Mothers and Daughters

by Kylie Ladd

Four mothers. Four teenage daughters.

An isolated tropical paradise with no internet or mobile phone reception.

What could possibly go wrong?

There's tension, bitchiness, bullying, sex, drunken confessions, bad behaviour and breakdowns - and wait till you see what the teenagers get up to...

How can we let our daughters go to forge lives of their own when what we most want to do is hold them close and never let them go? How do we let them grow and keep them protected from the dark things in the world at the same time? And how can mothers and daughters navigate the troubled, stormy waters of adolescence without hurting themselves and each other? A clear-eyed, insightful and wildly entertaining look into the complicated, emotional world of mothers and daughters by the acclaimed author of Into My Arms, Last Summer and After the Fall

A sure-fire hit from a writer who's been steadily building fans and critical acclaim and is ready to explode on to the bestseller lists.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Audiobook, Australia

356 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2014

About the author

Kylie Ladd is a novelist and freelance writer. Her essays and articles have appeared in The Age, Griffith Review, O Magazine, The Sydney Morning Herald, Good Medicine, Kill Your Darlings, The Hoopla and MamaMia, among others. Kylie's first novel, After the Fall , was published in Australia, the US and Turkey, while her second, Last Summer, was highly commended in the 2011 Federation of Australian Writers Christina Stead Award for fiction. Her previous books are Naked: Confessions of Adultery and Infidelity and Living with Alzheimer's and Other Dementias. Kylie’s third novel, Into My Arms, has been selected as one of Get Reading’s Fifty Books You Can’t Put Down for 2013. She holds a PhD in neuropsychology, and lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband and two children.

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Friends Morag, Fiona, and Caro along with their daughters Janey, Bronte and Mary were all looking forward to spending a week with their friend, Amira and her daughter Tess. Amira and Tess lived about two hours north of Broome where Amira worked as a teacher in an aboriginal school.

As days go by the holiday that should've been relaxing and fun soon turns into the complete opposite. And being in a remote area like Lombadina wasn't making it any easier with no mobile phone or internet reception. And at night the girls couldn't go out as there was nowhere like nightclubs to visit. Friendships were strained to say the least and the mothers were driven to their limits by their moody teenage daughters.

I was looking forward to reading this book, but unfortunately I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I was going to. I did enjoy the setting and I did enjoy reading about the aboriginal community. The amount of swear words used in this book is what really put me off. I feel there are many words that could've been applied instead of the ones that were used throughout this story, but in saying that I'm sure this book will be enjoyed by many.

With thanks to Goodreads First Reads Giveaway for my copy to read and review.

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5★s

Morag was the only one not travelling with a child this trip – her children were all boys (apart from her step-daughter Macy) but with Fiona and Bronte, Caro and Janey, they were all travelling from Melbourne to Broome in WA to see their long-time friend Amira, and daughter Tess, who had both moved to the remote Aboriginal settlement eight months previously. A week for the girls they had all decided. And they were all excited about their upcoming holiday…

After a night in Broome in a resort with Amira and Tess, they took the people mover the next morning on the long trek to the remote settlement of Lombadina. But what they didn’t realize was that there was no mobile phone reception, no internet, a basic shop and no night life. How on earth would they cope? (sarcasm here) These people, both adults and fourteen year olds alike, were used to being able to check their emails, update Facebook, do whatever they liked, when they liked.

The beauty of the countryside, the luxury of the isolated tropical paradise was lost on most of them. And when the tension between the young girls ramped up, with cruelty and bullying thrown into the mix, the adults were also misbehaving badly. What was going to happen to their wonderful, relaxing “catch up with friends” holiday between these Mothers and Daughters?

I’m afraid I was extremely disappointed with this book. I couldn’t believe the complete lack of respect between mother and daughter, as well as friend and friend. Most of the adults did nothing to endear themselves to me – the only characters I liked were Amira and Tess, Morag plus Bronte. The character of Janey was way over the top. I have had teenagers, and I have friends who also had teenagers – the exaggeration in the behaviour of these girls is not at all realistic. And as for Fiona….

With thanks to TRR and the publisher for my copy to read and review.

[Sue Gerhardt Griffiths · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️s

Hmm, not quite what I was expecting. I thought it would delve deeper into the relationships between mothers and daughters, to me it felt more surface based. However, I loved the Kimberley setting, another place I’d love to explore.



Audiobook via BorrowBox
Published by Bolinda audio
Read by Casey Withoos
Duration: 9 hrs, 28 min. 1.25x Speed

[Theresa Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Mothers and Daughters from start to finish. With the perfect blend of intelligence and entertainment, Kylie Ladd has crafted a story about friendship and family that is refreshingly honest and entirely insightful.

The characters are not always perfect. Often, their thoughts made me wince, but they were at all times utterly real, and that’s what made this novel work so well. They are you, and me, and the person we work with, all moving along in life as best we can, questioning ourselves and wondering if there’s any chance we’ll get it all right in the end.

In amongst this domestic drama is another story, a story that is brave in its undertaking, because race is a sensitive topic that many are quick to take offence at. This novel asks the reader to consider not only issues of racial inequity within our society, but also educational inequity. Kylie does not preach nor make bold statements, she merely presents an representation of the harsh reality of life that exists in many parts of remote Australia. Living in the outback of Queensland myself – and working in the education sector – I found this aspect of the novel to be entirely relevant and I applaud Kylie for tackling this tricky and not so pretty subject.

Mothers and Daughters is a fantastic read and I highly recommend it if you enjoy good quality Australian fiction.

[Fiona Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel was insightful, entertaining and authentic in its depiction of mother-daughter relationships. While some of the characters were not necessarily likeable, they were understandable and utterly recognizable – you’ll find a Caro, Morag and Fiona at 3pm school pick-ups across Australia. Perhaps not so many Amiras – and mores the pity! An excellent read from a thoughtful Australian author.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I found this a little bit boring for my tastes but it was still an enjoyable read. I think it's something most people would call a "pool side read".

I did enjoy how well written the relationships were written between the mothers and daughters, and the friends. Ladd really managed to convey the complexity in all relationships and I recognised the dynamics between everyone from my own experience.

I'd say this isn't for everyone, especially those who like a little excitement, but definitely worth a go.

Ps. Janey is a horrid teenager. Just saying.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a huge disservice the publishers have done this novel ! They used a Booktopia quote comparing Kylie Ladd with Christos Tsiolkas, Malcolm Knox and Helen Garner. Now, I haven't read Malcolm Knox - but if people are picking up this book because they think they are getting some hard hitting, serious-to-the-point-of-depression, bash-me-over-the-head social commentary in the style of Tsiolkas / Garner, then they are going to be very, very disappointed.

Ladd's style is very much more that of another popular Australian author, Liz Byrski.
Four middle aged women, long time friends - meeting up on a bit of an unconventional holiday - at an Aboriginal Community near Broome. Teenage daughters are along for the ride, too.
These woman are so different, you initially wonder how on earth they could be friends at all.

The book is very readable. A fast, summer holiday read. On a small scale it tries to show the different sides and attitudes towards these Communities. Nothing heavy.
The blurb gives it way too much credit "clear-eyed", insightful and wildly entertaining". The book has elements of this, but really it's just a light summer read.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really as enjoyable as Kylie’s other books, Mothers and Daughters is an easy, ok read as we follow the lives of four mothers and daughters who, whilst on a holiday in Broome face the challenges of raising teenage daughters. I really liked how the group of mothers went to see a friend who had moved away, but I really couldn’t like the mother’s overly much as they were quite self centred and had no clue as to what was going on in their daughters’ lives, with the exception of Amira. The story really didn’t evolve or go anywhere too much, but in saying that, I loved the way Kylie actually took me to Broome and how Amira had changed her life and dedicated it to the Aboriginal community…….a quick, easy, fast read that is just enough to keep you wanting to read to the end and see how the story finishes up……

[Meg Ross · Rating 1 out of 5]

This books was jarring and disappointing. I received it as a gift and picked it up thinking it would be a bit of light relief after a heavy read. Racist and shallow with little redemption of characters or reward at the end. I finished it thinking there would at least be an acknowledgment of the unpalatable and seemingly gratuitous racism but there wasn't any nor was there acknowledgment of the traditional custodians of the land.
Dud.

[Bree T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fiona, Caro, Morag and Amira all met when their children began school together, almost ten years ago now. Fiona, Caro and Amira all have daughters – Bronte, Janey and Tess. Morag is sort of the odd one out, having twin boys, the only experience with girls being her rebellious sixteen year old stepdaughter. Fiona, Caro, Morag and Fiona’s daughter Bronte and Caro’s daughter Janey are all travelling to remote Western Australia to visit Amira and her daughter Tess. Amira and Tess moved to an Aboriginal community at the beginning of the year, about nine months ago and they haven’t seen each other since. Each of them are looking forward to catching up with Amira and Tess and for Morag this is her first real holiday ‘alone’. No husband, no twin boys, no younger son and no stepdaughter. Or so she thinks.

But this holiday is not entirely like some of them expected. The community where they are staying is far removed from what they term as civilisation. It’s a dry community, although private drinking may be conducted discreetly. It’s oppressively hot, the sun can burn in minutes and also they’re forced to deal with each other’s company perhaps more than even good friends should on holiday. In such an isolated place there’s no where to go to escape each other’s differing opinions and the fact that no one stays the same forever. Bronte and Janey are no longer friends, as they were in childhood and they also find Tess much changed from when she left Melbourne. When Morag’s teenage stepdaughter arrives it adds even more to an already volatile pot.

Mothers And Daughters is Kylie Ladd’s fourth novel, revolving around a very different mix of mothers who became friends when their children all began prep (kindergarten/first year of school) together. Now those children are fourteen and much has changed. Bronte and Janey now go to different high schools and aren’t particularly friends anymore. Bronte is cripplingly shy, awkward in herself whereas Janey trains for the state swim teams and is definitely more outgoing, ready to grow up before her time. Tess has been changed by her move to the Aboriginal community, her world no longer revolving around facebook updates and who is doing what. She has thrived there but it also means that there’s somewhat little to connect her with her former friends, although Bronte is eager to learn everything about the community, especially the Aboriginal art.

This is an interesting exploration of the mother daughter relationship as well as the friendship formed in the classroom, both for the children and the adults. I don’t have a daughter, I have two sons and I have to admit, this book made me briefly glad that I don’t. Fiona is abrasively harsh on her shy daughter, loathing her awkwardness and her tendency to introvert all the while not realising that she does negative things for Bronte’s already fragile self-confidence. Fiona is the character I liked the least – she spews forth the sort of negative views that it’s sad many Australians still hold today, which is bad enough but the way in which she expresses herself is even more distasteful. I expected someone, perhaps Amira to pull her up on the way she talks but this is only ever done in a sort of laughing ‘Oh, Fiona!” sort of way, like, what is she going to come out with next? Ladd holds a mirror up to white hypocrisy with Fiona denigrating the Aboriginal tendency to have problems with alcohol, all the while hocking into her third bottle of Chardonnay for the night, or after she’s vomited up a dinner of alcohol into the bushes. Because Fiona drinks in a “civilised” setting, ie with dinner, with alcohol she can well afford, proper wine and spirits, it’s ignored that she either has a problem or is well on the way to having one. A borderline functioning alcoholic who seemingly drinks to escape the misery of her marriage and the life she has now found herself in, I could have perhaps sympathised with Fiona if she didn’t tend to throw words like “boong” around with such careless abandon.

The relationship between the teenage girls proves just how cruel they can be. Janey has been spoiled and overindulged from birth, always told that she’s perfect, clever and beautiful and it seems that she’s been able to glide through life with very little in the way of consequences for her behaviour. The way she acts in this book is horrifying on a couple of levels but the cruelty of what she does to Bronte is perhaps the worst. I feel as though no one particularly dealt with this very well, least of all her own mother who was vague and seemed to think saying sorry was perhaps enough. When one of the others asked what punishment Janey would receive, it was like it hadn’t even occurred to Caro that there should be a punishment. At least Janey’s behaviour did eventually lead to Bronte taking the first step in standing up for herself and hopefully that gave her more confidence in herself and paved the way for not only a better relationship with herself but also with her mother.

I know Kylie Ladd lived in Broome for a year and I think it’s a brave choice to tackle the social issues she does in this novel. I loved the setting – Broome has long been a place I want to visit and I found myself somewhat enchanted by the community Amira and Tess have moved to, loving the stories that are told by the locals, even when some of them are painful and sad. We have a long and troubled history with the indigenous population and even though improvements are made each year, there’s still a long way to go and still a lot of attitudes to change. The women were an interesting mix, proof that kids can bring together unlikely people and create a lasting friendship. I probably identified the most with Morag. I’m not from overseas but I do live far from where I grew up and have hostile stepchildren – far more hostile than Morag actually experiences! Time away from my kids is also incredibly rare, in fact I’ve been away alone once in six years so I could definitely relate to her feelings about that and how she felt when her husband informed her that her stepdaughter was arriving.

Even though I often didn’t enjoy the characters, I did enjoy this book and the themes. Relationships between mothers and daughters are often troubled and hard to capture but I think Ladd has done an excellent job, as usual, in portraying the complexity, especially with many different characters.

8/10

[Steve lovell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love peering at road atlases. In doing so I am mentally planning road trips – road trips that I realise I'll never do. Why? I hate driving – but still, I dream of the open road, of grey nomading and the places in Oz I'd nomad to. If only I didn't abhor getting behind the wheel of a car. Still, I ruminate – and peer at road maps. I imagine being one of these wizened, ageing vagabonds who've been everywhere in this wide brown land, spinning yarns to others of a similar ilk around an outback campfire - like my good friends Noel Next Door and Kevin from Cairns (with their partners Jane and Kim). It'll never happen – but I do dream and continue to peruse road atlases. I've bucket-listed the Kimberleys, Kakadu and the Daintree – and one day I'll get to those, but more than likely in a manner far less romantic than those who Winnebago around Highway One. That is a forlorn aspiration.

One of the roads that I've often regarded with interest is the one that proceeds in a roughly northern direction from Broome up a peninsula to Kooljaman Resort and Bardi, passing by Beagle Bay and Lombardina – or, at least, that is what is indicated in my said atlases. According to Kylie Ladd, though, along its route is also the community, largely indigenous in make up, of Kalangella. It is here that the author places a bevy of female characters central to her fourth novel, 'Mothers and Daughters'. Amira has been posted to this Kimberley outpost for twelve months on a teaching contract, with teenage daughter Tess in tow. By the time their mates arrive for a week's visit, both have fallen in attachment to the place and shed their big city personas. The mother's friends – Scottish Morag of fair skin, acerbic Fiona who'd need more than a week to fall in love with any place - and groomed to the max Caro, initially clearly have little notion of what they are letting themselves in for. Each is accompanied by a single daughter. Bronte, Macey and Janey are as different from each other as three teenagers could be. Stork-like Bronte is an ugly duckling on the cusp of becoming a graceful swan, Macey is pierced and professes to be a goth and Janey – well, Janey is a real piece of work. She is a self-absorbed bitch of the first order. All the visitors find the place initially too primitive for their tastes – what, no mobile reception! But gradually the location works its charm on a few and during the stay some find that they really do need to take a good hard look at themselves. Tess' sophisticated mates also find that she is a very different kettle of fish to the school friend they thought they had pegged back in Yarra City. She's gone all native on them.

It did take a little while to settle into this novel and at times there is a little clunkiness with the prose – but Ms Ladd can sure spin a captivating yarn. Her protagonists, warts and all, did draw this reader in and I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent with these creations of Kylie L's writerly mind. With Janey, Ladd has produced a real horror and I was eager to read on to see if she receives her comeuppance. Tess is a sensible delight, but of the younger brigade Bronte for me was the most compelling with all her self doubts and general fragility. Will the experience toughen her up as Fiona so hopes? And with Caro, will she get to bed the charismatic black-hunk Mason - a serial child producer, wise to the ways of 'country'. And finally, will Fiona get what a gem she has in Bronte. These are all fascinating questions that the author leads the reader on a wonderful journey to their solutions. So much can happen in a week. Throw in a bit of Aboriginal culture, with resulting culture clash and we have, in 'Mothers and Daughters', a fine flavoursome treat.

As we do with 'Last Summer'. Published three years prior to '14's above title, this novel had me in from the get go. The fact it followed a cohort of couples strongly attached to the sport of cricket aided it's cause for me. It focuses on the social life and interrelationships between the men of a suburban cricket club - with each other, their WAGs and offspring. All are affected by the untimely death of another charismatic male, club legend Rory Buchanan. It throws the cosiness of the club dynamics all out of kilter, with all manner of sexual machinations ensuing. Ladd is a dab hand, as well, at describing the mechanics of the actual act and some males, in reading this, may be pleasantly surprised at her praise for the advantages of the smaller member in intercourse. She also introduces her fans to the delights of the mating game 'flirt tiggy' – try it out if you’re in the market. Perhaps the author's only failing in this terrific tale is that sometimes her reproduction of the blokiness associated with team sport does not quiet gel – but overall this is only a minor quibble which certainly does not in the slightest detract.

I ripped through both these tomes in a couple of days each, a sure sign of their pulling power and I am eager to track down Ms Ladd's two other offerings – 'After the Fall' and 'Into My Arms'. Perhaps this writer will never come into calculation for something like the Miles Franklin, but these two novels are engrossing page-turners. I loved them.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last year, I was totally enthralled by Into My Arms, so Mothers and Daughters was one of my most anticipated reads this year. While I didn’t devour it the same way I did Into My Arms, it was just as captivating.

Mothers and Daughters is the sort of strong, character-driven contemporary I love. Ladd explores various dimensions of the mother-daughter relationship beautifully. While I didn’t personally relate to a lot of the relationship dynamics of the mothers and daughters, I felt like I knew these people. Each character had a fully fleshed out personality and backstory. It all felt so real. Something which is hard to achieve with big a cast of characters in such a brief novel. This is contemporary Australian fiction at its best.

Alongside the mother-daughter relationship, Ladd weaves in an exploration of female friendships, both among the teenagers and adults. The growing pains among the teens throughout the week were a familiar story for me, having read so much contemporary YA. What I found fascinating in this was the way the mothers’ bonds had changed as their children grew, something which stressed their relationship during the week in Broome.

If that’s not enough, Ladd also looks at race relations in Australia. There are some parts of the book, some statements by certain characters, which make for very uncomfortable reading. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. After all, sometimes it takes an uncomfortable statement to remind us just how wrong we are. Ladd doesn’t pass judgement in Mothers and Daughters, but she does offer an insight into a culture which is almost non-existent in the minds of many city-dwelling Australians.

Mothers and Daughters was beautiful, strong and thoroughly enjoyable. While I’m more used to reading YA, this was the sort of intelligent contemporary I adore.

This review and many more can be found at The Unfinished Bookshelf.

Thank you to Allen & Unwin for providing a copy of the book for review.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this read but it is what it is...more like holiday easy-reading than anything cerebral. Comparisons on its cover with the likes of Helen Garner and others seem wishful thinking. There are some 'preachy' moments regarding Aboriginal issues and one character in particular makes some overtly racist comments which strangely are never acknowledged or responded to by the others - which seems odd if they are friends. To my thinking the response would either be awkwardness, an alternative view put forward or....they would not be friends in the first place.
Overall an ok beachy read but nothing mind blowing.

[Bri · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book quite jarring and didn't particularly enjoy it despite being a fan of Ladd's previous novels. The characters were largely unlikeable and the blatant racism of several characters was quite sickening. I don't think the racism theme was handled particularly well either. The characters were superficial and as I said earlier, generally unlikeable. I wouldn't recommend this title and I hope Ladd gets her mojo back in time for her next book.

[Edi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've loved all of Kylie Ladd's books and found Mothers and Daughters particularly enjoyable. An easy, engaging read, it's the diverse and authentic characters that really make the novel. Mothers and Daughters is funny, insightful and beautifully written.

[Cate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Kylie's writing. She's real. She doesn't sugarcoat her characters.
I have written a review here... http://catep36.blogspot.com.au/2014/1...

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amira, Caro, Fiona and Morag are old friends who met when their children began kindergarten together. Now Tess, Janey and Bronte (and Morag's twin boys) are fourteen and the four women see much less of each other. Amira, a teacher and single mother, has taken Tess with her on a year-long teaching exchange in Kalangalla, a remote Indigenous community outside Broome, Western Australia. With only a few months left and a big decision to make, Amira invites her old friends - and Tess's old friends, Bronte and Janey - to stay with them for a few weeks. What should be a relaxing and enjoyable holiday is strained by the changed personalities of the girls as they enter womanhood, and the pressures and stresses of approaching middle age for their mothers. When Morag's sixteen-year-old stepdaughter Macy joins them, having been suspended from school, the dynamic changes yet again and tensions come to a head.

Delving into the heart of mother-daughter relationships and the fraught friendships between adolescent girls, Mothers and Daughters also touches upon some of the issues faced by our Aboriginal population and the inherent racism in the country, as well as bullying, envy, growing up and figuring out what you really want in life. Ladd writes with intelligence and wit, and the novel resonates with warmth, humour and realism.

From the opening scene at the airport in Melbourne, at the opposite end of the country, the friction as well as the love between the characters is apparent. Fiona is acerbic and sharp, witty but tired, with a husband who doesn't seem to respect her - or any women - and an older son who is following suit. She drinks a lot and is loud with her opinions. Fiona captures the views of mainstream white Australia towards the Aborigines, and doesn't care who overhears. Her daughter, Bronte, has had a growth spurt and feels ungainly and enormous. When a modelling agency scout approached her, Fiona scoffed at the idea that her daughter could be a model. Bronte hasn't started her period yet and is shy; she lets her mother browbeat and criticise her and she hasn't yet learned to stand up for herself. For a long time she was friends with Janey and Tess, though on the outside, but Janey has moved to a private school and Tess left for remote WA, leaving Bronte struggling to fill the gaps.

Janey is a self-absorbed, unlikeable girl who loves her own body and spends her time glued to her mobile phone - when she's not swimming. Her mother, Caro, has put in hours of her own time, driving Janey to practice and meets - and driving Janey to be the best. Yet it always feels like her two girls love their Italian father more, who travels so much and comes home with presents, leaving Caro to do most of the active parenting. Or maybe it's that she's jealous of how much he loves them. Caro is a bit obsessed with appearance, and looking neat and attractive, and has led a largely protected life.

Morag, an aged-care nurse, left Scotland for Australia in order to be with Andrew, a man she'd met and fallen in love with while young, but who went on to marry someone else and have a daughter. He later divorced and tracked Morag down, and they had twin boys, Callum and Finn, and later a third boy, Torran. Morag left behind her ageing mother in Edinburgh, who she visits infrequently, and after years of living in Australia, it finally catches up with her:

She wasn't hungover, Morag suddenly realised. She was homesick. For years she'd lived quite happily in Australia. She'd made her peace with it, she thought - this was where her husband was, her children, her future. Coming north, though, had shifted something. Broome and Kalangalla were so different, so foreign to her, that they magnified the strangeness of this continent, made it all seem new again. New and overwhelming and completely alien. Her mind went back to a home visit she'd done one winter's day over a decade earlier - Newhaven, she thought, or maybe North Leith. There was a hostel next door to the flat she was visiting. It was snowing, and a black-skinned family - refugees, she'd guessed, asylum seekers from North Africa - were standing in the garden with their pink-palmed hands out, catching the dirty flakes, a look of total bewilderment on each of their faces. That was her, she thought. That was how she was feeling right now. [pp.249-250]

Unlike the other three women, Amira is less urban, more open-minded and adaptable. She and her daughter, Tess, fit in well among the Aborigines at Kalangalla, a community free of alcohol that has kept up the more traditional lifestyle of the local tribe. Tess runs around barefoot with her new best friend, an Aboriginal girl called Tia. Amira is reluctant to leave for the city again after her year is up, but it's not a decision she'll make without Tess. Tess has started exchanging romantic correspondence with Callum, Morag's son, but when Janey finds the letter Tess learns just how mean Janey can be, and how different their paths now are.

As you come to know the women and their girls, you definitely come to care for them, too. Ladd has captured four women representative of our mainstream, middle-class, white society, and four girls similarly representative. They feel and sound like real people, as do the Aboriginal characters they meet and interact with. As much as I found the novel entertaining, well-written and absorbing, it also felt just a bit contrived. It is far too easy to conjure up a similar scenario of four women with representative personalities (though much less realistic): Sex and the City. Caro was definitely reminiscent of Charlotte, for instance. And the girls, too, were fairly standard characters. While it did work, it also required me to put aside certain niggles like this, when I'd rather not have them in the first place. Fiona and Morag were perhaps the best characters in the sense that they felt quite natural and normal (even if you don't agree with Fiona's opinions - and I rather hope you don't - she's still a natural, identifiable character, whereas Caro seemed like a caricature to me). The issue isn't with realism, it's with putting a bit to much into the one book. Trying to capture too many perspectives. Trying to connect with all readers and their varied personalities. It didn't need to be quite so representative in order to work. You can still have conflict when the characters are less dissimilar.

But time, and how things change with it, how our relationships - all kinds - can fall fallow or fade, and how nostalgic we can be for the past is at the forefront of this novel, and how the characters interact. Societal issues and pressures form the details that create conflict or force people to face up to things, but at heart this is a story about four women hitting middle-age and not quite handling it all that well, and their daughters who are hitting puberty, wanting to exert their independence and embark on the start of their own lives - something that is often in conflict with their parents' wishes, which stem largely from nostalgia.

Despite the niggling feeling that Mothers and Daughters was trying to capture too much, I loved this book. I especially loved the inclusion of issues surrounding Indigenous populations here in Australia, as well as the classic urban-rural divide. Most of the characters are sympathetic and likeable (the exception is Janey), and their time in the remote Aboriginal community of Kalangalla provides a wonderful backdrop to the playing-out of their relationships. This is a story of contemporary life for Australian women of this demographic, warts and all. It's about what it means to grow up - how we must go through a "coming of age" process more than once, and how we transition from impatience in adolescence, to resistance in our forties. A heartening and, at times, heart-breaking tale of love, friendship and resilience, Mothers and Daughters is a wonderful story.

[Lucy Mackey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm giving this book 5 stars because I believed in the truth of the story. Kylie has a knack of linking actions with feelings. She can show the reader why people act in certain ways. This worked with nearly all the characters and I, (a reader) could identify with all of them to a greater or lesser extent. I'm female, a Mother and a Daughter, so I guess this helped me to recognise feelings in the book. I feel that it is quite rare for an author to be able to show the human soul of so many characters. I enjoyed the level of depth of personal observation. I felt that the author didn't have favourites. That she had affection for them, warts and all, (they weren't perfect). She supported the players decisions, good and bad. Her joy and love for this little bunch of friends did come through the book, for me, and touched me. I will admit that I cried for them on occasion and wished that they were my friends too. I would urge boys/men to read this story if they are at all curious about what makes women tick. The only character who left me wondering 'Why?' was Janey. I felt that the reasons shown for her behaviour didn't quite fit. I wanted there to be some kind of trauma to explain her cruelty. I didn't want her to have been born that way. Although maybe she was and her life experiences would mould her into being more caring individual? Who knows? The things I enjoyed about this book were: The Women, (see above); The places, I'm hugely curious about places. Kylie brought Broome and the Dampier Peninsula, (I've a soft spot for Australia) and Edinburgh alive for me; The male characters. Although the males took a back seat, (a given, if you read the title), they were very sexy. Which was nommy. I felt the men showed the best and worst of how men can interact with women. Lastly I suppose, Coming of age and and Ageing were dealt with in a sort of, generously, supportive way. It was beautiful how some of the ladies/girls came into a new era of their lives. It did move me and I am greateful to Kylie Ladd for sharing this book with the world and for my dear friend Kirsten for sending it to me all the way from the Australian outback.

[Renee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually love Kylie Ladd's books, but as someone who lives in Northern Australia and works in the environmental field with Aboriginal people, the following things really bugged me about this book:

* The frequent use of the word 'Aborigine' which is outdated and offensive to many people. The word is used in the actual narrative, not just spoken by a character, so there's no excuse for it. While terminology is a difficult area, 'Aboriginal man/woman' is a more contemporary phrase and less likely to offend. Also would have been nice to have an 'Acknowledgement of Country' at the start of the book, given how much the story (and therefore the publisher's profit) relies on Aboriginal culture and their connection to the landscape.

* The scene where Amira tells Bronte to swim up to the turtle in the water 'because it won't bite you!' I can assure you that turtles do bite, and there is no way that you would be able to swim up behind a turtle unnoticed and touch its shell like Bronte did in the story. Turtles will take off very quickly when they see/sense you coming close. This just sounded touristy and fake.

* Amira driving her 4WD right onto the beach in one scene. Er, that's where those cute little turtles lay their eggs, and so do many beach-dwelling birds, and you've just crushed them all. A lot of people drive their 4WDs on beaches all over Australia, and those of us who work in the environmental field know how much damage this can cause the actual landscape as well as the wildlife. Sad to see it represented in a book as normal behaviour when visiting a beautiful unspoilt beach.

Unrelated to the environment but still bothersome:

* I cannot for the life of me picture a 12-year-old boy anywhere uttering the following words: "Thank goodness for Abba."

* Caro's crush on Mason just embarrassed me, it was so overdone, like a poor-taste cliche of the rich white woman falling for a black man because he's so muscular and exotic and from the wrong side of the tracks. Urggghh.

* WTF was this book about? Mothers and daughters? Race relations? Cyberbullying? Teenage sexuality? Finding your identity? Too many themes.

[Helen King · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good, entertaining read, about a group of women (plus daughters - thus the name), who spend a week in a remote part of Western Australia, past Broome for a dual purpose - to visit friends (a mother who is teaching for a year, and her daughter). Kylie Ladd does not sugar coat the main characters - few are particularly likeable for much of the book and at times I was wondering what they saw in each other - why were they friends? I guess in a concentrated setting, such as a week away in a fairly isolated area, these characteristics are amplified more than they would be in real life. In addition, the book brings in a number of scenes and experiences of Aboriginal life (some describing activities put on for tourists, and some real interactions). This part of the book is interesting, in revealing cultural elements, but a little wooden. I can imagine it is a tricky balance to convey Aboriginal people and culture when you are not from that background with sensitivity, which she manages, but some of the vitality is lost a bit. One of the strengths is the reflections of individual mothers, in terms of their priorities, why they struggled, why there are issues with their marriages or children (as we all have) - good insights which I am still pondering. Worth a read.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mothers and daughters follows the live of four mothers and daughters who struggle to learn the places in each others lives, on a holiday in Broome. It highlights some of the challenges of raising teenage daughters and the want for daughters to strike out on their own and become adults.

The mothers struck me as a bunch of self centred, racist, bitchy women who had no idea what was going on in their daughters lives, the exception to this is Amira who is painted as a goody too shoed saint. The daughters range from extremely vain to meek and seem to have nothing in common. They are somewhat believable as characters but a bit too far stereotyped.

My biggest problem with the book was that it didn't tend to really go anywhere and only a couple of the characters grew and evolved. I could recommend this book to the right person but it is probably not for everyone, an easy and fast read.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book which I found difficult to put down. It questioned a lot of things including racism, relationships, social media and stereotypes without ever falling into a tired cliché. The characters were very real and developed well over the course of the book and I think I knew someone like every character. It is an easy to read book and ideal for the waiting lounge at airports or while on holiday.

[Emma Featherstone · Rating 1 out of 5]

How this author was compared to Garner or Tsiolkas I have no idea. I DNF this book as I just found the characters relationships and the story far fetched and the book sloppily written.

[Zee Monodee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something about this book - and I don't know what! - made me unable to put it down! I would read and find something appalling (the way the teenage daughters talked back, for example), but then, I would still be drawn back, wanting, needing to know what happened. The escapism of the Aboriginal village was a novel backdrop, painted well enough to be somewhere between actual reality and the brush strokes of fuzzy fiction, but compelling enough. The character of Amira stands out most for me, though, and the rest faded away with time.

[Helene Wood · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was a nice quick easy read for me
I didn't really feel much of anything until about half way through, I kept loosing track of which Mum belonged to which daughter
The highlight was when Morag found her Goth Step Daughter singing on stage and instead of berating her for staying out late and not staying with the other girls, she praised her for her voice, how fabulous she looked on stage.
A true account of how precious a relationship can be between 2 entirely different people one given the time to get to know each other

[Cristina Reid]

This book outlaid the universal issues of mothers and daughters, and the coming together and the freedom to say what on minds when away in the outback.

Maybe it is the primitiveness that brings them together, I felt that all this was 1950s book but was not a modern issue of life much later, it did them no end of good to stay and realize a lot.

[Nikki Sims-Chilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book and listened to it in my car via an Audio book (thanks to the author Kylie Ladd - I won it in a competition) - and while I enjoyed it I think I need to re-read it to take it all in. I find it difficult to concentrate in the car on audio books so not sure it did the book justice.

[Peta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this book, it was nice to read something that was (hopefully) reflective and accurate of life in some of the most remote Indigenous communities in the north of Australia. Some of the thoughts/quotes by some characters were horrendously racist, but I gather this was part of the book and meant to represent unfortunately some of the opinions and thoughts some Australians have..

[Elaine Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four mothers, four teenage daughters, friends since the kids started school together. When Amira and daughter Tess move to a remote school to teach outside of Broome her friends all miss her. A trip to visit and get the girls together sees an opportunity to reconnect. Secrets, lies and self-discovery awaits.

[Rokkan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okay read, for what it was. The characters were pretty well rounded if somewhat annoying, Fiona and Janey especially, but the story progressed well and I was glad at Bronte's development throughout the book.