THINGS I WANT MY DAUGHTERS TO KNOW

TITLE: THINGS I WANT MY DAUGHTERS TO KNOW
AUTHOR: ELIZABETH NOBLE
Pages: 437
Date: 13/07/2008
Grade: 5
Library

Normally I'm not one for the genre that has been labelled "chick-lit"; and I do think that if there is such a genre, this book is probably part of it. That being the case, Things I Want My Daughters to Know, must be (one of) the exceptions that prove the rule.
When Barbara dies, aged 60, she leaves her four daughters letters filled with love, advice, truths and one or two shocks.
Over the next year her daughters go on an emotional roller coaster with steep learning curves.
Lisa's fear of commitment almost costs her a good relationship, while Jennifer has to do something about her stale marriage. Amanda is always on the move, travelling all over the world, but will she ever find a reason to settle down? The youngest daughter, Hannah, is just 16 when Barbara dies and has her teenage ups and downs to deal with, as well as her grief.
And then there is their (step) father, Mark, who is facing grief as well as the task of being both parents to the girls.
Apart from this being a wonderful yet realistic story, what I loved most about this book is that Elizabeth Noble managed to avoid using some very obvious opportunities to over-dramatize the story. There were moments when I feared she might, but she never did, which made this book a great read for me.