlscott4 at hotmail dot com

Anonymous said...

tweet
https://twitter.com/#!/robinlscott/status/159176598501867520
robinlscott4 at hotmail dot com

Lori B said...

https://twitter.com/#!/BrouseHouse/status/159219058204610560

Clair Shumack said...

I learned that this is her seventh novel!

hussagain said...

I learned that she has written 14 novels!

Tara Oliver said...

tweeted!
https://twitter.com/#!/th7272/status/159365187202318338

and I entered the Mile In His Shoes giveaway.

kim miller said...

I learned that she went to Yale.

Anonymous said...

Joyce Maynard has been a columnist for The New York Times!

theyyyguy@yahoo.com

cassandra marquez said...

I learned that she is the mother of three children.
CMARQUEZ482(AT)YMAIL(DOT)COM
fb: rab pom
google: cassandra marquez

Anonymous said...

i learned the author was a freshman at yale in 1973

jim.coyne2@verizon.net

Anonymous said...

i tweeted

https://twitter.com/#!/JCoyne1031/status/159464204548583425

jim.coyne2@verizon.net

Anonymous said...

i entered the dino dan giveaway

jim.coyne2@verizon.net

daveshir2005 said...

I learned that Joyce Maynard first came to national attention with the publication of her New York Times cover story, “An Eighteen Year Old Looks Back on Life”, in 1973, when she was a freshman at Yale.

daveshir2005@yahoo.com

fb/ shirley greenawalt zolenski
twitter,gfc,stumble/ daveshir2005
google +/ shirley pebbles

daveshir2005 said...

tweeted
https://twitter.com/#!/daveshir2005/status/159479919691309057

daveshir2005@yahoo.com

daveshir2005 said...

Entered the good to go placemat activity set.

daveshir2005@yahoo.com