Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Jan Farris Ezelle

While "Dear Daddy" is being presented in present-tense, diary-like style, Author Susan Richmond's novel allows the reader to experience a thirteen-year-old girl's pain due to the loss of her father to a terrible tragedy.

The drama unfolds as if young Jessica is talking to the reader, narrating the twenty-eight days of her loneliness, worries, grief and pain. At the same time, Jessica's mother shuts herself off from reality, and her daughter, in the Thornton household.

What happened to Jessica's daddy?...Will Jessica ever get over her daddy's death?...Will her mom, who has isolated herself from Jessica?...Why was it so difficult for Mom to face Jessica, or to get close to her daughter? With these burning questions, the author held my interest until the very last sentence-which ends with Jessica's ultimate healing--signs from "Dear Daddy".

Jan Farris Ezelle, author of Brewnie: A Harvester's Tale / http://www.brewnie.com
Reprinted here with author's permission