Maybe it really was the busy time of year as I read this but couldn't say I loved it. When her parents in Ireland in the early 1950s find out another baby is on the way, Angela is sent to live with her Aunt Mary and Uncle Liam who are unable to have children of their own. Needless to say Angela is resentful of being farmed out to her aunt and resentful of the coming baby. She feels understandably unloved. As a teenager in Mary's home, she experiences issues she refuses to talk about and can't wait to leave. The story of how she makes a new life for herself takes up the rest of the book. As a person who grew up in Australia it was interesting to me how dire the situation was in Ireland in 1952. I also enjoyed all the references from the 1960s about the Beatles, Twiggy, Mini and Maxi skirts etc but still found myself skipping over bits of the story that seemed to drag. The ending I suspect has been left open for a follow up. A light read and I liked the character of Angela. Synopsis: A captivating new saga set in Liverpool and Ireland, from the bestselling author of DAYS OF HOPE and FAR FROM HOME Angela O'Rourke is six when her parents hand her over to an aunt and uncle in a distant village. It's a common practice for large, hard-up families in 1950s Ireland, but for Angela it means that her mother and father don't love her any more. Still, she's well cared for till she's sixteen, when her uncle starts to take too much of an interest in her. Moving to Liverpool in the early 1960s, she becomes a success in the world of fashion design. The pain of a disastrous love affair sends her home to Ireland just after the death of her aunt: and there, among old papers, Angela makes an astonishing discovery. As she learns the truth about the past, a brighter new future beckons.This is the first Lyn Andrews novel that I have read and I enjoyed it. The book begins in Ireland, where Angela's parents are too poor to keep her. Devote Catholics, they have a lot of children, and another is on the way. Angela's dad is struggling to find work, so they make the decision to send Angela off to live with her Aunt Mary. Her aunt gives her a good life, but Angela misses her family and resents them for sending her away. Life is OK until her Uncle starts drinking. Life becomes unsafe for her. Then her best friend Emer leaves for America - this is the motivation Angela needs to start thinking about leaving. She works hard and is accepted to do nursing at Liverpool. She moves away - to the anger of her uncle, but soon learns that the academic side of nursing is too much for her. By chance she meets Rox and her family. Whilst with them she has the courage to leave nursing and start her own business in fashion design. For a long time she is happy without a man, but then she falls in love. However, her boyfriend is not a nice guy and result is a broken heart. Shortly after this she has to return to Ireland because her aunt is seriously ill. After her aunt dies she discovers papers that had been hidden from her all her life. This startlingly discovery changes her life and her outlook on family.This is a very simple read - the language is not difficult and the story is not complicated. I read the majority of this book in one day. It was interesting, fun and engaging. The characters were believable and most of them I liked! The story is set in the 1960s and I felt that life in this time was depicted well. The poverty and the contrast between people and countries was astonishing but also realistic. This did mean there were heartbreaking moments in this book, like at the beginning when a six year old Angela learns she is being sent to live somewhere else.I liked Angela, although I'm not convinced she would of had such a successful business simply because she was a woman, and in the 1960s it was a male dominated world. However, I liked her determination and her caring heart. She worked hard and was selfless. She understands poverty and when the chance to help out others arises she takes it, helping to pull others out of hardship. My other favourite character was Rox. I loved her shopping obsession! She was cool, chic and stylish, yet had a big heart. When Angela needed her she was there, and helped her through some tough situations.This was a nice read and I enjoyed it. I'm happy to recommend this book to others and I will be looking out for other Lyn Andrews books. The ending was a bit of a disappoint - the cliff hanger, where we wonder what will happen to Angela, I wanted the book to keep going so I could find out how Angela's life would change. That is probably my only complaint with the book.This is simple chick-lit and I would recommend it to those who like a good girly book. 4/5 from me.
What do You think about A Daughter's Journey (2009)?
Easy to read. No suprises. Nice story with a happy ending.
—priyakorivi
Very good book, easy to read and very well written.
—WaitingFS
