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205th out of 253 books
—
399 voters
The Sometimes Daughter
In her compelling second novel, Emmons, the acclaimed author of "Prayers and Lies," focuses on the unbreakable tie between a daughter and her often absent mother in a novel that is sure to resonate with fans of Jodi Picoult and Luanne Rice.
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
February 1st 2012
by Kensington
(first published January 31st 2012)
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I read this book in two days!
A young girl's journey through childhood and her teens with a mother who is absent (both emotionally and physically). Judy is born at Woodstock to "hippie" parents. After Woodstock, they return home to Indiana with Judy. Things are not good at home when Dad decides to go mainstream, and Mom continues her "hippie" ways.
Judy's mom, basically kidnaps Judy, and takes her to a commune in Kentucky. Judy hates it because now she is not only separated from her father, her...more
A young girl's journey through childhood and her teens with a mother who is absent (both emotionally and physically). Judy is born at Woodstock to "hippie" parents. After Woodstock, they return home to Indiana with Judy. Things are not good at home when Dad decides to go mainstream, and Mom continues her "hippie" ways.
Judy's mom, basically kidnaps Judy, and takes her to a commune in Kentucky. Judy hates it because now she is not only separated from her father, her...more
“A Very Emotionally-Charged Volume You Should Not Miss!!”
I was hooked by the first sentence—“I was born at Woodstock”. And indeed, the beautiful baby girl was, as she arrived to the beat of “Crosby, Stills and Nash” on stage performing their tune; “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”. As a matter of fact, the young lady was named “Sweet Judy Blue Eyes” by her hippie parents; Cassie Skylark and Kirk Webster. From the very start, Judy’s young life was filled with a “revolving door of personalities”, confusion,...more
The Sometimes Daughter is a beautiful, deeply poignant novel. It is a story about a daughter often abandoned by her emotionally and physically absent mother.
Born at Woodstock, surrounded by "free love", Sweet Judy Blue Eyes grows up feeling unloved by the person whose love she seeks the most: her mother. Her father, Kirk, matures, taking his marriage and parenting Sweet Judy seriously. Cassie, her mother, continues the carefree hippie lifestyle, neglecting all responsibility. Eventually, she le...more
Born at Woodstock, surrounded by "free love", Sweet Judy Blue Eyes grows up feeling unloved by the person whose love she seeks the most: her mother. Her father, Kirk, matures, taking his marriage and parenting Sweet Judy seriously. Cassie, her mother, continues the carefree hippie lifestyle, neglecting all responsibility. Eventually, she le...more
The setting of this book starts out in 1969 at Woodstock . This story is about a relationship between a mother and daughter. The main character was named Sweet Judy Blue Eyes by her mama. Cassie, Judy’s mother, is quite flighty and doesn’t have a problem with starting new relationships before old ones are finished.
Kirk, Judy’s father, is the only stable person in Judy’s life. Cassie flits in and out of Judy’s life throughout this book. Judy aches to have a relationship with Cassie but Cassie ca...more
Kirk, Judy’s father, is the only stable person in Judy’s life. Cassie flits in and out of Judy’s life throughout this book. Judy aches to have a relationship with Cassie but Cassie ca...more
Honestly, I wasn't expecting a lot out of this one. It seemed interesting enough, but I thought it might end up in the fluff category.
I was in for a pleasant surprise. Okay, so it wasn't a great American novel, but to me, it did everything a book is supposed to do: it engrossed, entertained, captivated, and stuck with me after the last page was turned--and it gave me that unhappy lurch in my stomach when I realized that it had come to an end.
This book was just full of incredibly likeable charact...more
I was in for a pleasant surprise. Okay, so it wasn't a great American novel, but to me, it did everything a book is supposed to do: it engrossed, entertained, captivated, and stuck with me after the last page was turned--and it gave me that unhappy lurch in my stomach when I realized that it had come to an end.
This book was just full of incredibly likeable charact...more
I couldn't put this book down. I loved everything about this book. I totally got what the author was trying to tell in this story. I understood Judy [the daughter] and her desire for a certain kind of mother. One that was 'normal'. And I totally understood the mother [Cassie] who was unable to be that kind of mother to her. I can see why some people were upset at Cassie's mothering skills, but I understood why she was unable to be the kind of mother everyone [including me!] wanted her to be. Cas...more
An excellent book for people new to adult fiction. The storytelling style of Sweet Judy, the titular character, is a balance of child simplicity and mature acceptance.
The book moves through four periods in Judy's life, and how her mother Cassie returns just long enough to throw Judy into an emotional loop. Judy quickly realizes that not all is okay with her mother, and despite her dearest wish to stay with her, she comes to accept that her mother is not the best example of what a mother should...more
The book moves through four periods in Judy's life, and how her mother Cassie returns just long enough to throw Judy into an emotional loop. Judy quickly realizes that not all is okay with her mother, and despite her dearest wish to stay with her, she comes to accept that her mother is not the best example of what a mother should...more
The Sometimes Daughter by Sherri Wood Emmons
Story is about a little girl, born at Woodstock and her parents
raised her close by her fathers parents. There were main events that
took place that even I recall that occurred and the mother, Cassie was
involved in directly. Cassie has done a lot of drugs and has lived
in communes and the girl lives mostly with her father when the mother
returns. The girl has had a hard life making friends and they also
make fun of her mother as she does as well.
As time goe...more
An awesome book. I couldn't put it down. A young girl's journey through childhood and her teens with a mother who is absent (both emotionally and physically). Judy is born at Woodstock to "hippie" parents. After Woodstock, they return home to Indiana with Judy. Things are not good at home when Dad decides to go mainstream, and Mom continues her "hippie" ways. When she leaves and joins a commune in Kentucky and takes Judy with her, everything goes downhill even further. Judy does not like the com...more
The Sometimes Daughter
by Sherri Wood Emmons
Review by Sophie Grund
I was not alive during the 70’s or 80’s, but after reading The Sometimes Daughter by Sherri Wood Emmons I feel as if I grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana with flower child Sweet Judy Blue Eyes Webster. This work of realistic fiction is narrated by Judy, starting with her birth in a tent at Woodstock and following her well into her teen years.
Emmons’s writing style is easy to follow and easier to relate with. She is extremely realisti...more
by Sherri Wood Emmons
Review by Sophie Grund
I was not alive during the 70’s or 80’s, but after reading The Sometimes Daughter by Sherri Wood Emmons I feel as if I grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana with flower child Sweet Judy Blue Eyes Webster. This work of realistic fiction is narrated by Judy, starting with her birth in a tent at Woodstock and following her well into her teen years.
Emmons’s writing style is easy to follow and easier to relate with. She is extremely realisti...more
I read this book in a day!
Sometimes bad things happen to good people...but at some point we have to take responsibility for our own actions. How we react to these things are up to us. I was extremely sad about how everyone made excuses for Cassie's choices and behavior. The choices we make affect so many others...not just ourselves. Thank goodness Judy had a wonderful family who loved and supported her. Treva taught Judy this principle when her own mother could not. Krik is a very loving and dev...more
Sometimes bad things happen to good people...but at some point we have to take responsibility for our own actions. How we react to these things are up to us. I was extremely sad about how everyone made excuses for Cassie's choices and behavior. The choices we make affect so many others...not just ourselves. Thank goodness Judy had a wonderful family who loved and supported her. Treva taught Judy this principle when her own mother could not. Krik is a very loving and dev...more
Sweet Judy Blue Eyes Webster was born at Woodstock. A few hours later, with her mother in charge, Sweet Judy's parents baptized her in a cold muddy cow pond while hundreds cheered them on. Some might think being born in a tent at Woodstock promises an eventful life. Others know having a mother like Cassie guarantees it.
Sweet Judy's memories of her early childhood revolve around her mother - young, wild, beautiful Cassie and her ever present friends (some one is usually staying at the Webster apa...more
Sweet Judy's memories of her early childhood revolve around her mother - young, wild, beautiful Cassie and her ever present friends (some one is usually staying at the Webster apa...more
Sherri Wood Emmons never fails to please her readers! This was the second book I read by the author, and let me just say it was equally as good as her debut, "Prayers and Lies".
In this book, the main character, Sweet Judy Blue Eyes Webster, goes through life with her sporadic and delusional hippy mother coming and going from her life as she pleases. Judy grows up in Indiana, raised by her constant and steady father with the help of her grandparents. When lifes' milestones come and go, Judy is l...more
In this book, the main character, Sweet Judy Blue Eyes Webster, goes through life with her sporadic and delusional hippy mother coming and going from her life as she pleases. Judy grows up in Indiana, raised by her constant and steady father with the help of her grandparents. When lifes' milestones come and go, Judy is l...more
This book was a good, enjoyable, but not amazing read. It is about a girl who grows up with a mother who is a hippie. "Sweet Judy" is named after her mother Cassie's favorite song at Woodstuck by Simon and Garfunkle. Cassie is an irresponsible, free thinking woman who had a child too young, and as a result, Judy had to suffer through her mother's odd behavior, and her tendendancy to depart. The thing about this book that I didn't really love was the fact that it was written extremely simply. The...more
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I was sent this book as a winner of a goodreads first reads giveaway.
I really loved this one from the very first sentence. "I was born at Woodstock." In fact, I stopped reading a book I was really excited to start and decided to read this one instead.
The characters are very likeable and well written. I love how Cassie gets to tell her own story through her daughters', her actions, and than at the end of the book. It is a story rich in the complexity of relationships and love. It spoke so true wh...more
I really loved this one from the very first sentence. "I was born at Woodstock." In fact, I stopped reading a book I was really excited to start and decided to read this one instead.
The characters are very likeable and well written. I love how Cassie gets to tell her own story through her daughters', her actions, and than at the end of the book. It is a story rich in the complexity of relationships and love. It spoke so true wh...more
I was still into reading various "hippie utopia gone awry" fiction when I espied this on the new fiction shelf at my library. Cassie, the mother of "the sometimes daughter" of the title, sounded a lot like an amalgam of all the troubled denizens of Arcadia, the hippie utopia of Lauren Goff's wonderful, beautiful book of the same name. Unfortunately, this book is not a patch on Goff's Arcadia. I found it bland and predictable, and have few positive things to say about it. The only good thing I to...more
I was lucky to receive an advance copy of Sherri Wood Emmons' second novel from the author; we are acquaintances, as I wrote a couple articles for her when she edited the sadly defunct Disciples World.
I probably read this far too quickly for review purposes, but I couldn't put it down. I've had little patience for novels that aren't engrossing lately - no problem here. The book's central story is about the relationship between Judy (given name: Sweet Judy Blue Eyes) and her mother, Cassie, a de...more
I probably read this far too quickly for review purposes, but I couldn't put it down. I've had little patience for novels that aren't engrossing lately - no problem here. The book's central story is about the relationship between Judy (given name: Sweet Judy Blue Eyes) and her mother, Cassie, a de...more
A sweet amd memorable novel about "Sweet Judy", born at Woodstock to her hippee mother, whose parenting styles were less than stellar. Judy struggled with dealing with her mother's shelfish motives her entired life while trying to figure out who she was away from her mother's influence. I also enjoyed reading the historical references through the novel and how they overlapped and added to the plot line.
I would love to read a novel about Judy when she is a mother in the future. It would be intere...more
I would love to read a novel about Judy when she is a mother in the future. It would be intere...more
The Sometimes Daughter is a story highlighting the bond between mother and daughter. In this case, it is the mother who is irresponsible, afraid of commitment and brazenly forgoing rules in search of freedom and fun.
The book begins with Cassie and Kirk, at Woodstock. Sweet Judy Blues Eyes, as she was named by her mother, is born in a tent. Kirk, eventually is pulled toward a more conventional life and returns to law school to create a secure household for his family. However, Cassie is unable to...more
The book begins with Cassie and Kirk, at Woodstock. Sweet Judy Blues Eyes, as she was named by her mother, is born in a tent. Kirk, eventually is pulled toward a more conventional life and returns to law school to create a secure household for his family. However, Cassie is unable to...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Received this book via bookbrowse.com in order to provide this critique that follows in addition to participating in an on-line book club.
Rate "The Sometimes Daughter" with a 3 for several reasons. The first, is the lack of sophistication in the prose - this book read as a YA book rather than one aimed at adults. The characters ended up as stereotypes as their personalities and relationships with each other were not fully developed. Understand the author's intent of demonstrating that an authori...more
Rate "The Sometimes Daughter" with a 3 for several reasons. The first, is the lack of sophistication in the prose - this book read as a YA book rather than one aimed at adults. The characters ended up as stereotypes as their personalities and relationships with each other were not fully developed. Understand the author's intent of demonstrating that an authori...more
Judy was born at Woodstock Festival in 1969. Cassie and Kirk are her hippie mother and father. Cassie is in and out of Judy’s life, constantly leaving to try to find herself. This is the story of Judy’s life with Kirk, who goes back to school and becomes an attorney, and her relationship with her vanishing mother.
There a lot of instances when the reader is left up in the air. Why did Judy do this? Or why did Cassie have to do what she did. I honestly didn’t think this was written as well as it c...more
There a lot of instances when the reader is left up in the air. Why did Judy do this? Or why did Cassie have to do what she did. I honestly didn’t think this was written as well as it c...more
I admit that I was totally hooked on this book, but the writing was a real letdown for me. While the story was engaging- I'm a sucker for stories about hippy women, daughters feeling abandoned, trials and tribulations of growing up as a girl- and in this regard, the book was great. But I so wanted the writing to sing. Way too much dialogue, and cheesy scenes and situations. What I really wanted were the moments BETWEEN all of that dialogue- the moments of questioning and yearning for acceptance....more
Aug 14, 2012
Julie Smith (Knitting and Sundries)
added it
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This review first appeared on my blog: http://www.knittingandsundries.com/20...
This was a quick, sometimes enjoyable read. The title more aptly could have read "The Sometimes Mother", as the main character is fortunate enough to have a wonderfully present father.
Sweet Judy Blue Eyes is born in a tent at Woodstock to unconventional (read "hippie") parents Cassie and Kirk. As familial responsibilities begin to hit, Kirk becomes a good, responsible father, while Cassie remains volatile, possibly un...more
This was a quick, sometimes enjoyable read. The title more aptly could have read "The Sometimes Mother", as the main character is fortunate enough to have a wonderfully present father.
Sweet Judy Blue Eyes is born in a tent at Woodstock to unconventional (read "hippie") parents Cassie and Kirk. As familial responsibilities begin to hit, Kirk becomes a good, responsible father, while Cassie remains volatile, possibly un...more
I received this book through First Reads and was excited to read it. I found the book to be a poignant and deeply moving book spanning "Sweet Judy Blue Eyes" life through high school. I had a really hard time putting this book down and could not wait to pick it up each night. I felt as if the writing really transported me into this family's life. The story starts off at Woodstock...if that says anything. The story is about a mother and daughter's relationship...the constant desire for love and a...more
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From the moment I read, "I was born at Woodstock" I was hooked. It takes a lot for me to say I could not put a book down...but I really couldn't. I felt invested from the first sentence and was tied to the story until the last page. Sherri is a terrific writer with a strong voice that balances history, environment and character into a story that draws you in and keeps you engaged. Loved the setting, loved the pop culture references...a GREAT read...RUN, don't walk to get this title!
What a disappointment! I had high hopes for this book and although I was sucked in fairly early on, I was always waiting for something to happen. Instead the story just went along with no real substance and a whole lot of mundane dialogue and repetiton.
And the novel had such potential! Honestly,there was no real character development either. The entire novel was written from Judy's perspective which in the beginning was endearing given her young age. But I never really got the know the other ke...more
And the novel had such potential! Honestly,there was no real character development either. The entire novel was written from Judy's perspective which in the beginning was endearing given her young age. But I never really got the know the other ke...more
This was an ok book. When I read the back of the book, I thought it was going to be a deep, thought provoking read of a girl growing up without her mother to be there for her throughout her life.
Unfortuantly, the book wasn't as good as I thought. The writing was poor, and the characteres where stereotypical and flat. I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone. It was a good story line, the author just didn't do a very good job.
Unfortuantly, the book wasn't as good as I thought. The writing was poor, and the characteres where stereotypical and flat. I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone. It was a good story line, the author just didn't do a very good job.
Just ok.
The main character, voice of the book is a young girl born at Woodstock to a hippie cult joining mother and a once hip father turned responsible. I did enjoy reading this book but it could have been so much better. It was almost like the author did know what to do with the story half way through so she opted for a cookie cutter ending and it made the entire book seem a little silly.
The main character, voice of the book is a young girl born at Woodstock to a hippie cult joining mother and a once hip father turned responsible. I did enjoy reading this book but it could have been so much better. It was almost like the author did know what to do with the story half way through so she opted for a cookie cutter ending and it made the entire book seem a little silly.
I thought this book was really good, until the last couple of chapters. I felt they were rushed and the ending was incomplete. Throughout the whole story there was much detail on feelings, places and people, until the end. I would have given this book 4 stars if i hadn't been so disappointed in the end. Judy's mother is in and out of her life and never there when she needs her the most. It's sad to think someone's mother could be so selfish and heartless.
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Sherri Wood Emmons is a freelance writer and editor. Prayers and Lies is her first work of fiction. She is a graduate of Earlham College and the University of Denver Publishing Institute. A mother of three, she lives in Indiana with her husband, two fat beagles, and four spoiled cats.
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