Yes, My Darling Daughter

by Margaret Leroy

book data

199 ratings, 3.51 average rating, 72 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		15%
4		36%
3		34%
2		11%
1		2%

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published

April 14th 2009 by Farrar Straus Giroux

details

Hardcover, 352 pages

isbn

0374126011 (isbn13: 9780374126018)

description

<DIV>Every once in a blue moon, a masterful writer dives into gothic waters and emerges with a novel that—like Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, …more

[close] <DIV>Every once in a blue moon, a masterful writer dives into gothic waters and emerges with a novel that—like Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, Minette Walters’s The Breaker, and Donna Tartt’s The Little Friend—simultaneously celebrates and transcends the tradition. Welcome Margaret Leroy to the clan.</DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>What’s the matter with Sylvie?</DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>Such a pretty girl. Four years old; well loved by her young mother, Grace. But there’s something . . . “off ” about the child. Her deathly fear of water; her night terrors; most of all, her fixation with a photo of an Irish seaside town called Coldharbour.</DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>“Sylvie, tell me about your picture. Why’s it so special, sweetheart?” My heart is racing, but I try to make my voice quite calm.</DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>“That’s my seaside, Grace.” Very matter-of-fact, as though this should be obvious. “I lived there, Grace. Before.”</DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>Grace doesn’t know what to do with this revelation—she’s barely scraping by as it is. A single mother with no family, Grace works full-time at a London flower shop to support herself and Sylvie. Overwhelmed by her inability to help her daughter, she turns to Adam Winters, a dashing psychology professor with some unusual theories about what might be troubling the child. Together, they travel to seemingly idyllic Coldharbour, hoping to understand Sylvie’s mysterious connection to the place. Impossible as it may seem, Grace has to accept that her daughter may be remembering a past life. And not only that: the danger bedeviling Sylvie from her past life is still very much a threat to her in this one.</DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>Margaret Leroy has been celebrated for writing “like a dream,” and her previous novels have been praised for their “hypnotic prose” and “sensuously ethereal, subtly electric drama.” Now, in Yes, My Darling Daughter, Leroy offers a novel both haunted and haunting—a wonderfully original, deliciously suspenseful story that enthralls from the first page to the very last.</DIV> [close]

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Oct 23, 2009

gautami rated it:

bookshelves: reviewed-books

Owns a copy — Read in October, 2009

Set in London and Ireland, Yes, My Darling Daughter has all those elements, which can hold the reader's interest till the end. Grace, a single mother of four-year-old Sylvie, works in flower shop in London. Her daughter is not like any other child. She acts beyond her age and seems to know something which is the beyond the understanding of Grace.

When Sylvie starts to get mean with her playmates and also has frequent tantrums, along with sporadic panic attacks, Grace doesn't kno...more
Set in London and Ireland, Yes, My Darling Daughter has all those elements, which can hold the reader's interest till the end. Grace, a single mother of four-year-old Sylvie, works in flower shop in London. Her daughter is not like any other child. She acts beyond her age and seems to know something which is the beyond the understanding of Grace.

When Sylvie starts to get mean with her playmates and also has frequent tantrums, along with sporadic panic attacks, Grace doesn't know how to deal with it. Sylvie has this unknown fear of water, anything that involves water scares her and she has nightmarish attacks. Sylvie also keeps drawing a small cottage and speaks of stuff, that she has not seen but somehow knows. And then one photograph triggers certain something and Sylvie continually keeps saying it is her home and she lived there. Somehow Sylvie seems to get farther away from Grace. The place turns out to be somewhere in Ireland.

Getting panicky and as a last resort, Grace gets in touch with Adam Winters, a University professor, who has done some studies on Paranormal behaviour of children and also about behaviour pertaining to past lives. After one sesseion with Sylvie, Adam suggest that they travel to Cold Harbour, Ireland and find out what Sylvie is trying to tell them. He has certain theories what must be the reason of Sylvie's behaviour. He warns Grace about violent memories but tells her there is nothing to worry about.

Arriving there, Sylvie recognises the places and also tries to find Lennie. Now who is Lennie? And for that matter who is Sylvie? And when they do find something, Sylvie simply clams up, going silent, withdrawing from Grace. Grace senses and knows that Sylvie is troubled and wants to help her. And Grace is scared too that somehow she might lose Sylvie to something she can't understand.

The past life and present have merged in this novel and the supporting characters somehow make it so plausible. The paranormal element doesn't seem out of context. A book that holds interest and satisfies that something which every reader wants and wishes for. A satisfying feel after reading it. At places Sylvie might feel unlovable but what else can expect from a girl, who had died violently in her past life. Grace, as a mother is supporting, loving and even when not understanding Sylvie's behaviour is always there for her.

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Sep 21, 2009

Diane rated it:

Read in September, 2009

Grace is a single mom, who works in a flower shop full time, and spends her free time with Sylvie, her sweet little four year old daughter. The two live a simple life, in a not so great part of London, but their life seems happy enough. All seems perfectly normal with Sylvie until she begins having problems in preschool. She has outbursts, exhibits an extreme fear of water, and says odd things to her playmates. She also refuses to call her mother “mum”, and always called her “Grace” inst...more

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Dec 15, 2009

Anbolyn rated it:

Read in December, 2009

A mildly entertaining tale of reincarnation and an unsolved murder. Sylvie is a little girl with problems. She's afraid of water, calls her mother by her first name and speaks of her "real home". Her mother, Grace, is a single parent who isn't quite sure what to do to solve Sylvie's problems. Until she sees an article in the local paper about children who have past lives. This begins an exploration into Sylvie's psyche with the help of an attractive university professor, Adam. Was Sylv...more

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Sep 08, 2009

K Kelley rated it:

bookshelves: irish

Read in September, 2009

I read a good review of this book in some magazine and once I found out it took place in Ireland I knew had to read it. Interesting story line; can a child remember her past life? Sylvie the girl in the story is very strange w/odd behaviors and memories. Some people think she could be autistic but her mother knows something else is going on. They end up learning about a professor who investigates past lives in children and he takes on the case. They end up traveling to Ireland to "solve"...more

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Feb 27, 2010

Azalea rated it:

Read in February, 2010

For more than half of the book, I was very intrigued by the mystery. But it got a little too convenient and obvious and I was starting to wonder if Grace was naive or stupid. Adam too. I felt like ANYONE would spot the twins thing and who the bad guy was from a mile away. Sylvie's acceptance of everything was also really abrupt. And why wasn't Grace more curious about what happens from here? Or why Sylvie was the one who was affected and if it happens to everyone or just a select few? I fe...more

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Feb 22, 2010

Jane rated it:

Read in February, 2010

This book had a wonderful premise; right up my alley. The writing style is wonderful. Short chapters, describes a scene very well. Sometimes a little repetitive. Words that are'nt the norm like inchoate. Might
have been the author's new favorite word as it was repeated. The
child, Sylvie, had one too many tantrums for me. That would have been
fine if there was something interesting at the end of each tantrum.
But enough already! I guessed who the murderer was but it di...more

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Sep 09, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

Read in September, 2009

A little 4 year old girl puzzles her single mom when she only calls her by her first name and frequently says that this is not her life. Her mom, Grace starts to think that her daughter is remembering a past life and finds a professor that agrees with her theory. They travel to a coast where the little girl is drawn and find a case of an unsolved murder of a mother and daughter. You are lead to believe that the little girl is the re-incarnate of the girl that died and she miraclously lets go ...more

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Jul 26, 2009

Barb rated it:

Read in August, 2009

This was a suprisingly enjoyable book for me and I found myself not wanting to put it down. I am an anglophile and love Ireland,too, and having this story set in both venues was great. The little 3 year old -Sylvie - was easy to have feelings for and her name was perfect for what I pictured as a waif of a pale, blonde child with a very serious demeanor. Her poor mother - who was not called Mum by Sylvie's choice -worked tirelessly to free her daughter of the memories in her mind that weren't ...more

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Jan 21, 2010

zenbren rated it:

(review of isbn 0778302709)

bookshelves: 2010

Read in January, 2010

The Drowning Girl is an absorbing tale-so much so that I stayed up to 3am to finish it. The child Sylvie is very believable and the change in calling her Mum Grace to Mom is satisfying and reassuring when it comes towards the end of the book. The dealing with reincarnation is handled sensitvely and leaves the reader wanting more. However the end game is a bit too predictable with the revealing of Marcus as the villian. His resemblance to Dominic , THE CHILD'S FATHER AND HER MOTHER'S OLDER MARRIE...more

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Aug 03, 2009

Deb rated it:

bookshelves: paranormal-suspense

I couldn't put this one down... Sylvie is a very difficult 3 year old. Her mother Grace, a single mom, is trying to keep it together but just doesn't know what to do. A child psychologist decides that nothing is really wrong. At her wits end she contacts Adam Winters, a pschologist who thinks Sylvie's issues could be due to problems in a past life... Loved it!

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Jul 30, 2009

Crystal rated it:

Read in July, 2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 14, 2010

Toby rated it:

Read in March, 2010

At first I liked this book - it was well written - but in the end I wasn't so crazy about it. It's about a little girl born to an unwed mother. She refuses to call her "mother" and seems to remember a past life in Ireland. She and her mother and a psychiatrist travel to Ireland to check it out and find that she had been murdered, etc.

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Feb 28, 2010

Jen rated it:

(review of isbn 0312429347)

Read in March, 2010

I must admit, this is certainly not a book I would have picked up on my own. I won this book through Goodreads. I don't typically enjoy books about the paranormal, but I was immediately drawn into the plot of Yes, My Darling Daughter. The short chapters and intriguing plot line make it a quick read. Parts of it were frustrating and predictable, but overall, I'm happy to have discovered this book. I will certainly pick up books written by Leroy in the future.

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May 07, 2009

Karla rated it:

Read in May, 2009

I love this supernatural mystery set in England! I was literally rivited by the story of a single mother named Grace whose four year old daughter is not quite normal. She never calls her mother "mum", makes strange comments about living in some other place, and is expelled from preschool because she is uncontrollable. You truly feel for Grace, who is beside herself with worry and fear. She finds an unorthodox psychologist who is convinced that Sylvie is reliving a past life, one wh...more

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Sep 01, 2009

Kelly Taylor rated it:

Read in September, 2009

The intriguing plot of Yes, My Darling Daughter becomes more supernatural as it progresses. My heart ached for Grace, a struggling single mom, and Sylvie, Grace's troubled daughter. And I couldn't help at times feeling like I was reading a Daphne du Maurier novel, particularly Rebecca, which I just read for the first time earlier this year.

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Aug 12, 2009

Mary rated it:

Read in August, 2009

What a wonderful book! I was a bit apprehensive going into it because it is on Oprah's list and I find her books very sad and morbid so very often but this is a gem. I was drawn in from the first chapter. The way that Sylvie talked to her mother, Grace, made her seem like such an old soul. I love the story and the images of reincarnation as a way to put a finalization to someone's life. Just a great read.

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Oct 17, 2009

Andrea rated it:

bookshelves: books-read-in-2009

Owns a copy — Read in October, 2009

This was a story about a mother trying to connect with her daughter. The daughter has visions of a past life and with the mother's help as well as the help of a psychologist they are able to figure out the mystery. T really enjoyed this book as well as the setting in England and in Ireland. The characters were also easy to relate to.

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May 18, 2009

zz-neena rated it:

bookshelves: british-fiction, library

Read in May, 2009

I really want to give this three-and-a-half stars. The beginning --- in fact the first three-quarters of the book --- was gorgeous. The ending was so weak and pallid compared with it that I ended up being grievously disappointed.

Still, I think I'll seek out Leroy's other two novels. Her writing style in this one was masterful.

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May 15, 2009

Trish Hobson rated it:

Read in May, 2009

THis book was the perfect read for my girls beach weekend. It kept my interest but didn't require a lot of thought. Even though it was fairly predicitable, I found the book to be entertaining and easy to read.

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Oct 13, 2009

Rapunzel rated it:

bookshelves: 2009, paranormal

Read in October, 2009

I hadn't heard of this book or author when a friend loaned me this novel, am so glad she did! I was hooked from the first page, what a unique & interesting story line! I would definitely recommend it and will be looking for more from Ms. Leroy in the future.

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