Student Review: The Daughters (Philbin)

Title: The Daughters

Author: Joanna Philbin
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Modeling, Mother/Daughter
Pages: 275
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars


In this book, Lizzie Summers is a crooked nosed, bushy eye-browed, 14 year old girl. Not really the type of daughter people would expect from gorgeous super model Katia Summers. Being thrown into fame her whole life, Lizzie gets used to pushy photographers and adoring fans always following her famous mother while she stays on the sidelines. Through this constant and very hectic lifestyle she depends on the only two people that really know what she is going through and these are her two best friends, Hudson Jones (daughter of famous singer Holla Jones) and Carina Jurgeson (sole heir to Metronome Media).

As Lizzie starts her freshman year of high school she is surprised to get a call from a photographer that thinks she is the new face of beauty. Lizzie never imagined that she could ever be pretty enough to be a model but surprises herself when she decides to give modeling a shot and finds that it is both something she excels in and enjoys. When it comes time for Lizzie to tell her mom about her modeling aspirations, things go wrong and she struggles once again to believe that she is a beautiful person.


I thought this book was very entertaining because it gave you an inside look of what a famous person’s life is like through the eyes of Lizzie. The author explained every emotion Lizzie was going through so vividly that I felt like I really knew her. Throughout this book Lizzie had to struggle with living in her mother’s shadow. This is something I have never experienced before so it was intriguing to read about what this lifestyle would be like and how it would feel to have a mother that was constantly taking your spotlight.


The main theme in the book was being happy with who you are. Time after time Lizzie was challenged with being insecure about how she looked because she was constantly comparing herself to her mom. Lizzie thought just because she didn’t look like her mom she was ugly and this affected her in many negative ways. Throughout this book Lizzie learns that everyone is beautiful in their own way and that being beautiful is not just a reflection of what you look like but it is a reflection of how you carry yourself and the confidence you have in who you are.

I would give this book 3 stars because it was entertaining but a little too short. I would recommend this book to teenage girls because it teaches you a lot about what true beauty is and to embrace who you are. The next time you wish to live the life of the rich and famous, stop and think about what Lizzie goes through in this book. How would you feel if you had a mom that was considered the most beautiful women on earth?
--Ryan, 8th grade


Thanks for your review Ryan!  I have never heard of this book before.  It looks like it is going to be the first in a series.