Skip to main content

The Daughters Join the Party


The Daughters Join the Party is the fourth and final book in the YA contemporary series by Joanna Philbin.

I personally recommend reading the Daughters books in order, if you can, to save you from spoilers. They go: The Daughters, The Daughters Break the Rules, and then The Daughters Take the Stage.

We have long been introduced and become invested in Lizzie, Carina, and Hudson - best friends that share a common understanding of having famous parents. Now we meet fifteen-year-old Emma Conway - she's a bit of a rebel and has spent the last year at a boarding school - breaking rules.

Being the daughter of a New York senator tends to give her less-than-perfect ways some leeway - but once her dad tells her that he is getting a campaign for President together - that leeway is gone. The things her parents already didn't like - such as her vibrant hair colors and modern fashion choices - are now becoming verboten.

And when she accidentally lets it slip on network TV that her dad is running - the lease is even tighter. Between her dad's intelligent charisma, her mom's lawyer past, and her brother being an ideal son in pretty much every way - Emma has gotten used to being the disappointment of the family. But now it's more public.

Fortunately, she's now enrolled at a New York school where she meets Lizzie, Carina, and Hudson. They know exactly what it's like to be in the spotlight against your will - and maybe screw it up. Emma hopes that they can help her deal with her sudden new life and scary future...

I have loved the previous Daughters books. I wasn't sure what I thought about being introduced to a new daughter, since I would've been happy with just more stories about the three we love already - but Joanna Philbin has done it again!

The Daughters Join the Party, like the others in the series, has an easy, smooth, engaging manner that presents us with realistic, complicated issues of parental and sibling issues - as well as things like self-esteem and self-worth. It doesn't take long to realize that Emma may be putting up a facade of toughness.

Despite the trouble she gets in, Emma is very likable - she's an animal lover, that's clear. Plus she has dyslexia, making her unique in YA, as well as more relatable. Joanna Philbin is excellent as portraying the hidden hurts in those who pretend to be unaffected - the fear in the "fearless".

The Daughters Join the Party is subtly poignant and insightful. We are shown the struggle to feel wanted, needed, and competent - and it's executed simply and intimately. This final book manages to be fun, addictive, and satisfying just like the others! Plus, we always get a good, hearty dash of romance in there, too!

Though it's a great way to end the series, I don't think I'll ever accept that we can't rejoin these characters in the future. Their lives are fascinating and foreign to us, yet they are just like any other teen when it comes to growing up and realizing the need to mature.

Read the series from start to finish, and you'll see what I mean!

*I received a review copy of The Daughters Join the Party from Hachette Book Group. Their generosity in no way influenced, nor sought to influence, my opinion of the novel.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

First Step: Admit You Have a Problem

Hi fellow Bibliophiles! I have been rather neglectful to this blog... instead continuing to stay buried in a book as I have during the holidays. I'm hopeful that most of you have been doing this too and can easily accept my apology. Have I been reading? Um, yeah! (Translation: duh.) Just haven't been able to pull myself away long enough to actually WRITE about what I'm reading. Lol. But that's me, a bibliophile, an addict, an addict who's fallen off the wagon and fully embraced her love of reading - especially with all this free time to do so!!! I've also been watching awesome holiday movies, eating yummy, but bad-for-me, food and hanging out with the people I love best! You too? I hope! ;) Anyway, I will return with a new book review next week, most likely on Monday or Tuesday. Thanks for your patience and keep reading!!!

Promotion Celebration for Maximum Ride!!!

Do you love the series Maximum Ride ? How about James Patterson? Are you a huge fan of action-packed books? Well, I’m thrilled to bring to you an opportunity to stock up on some awesome reading!!! ENTER TO WIN A SET OF JAMES PATTERSON PAGETURNERS! MAXIMUM RIDE – IF SHE LIVES, THE WORLD LIVES, IT’S THAT SIMPLE. Read “MAX” - the newest book in the bestselling Maximum Ride series. On sale in paperback 09/01/09! Still reeling from their most recent adventure, Maximum Ride and the rest of the flock must head out to sea to uncover the secret behind a brand new series of disasters—fish are dying off the coast of Hawaii, hundreds of ships are being destroyed. As if that weren’t enough, they’re also being tracked by a criminal mastermind with, oh yeah, an army of mercenaries. Can the flock save themselves and the ocean, and the world, from utter destruction? Now for the rules : The Maximum Ride: Max Promotion is open to legal US residents who are at least 13 years of age as of August 24, 200

Author Q & A - Jan Eldredge Stops By!

Next Wednesday y'all will be getting my oh-so-humble opinion of Evangeline of the Bayou , the Summer 2018 Kids' Indie Next List selection! (That means it was picked via booksellers at independent bookstores countrywide.) Until then, I have a Q&A with the Louisiana born and raised author herself: Jan Eldredge! (Don't forget to come back next week for my review!!) A Conversation with JAN ELDRIDGE Author of Evangeline of the Bayou 1) The glossary in the back of the book is so helpful! Where did you learn about all these creatures? Which creature from the book is your favorite? I have a small, but growing, collection of books about mythical creatures around the world. If I couldn’t find what I was looking for there, I researched library books, online websites, and the occasional documentary. Something that really surprised me as I started learning more about mythical monsters was the number of different cultures that share very similar