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The Dream Daughter
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DREAM DAUGHTER - May 2020 > Middle (ch 15-44)

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Krista (booksandjams) | 746 comments Mod
You've made it more than half way!

Has your opinion of the book changed from the beginning to now?
How do you find the pacing?
Has anything surprised you?
How is the character development so far?
Are you feeling connected to the characters and their story or no?


message 2: by Kay (new) - rated it 5 stars

Kay J | 7 comments No my opinion hasn't changed. I was hoping to finish part one this weekend. Im almost there though. Im loving the characters. Hunters mom seems to be up to something which is why i wanted to finish part one this weekend. To me its at a good pace it isn't to fast and it isn unnecessarily slow. Im not loosing interest at all so thats a good thing. What about you? How are you liking it so far?


Krista (booksandjams) | 746 comments Mod
I flew through this book over the weekend and finished it. I remember still loving it at this point. I was also wary about Hunter's mom. It was mindblowing and heartbreaking to consider the difficult situations Carly was in.

I have a few more things to mention, but will do it in the next section because I can't remember when it happened in the book. :)


message 4: by Kay (new) - rated it 5 stars

Kay J | 7 comments Aww, awesome im hoping tto finish it today.


Becka I forced myself to stop reading last night at the end of Part One. Otherwise I was definitely going to pull an all-nighter to finish the book! The pacing is great and my heart hurts for Carly. I understand why so many people love this book.


message 6: by Kay (new) - rated it 5 stars

Kay J | 7 comments Becka wrote: "I forced myself to stop reading last night at the end of Part One. Otherwise I was definitely going to pull an all-nighter to finish the book! The pacing is great and my heart hurts for Carly. I un..."
Just finished work, getting ready to settle in and read some more until bedtime. 😊


message 7: by Kathleen (new)

Kathleen | 4 comments I feel bad for main characters losing her daughter yet but trying to keep with the book heir are some parts of this book that are good and others that are not so but I have mixed opinions for sure about this book not sure if like it or not so on the offense.


Berna | 64 comments Wow this part was both exciting and emotional at the same time. Cannot wait to finish this book.
I was so nervous that she would not be able to go back to 1970 and when she went to 2013, I was shocked and horrified for her.
When the year was first set as 2001, I thought it was the year of 9/11 but then I forgot about it completely until Hunter mentioned in his last section so far. Poor Hunter and I like him so so much as a character. Patti will never forgive him.
There is certainly something not quite right about Myra but she seems kind at heart. I wonder which year she went when she "dissappeared".
One thing I can say about Carly is that she is a survivor and she does it with her daughter's love. She is now in an impossible situation. Her daughter is clearly very happy with her adoptive parents and it would be very cruel to take her back.


Jamie Coutu (jamiecoutu) | 3 comments Wow, this book is moving so quickly! I am flying through it. If I hadn't marked where the discussion sections ended, I don't think I"d know to stop to come and make comments. I'm quite anxious to return to the book to see how it wraps up.
I am happy with the pacing of the book. The shorter chapters are keeping me engaged. Though the story would keep me going even if the chapters were longer. I find the writing flowing smoothly and I have had no pauses or confusion. Just flying along!
Carly's story is breaking my heart. I had 9/11 in the back of my mind the entire time and I had a feeling that the tragedy would end up playing a role in the story, which was confirmed at the end of Part 1. By the time Hunter realized what he'd done with Carly's return to 2001, it was too late to stop her. She was already on her way. Stab in the heart, right there.
I'm not sure how I feel about Myra. She's definitely career driven, but we've seen glimmers of her softer side.
I can only imagine how Cary is feeling about finding her daughter. Seeing her as a grown 12 year old young woman. How hard it must be for her to see her and not react outwardly toward Joanna.
I haven't decided yet how I want this story to end. What would make it a satisfying ending that would cause me to give it 5 stars. As of right now it's a solid 4/4.5. The ending will determine my final rating. I'm just not sure what I want that ending to be. Does Carly stay in 2013 to be near her daughter, even though she can't BE with her? Does Carly return brokenhearted to 1970 without her daughter? Does Carly find a way to take her daughter from 2013 and return to 1970? There's no easy solution. We'd all love a happy ending .... but I'm not sure that's what will or should happen with this story. It's been a heartbreaking story thus far, and I am eager to return to it and see how it ends.


Leslie | 16 comments Just finished this section and will probably end up finishing the book tomorrow. I loved the first part but I’m losing a bit of interest. I cringe with stories like this where the main character is doing everything they shouldn’t. I knew it was a bad idea to leave Joanna in the first place and now it’s just decision upon decision that is digging a deeper hole. Carly sounds like a crazy person (I would be too if I couldn’t get back to my kids so I think it’s believable) it’s just hard to read. I think this is my ultimate issue with time travel stories. Something always gets messed up and time becomes the biggest character in the story and therefore I don’t care about anything except outsmarting time, which can never happen. I’m probably not articulating this well. I definitely want to see where this ends and the writing is certainly compelling. I would rate this fairly high and that my biggest issue with the story is just that I don’t like stories like this in general. It reminds me of movies like The Family Man where you see how making one choice differently changes the whole trajectory of your life. They just leave me feeling weird and sad. I’m in the vast minority here though!


message 11: by Elsa (new) - rated it 3 stars

Elsa I am enjoying the book less now than I did at the beginning. I agree with Leslie that Carly should never have left Joanna. I didn't trust her to make sound decisions after that. Now she is breaking rules left and right.

I suspect that Myra disappeared either to fix Carly's mistakes or go to 1970 to be with Hunter's family.


message 12: by Kim (new) - rated it 3 stars

Kim Kantor (kimkantor) | 92 comments My opinion hasn’t changed much for this book. I’d give it probably a 3.5 at this point. I still wish the character were more fleshed out. Carly just makes all the wrong decisions and then cries about it. As awful as it would be to leave my kids behind, obviously the best thing for Joanna is to leave her in 2013. Dont we all try to do what’s best for our kids, not matter how painful? I’m hoping she just gets back to 1970/‘71 and doesn’t bring Joanna. Also hoping that Myra connects somehow with Hunter, but time travel always confuses me if I think too much about it so I’m not sure how she could?!? I sound kind of hard about it, but carly is definitely frustrating me.


Krista (booksandjams) | 746 comments Mod
Kim wrote: "My opinion hasn’t changed much for this book. I’d give it probably a 3.5 at this point. I still wish the character were more fleshed out. Carly just makes all the wrong decisions and then cries abo..."

I can totally see where you're coming from, but I just kept remembering that this all happened within a few weeks/months for Carly. She left a baby in 2001 thinking Hunter could send her right back. 48 hours later she's thrust into 2013 and her baby is now 12 years old! What an emotional roller coaster. Of course a mom wants to do what's best for her daughter, but I can't imagine the depth of these emotions Carly is dealing with. Crazy.


message 14: by Sarah (new) - added it

Sarah (prairielily) | 26 comments I won't be finishing this book this month. I can't let the little details go and I'm not really feeling for the characters. Plus my head space isn't great for anything too emotional right now!
See you for Gone With the Wind.


Krista (booksandjams) | 746 comments Mod
Sarah wrote: "I won't be finishing this book this month. I can't let the little details go and I'm not really feeling for the characters. Plus my head space isn't great for anything too emotional right now!
See ..."


No worries! Not every book is for every person and this one wasn't for you...at least not right now. Hope GWTW goes a bit better!


message 16: by Kate (new) - rated it 4 stars

Kate | 39 comments In the first section, I was enjoying the book and intrigued by it, but had a bit of trouble suspending disbelief. In Part 2, there are several things that are unbelievable, but I am hooked! I wondered if 9/11 would play a role in the story. Also, I think Krista makes a very good point about the rationale behind Carly's actions. It's very easy for us the readers to see that Carly's wanting to take Joanna back in time is totally crazy, but she is having all this thrown at her over a few months or days. I am not a mother so who knows how I would react to all that's happening if I were? I could sort of predict the direction the story was taking into Part 2, but I have no idea how it will wrap up now that Carly finds herself in 2013.


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