Julia's Daughters

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.