People (Four Stars)
“[The] story is moving and fast-moving, affirming Maynard’s reputation as a master storyteller and showing her to be a passionate humanist with a gifted ear and heart. . . . Maynard illuminates the human experience.”
Entertainment Weekly on THE GOOD DAUGHTERS
“[Maynard] weav(es) a knotty tale of family secrets, told in the alternating voices of her likable main characters.”
Seattle Times on THE GOOD DAUGHTERS
“Maynard is a clever storyteller.”
People on THE GOOD DAUGHTERS
“Maynard’s spare prose packs a rich emotional punch...a can’t put-it-down mystery.”
Booklist on THE GOOD DAUGHTERS
“An evocative story . . . [Maynard] consistently brings emotional authenticity to the long arc of her characters’ lives and to the joy and loss they experience. A profoundly moving chronicle of the primacy of family connection.”
AfterEllen.com on THE GOOD DAUGHTERS
“In addition to being a beautiful and engaging story, Maynard deftly captures Dana’s struggle to come to terms with her sexuality in the midst of her family’s instability. And her relationship with Clarice is one of the strongest in the novel. Highly recommended. ”
Minneapolis Star Tribune on THE GOOD DAUGHTERS
“Unexpected and heartbreaking…. Arguably [Maynard’s] best work yet.”
Buffalo News on THE GOOD DAUGHTERS
“An impressive writer...with a fine sense of time, of place, of humor.”
More Magazine on THE GOOD DAUGHTERS
“Absorbing.”
Tampa Tribune on THE GOOD DAUGHTERS
“Vividly rendered.”
Record Searchlight (Redding
“Maynard...is in top form in this tale of love, betrayal and forgiveness.”
Publishers Weekly
Two families, the Planks and the Dickersons, are mysteriously entwined in this exquisite novel that centers on decades of life at a New Hampshire farm. Youngest daughters Ruth Plank and Dana Dickerson, born on the same day in the same hospital, take turns narrating the struggles they face as children. Ruth feels a coldness from her mother; Dana is unsettled by her kooky parents constantly uprooting her and her brother Ray. Regardless, the Planks pay a yearly visit to the Dickersons no matter where they've ended up living. As the girls come of age, Ruth takes an interest in art, sex, and Dana's brother, Ray, with whom she later reunites, at Woodstock, in a swirl of drugs and mud. Meanwhile, Dana realizes that her desires are directed toward women and sets off to pursue agricultural studies at a university, where she meets Clarice, an assistant professor. As time goes by, the floundering Plank Farm is in danger of being seized by Ruth's former boyfriend, a man who has had his eye on the land for years. As Ruth and Dana pursue love, contemplate children, and search for home, the truth of what unites their families is finally--at long last--revealed, in this beautifully written book. (Sept.)
