9780062858863
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The Daisy Children audiobook

  • By: Sofia Grant
  • Narrator: Teri Schnaubelt
  • Category: Family Life, Fiction
  • Length: 10 hours 15 minutes
  • Publisher: HarperAudio
  • Publish date: August 07, 2018
  • Language: English
  • (920 ratings)
(920 ratings)
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The Daisy Children Audiobook Summary

Inspired by true events, in Sofia Grant’s powerfully moving new novel a young woman peels back the layers of her family’s history, discovering a tragedy in the past that explains so much of the present. This unforgettable story is one of hope, healing, and the discovery of truth.

Sometimes the untold stories of the past are the ones we need to hear…

When Katie Garrett gets the unexpected news that she’s received an inheritance from the grandmother she hardly knew, it couldn’t have come at a better time. She flees Boston–and her increasingly estranged husband–and travels to rural Texas.

There, she’s greeted by her distant cousin Scarlett. Friendly, flamboyant, eternally optimistic, Scarlett couldn’t be more different from sensible Katie. And as they begin the task of sorting through their grandmother’s possessions, they discover letters and photographs that uncover the hidden truths about their shared history, and the long-forgotten tragedy of the New London school explosion of 1937 that binds them.

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The Daisy Children Audiobook Narrator

Teri Schnaubelt is the narrator of The Daisy Children audiobook that was written by Sofia Grant

Sofia Grant has the heart of a homemaker, the curiosity of a cat, and the keen eye of a scout. She works from an urban aerie in Oakland, California.

About the Author(s) of The Daisy Children

Sofia Grant is the author of The Daisy Children

The Daisy Children Full Details

Narrator Teri Schnaubelt
Length 10 hours 15 minutes
Author Sofia Grant
Category
Publisher HarperAudio
Release date August 07, 2018
ISBN 9780062858863

Subjects

The publisher of the The Daisy Children is HarperAudio. includes the following subjects: The BISAC Subject Code is Family Life, Fiction

Additional info

The publisher of the The Daisy Children is HarperAudio. The imprint is HarperAudio. It is supplied by HarperAudio. The ISBN-13 is 9780062858863.

Global Availability

This book is only available in the United States.

Goodreads Reviews

The Geeky Bibliophile

August 08, 2018

Before I get into my review of the book, I want to talk a little about the true event mentioned in the blurb, as it is a subject I've previously read about and was amazed that few people are aware of it today. On March 18, 1937, the deadliest school disaster in American history happened at New London, Texas, when an explosion ripped through the school and killed an estimated 296 students and teachers. Others ultimately wouldn't survive the injuries they received that day, bringing the death toll to 311.The cause of the explosion was a natural gas leak—undetected due to its invisible, odorless nature—that ignited when an unsuspecting teacher flipped a switch to turn on a sander. It was this deadly explosion that moved the Texas legislature to mandate the addition of a malodorant, Mercaptan, to natural gas; its unmistakable scent warns of a gas leak. I shudder to think how many more fatal gas explosions might have happened, were it not for the practice of adding a smelly scent, and it astonishes me that so few people are aware of the reason why it's added, because it's important to know that it happened because of the terrible loss of lives of the New London school 81 years ago.Okay, that's the end of the history lesson. Let's talk about the book, shall we?Obviously, the history behind the setting of this story is what first intrigued me about this book. I wanted to see how the stories of the characters in the present day (cousins Katie and Scarlett) would come together with the story set in the past, having to do with their grandmother, Margaret. Not to mention, I wanted to find out if the title, The Daisy Children, had any sort of relevance to the story, or if it was just a nice title. (Without going into any details, the title did prove to have relevance to the story, which I loved!)I'd be hard-pressed to pick which timeline—past or present—I liked best. Both were enthralling in their own way, and each had events happening that I loved reading about. It was particularly interesting how the after-effects of that long-ago disaster were felt by future generations of the family... whether they realized it or not.Grant's writing is superb throughout, weaving together a engrossing story with a foundation—the New London school explosion—that I've never before seen used in such a fascinating way.I think this book will be of particular interest to readers who love historical fiction with a foundation based on actual events—and I have a feeling it will inspire readers to look into the tragedy of the New London school explosion.I received an advance review copy of this book courtesy of William Morrow Paperbacks via Edelweiss.

Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews

August 14, 2018

Heading back to Texas after her grandmother died since she was named in the will was the last thing Katie expected to be doing, but it might have been something good since she and Liam were having some problems.On her way to the airport, she and Liam were mugged and the only thing Katie had was a maxed-out credit card, sixteen dollars, and her driver's license that she managed to keep from the mugger. He took her phone, her computer, and all of her clothes.Other obstacles were waiting for Katie when she arrived in Texas. Her mother as usual wasn't there to help, but her cousin Scarlett picked her up in a monster truck, took her to grandmother Margaret's home, and left her to the memories in the house until Scarlett could come back the next day.THE DAISY CHILDREN takes us back and forth from the time of the explosion in 1937 of a school in New London that killed at least three hundred children and subsequently caused the birth nine months later of siblings of the children killed in the explosion to present day family members and situations. Sofia Grant has written a captivating tale that takes us to Texas as we follow Margaret's granddaughters, Katie and Scarlett, as they find family secrets while cleaning out her home. As Katie and Scarlett search through things in their grandmother's house, secrets come out about many things that were unknown. THE DAISY CHILDREN has an interesting story line based on this true event accompanied by Ms. Grant's beautiful writing and marvelous descriptions that take you inside the story with the characters and allow the reader to perfectly visualize everything. Ms. Grant's beautiful writing style quickly pulls you into the book's story line and historical telling of the 1937 event.The characters are genuine and true to their era and add a wonderful dimension to the book. Most of the characters are likable.THE DAISY CHILDREN is a lovely, heartwarming saga revealing family secrets through letters and photographs with the story being wrapped around this little known historical event. Women's fiction fans will adore this book and will want to recommend it to everyone who loves family drama, family history, and family secrets.The ending was terrific, and I didn't want the book to end. 5/5This book was given to me as an ARC. All opinions are my own.

Darla

August 10, 2018

This is why I love historical fiction. It is a rare book that does not teach me something new about an event in the past and at the same time gives me one or more firsthand perspectives on that time in history. Books with dual timelines are especially interesting as we get to watch the characters in the book discover things about the story through the different POVs and settings in history.Grant gives this book some very satisfying symmetry and answers many of our questions about the puzzling dynamics between characters. I must admit that the reason behind much of the turmoil caught me almost completely by surprise and helped bring closure for me. There was a bit of instalove and perhaps some rushed character building. Also found I really had to focus at times to keep the four generations of women in the story straight at times. Overall, though, I found it to be a riveting novel and would recommend it to other lovers of historical fiction.A big thank you to William Morrow and Edelweiss for a digital ARC of this paperback release.

Janelle Janson

August 16, 2018

Thank you so much TLC Book Tours and William Morrow Books for providing my free copy of THE DAISY CHILDREN by Sofia Grant - all opinions are my own.This is a well-written, well-researched novel inspired by true events. The story centers on the New London, Texas school explosion in 1937 that occurred due to an undetected natural gas leak killing around 300 students and teachers. The story behind this novel is nothing I have ever read about before so I was reading through this book like a crazy person.Katie Garrett receives an unexpected inheritance from her grandmother, Margaret, who she hardly knew, so she sets off to rural Texas to meet up with her distant cousin, Scarlett. Scarlett and Katie are polar opposites as Scarlett is vivacious and impulsive while Katie is more serious and sensible. Together they go through their grandmother’s possessions, including photographs and letters only to unearth secrets about their shared family history.The story alternates between past and present connecting four generations of women in such a unique and brilliant way. The characters are well developed and the dysfunctional family dynamics are expertly written. This is such a tragic and heartbreaking moment in time and I still cannot believe I never knew about it. Of course, I had to do a little research and found that after this explosion a malodorous chemical was added called Mercaptan, which acts as a warning and gives that distinctive sulfurous smell. And why is this incredible novel called THE DAISY CHILDREN? You’ll have to read to find out.

Kate

August 12, 2018

🌼 FABULOUS historical fiction! Definitely on my list of best hist fic for the year..Thanks to TLC Book Tours and William Morrow for this free review copy!.Set in Texas and based on the true events of the New London School Explosion of 1937, Sofia Grant managed to do what almost no one else has for me recently in fiction ~ introduce a NEW historical event into my reading life..The Daisy Children alternates between present day and events of the past, tying together 4 generations of women in a heartbreaking and surprising way. I absolutely loved it! Top recommendation for US historical fiction fans!

Kari

August 21, 2018

So, I will admit, I ended up liking The Daisy Children more than I thought I would. It was a bit slow in the beginning, but I ended up finding myself 3 hours later almost done with the book. I had a couple of issues with the story, but overall, it's a bitter sweet tale about mother/daughter relationships and how tragedy can affect a family for generations. The book goes between the present, where Katie finds out she inherited part of her estranged grandmother's estate and the past, where we find out what happened to Caroline, Margaret and Georgina in the years following the tragic school explosion. Of all four women, I felt the most bad for Margaret. While all four women were definitely results of their upbringing, her story was the most heart breaking for me. The twist in the end just confirmed that she got the rawest deal in the entire situation. I did like the ending and loved where Katie and Scarlett ended up.There were just a couple of things I didn't like about the book. I know it's a small thing, but honestly, if you were mugged on the way to the airport, wouldn't you put off the trip for a day or two to get your affairs in order? I found that entire scenario with Katie and Liam weird and not very realistic. I also wasn't happy with the decision she made regarding Jam. I know she was kind of at a crossroads with Liam, but I was disappointed the author chose to go the route she did with that story-line. Anyway, I wouldn't say this was really a historical fiction. The explosion plays a smaller part in the book than I though it would. I do recommend this one. It's one I will be thinking about for a long time.

Meg - A Bookish Affair

August 23, 2018

"The Daisy Children" is the story of Katie, a young woman whose perfect life is spinning out of control. When her grandmother's (who she barely knew) death presents her with an escape route to go to Texas to sort through family secrets. When she gets there, she reconnects with her distant cousin and she and Katie could not be more different. They are left to sort the remainders of their grandmother's life and will learn much about their family along the way. This was a good read full of twists and turns!This book had so many things going for it! I love books about family secrets! It's always so interesting to me that some of the most surprising things can be found in your own families. I thought the author did a really good job of slowly unfolding what Katie's family was hiding to keep you wanting to find out more. The pacing was great!I also was very interested in learning about the school explosion in New London, Texas. I had heard of the event before but didn't know many details of this terrible tragedy. Much of the book focuses on the aftermath of this tragedy and on the "replacement" children that the families who lost children in the tragedy. These "replacement" children are well aware that they exist in order to fill a void of the children that were lost. It's such an interesting position to be in and I really liked how the author explored this.The writing of the book was good! The author does a good job of capturing the personalities of the different characters and really bringing them to life. While some of the events in the book were quite sad, this book also had a great sense of hope about it, which made for good reading!

Dawn

February 17, 2022

A well written story inspired by a true tragedy in America's history. The story centers on the New London, Texas school explosion in 1937. Because of a natural gas leak that went undetected, about 300 school children and teachers were killed. Because of this tragedy, a chemical was added to give off that distinctive smell to act as a warning of a gas leak. As I have found with many other Historical Fiction books I've read, this is a story I had never heard about before.Other than the tragedy, the rest of this story is fictional. The story alternates between past and present, sharing the lives and disfunction of four generations of women.This story kept my attention with both timelines and interesting characters. This was by "Surprise Read" that my daughter chose as my February read. A great read that I recommend to fans of Historical Fiction.

Carla

August 06, 2018

THE DAISY CHILDREN by Sofia Grant is heartfelt story of love, loss and family secrets. It is a work of fiction based around a true event that took place in New London, Texas in 1937. A powerful natural gas explosion at the town’s elementary school took the lives of hundreds of children and teachers and changed the lives of their families forever. New children born to these grieving families soon after the tragedy were called the “Daisy Children”. They essentially became “replacements” for the boys and girls lost on that horrific day. The story follows four generations of mothers and daughters in one affected family, alternating between the past and the present. The characters are well-developed and their dysfunctional relationships were expertly portrayed. The plot is well-paced, leading up to a dramatic twist at the end. I enjoyed this well-written family drama depicting how secrets, lies and life choices can affect many generations to come. I am thankful to the publisher for providing me with an early copy.

Courtney

September 09, 2018

I waver between 3 and 4 stars here. While the background to the story was hugely compelling and heartbreaking, I got confused by the constant change in the timeline. I loved the writing, but had to look back in the book a few times to recall which character Grant was writing about. The history behind this book was completely news to me, and I was horrified by it. I did really enjoy the multigenerational aspect to this book, I just felt a bit lost at moments. I only found the family tree as I approached the middle of the book, which was helpful. (Note taken to flip through and preview future reads!). All in all, a worthwhile read.

Diane

August 22, 2018

Author Sofia Grant's novel The Daisy Children begins with a true event. In 1937, an elementary school in New London, Texas, exploded, killing nearly 300 people, mostly children. Her storyline alternates between the aftermath of that event, and the toll it took on one family, and present day Boston.In Boston, Kate has just lost her job, and she and her husband are having problems conceiving a baby. Kate's husband works crazy hours at his job, and has become more distant. When Kate gets a letter informing her that she has inherited something from her late grandmother Margaret in Texas, she is shocked. She only met the woman once, and her own mother Georgina didn't get along with her mother, seeing her rarely, and often expounding about what a terrible mother Margaret was.Margaret was what was known in New London as a "Daisy Child." After the horrific explosion, eleven babies were born to families who lost children there. The mothers of those children formed a support group, and worked to keep the memories of their deceased children alive.Margaret didn't get along with her mother Caroline almost from the beginning. She was headstrong, and mean to other children, lording it over them that her father was an important oil man, and their fathers merely worked for hers.She fell in love with Hank, the older brother of her best friend, and a survivor of the explosion. Hank suffered from what we today would call PTSD, and he had problems with alcohol and anger issues. Margaret thought her love could help him.Caroline was dead-set against Margaret marrying Hank, and did everything in her power to turn Margaret against Hank. When Margaret had a daughter of her own, Georgina, she got a taste of her own medicine. Georgina clashed with her mother, and counted down the days until she could leave home.Meanwhile, Kate meets her cousin Scarlett in Texas, and learns a little more about her grandmother as they go about cleaning Margaret's house. Margaret is described by a neighbor as "mean as a wasp and tough as a skewed skunk".Secrets are uncovered, including a whopper of a one near the end that I didn't see coming. Young Margaret states early on "if there was one thing (she) had learned in her eleven years on earth, it was that everyone had something they were hiding." Truer words were never spoken.Grant describes the day of the explosion as Caroline tells Margaret what happened. The descriptions of parents rushing in to look for their children brings to mind the horror of the Newtown massacre and 9/11. Caroline's husband found his daughter Ruby's body, and he "identified her by her shoes that he'd helped her buckle that morning." What a heartbreaking sentence.The Daisy Children is about the often painful relationship between mothers and daughters, and how we never really know what is going on in someone's life, even if we are close to them. This book may make you want to sit down with your grandmother, and ask her to talk about her life. You may be surprised. If you enjoy books about mother/daughter relationships, put The Daisy Children on your reading list.

Gayle

July 27, 2018

The Daisy Children by Sofia Grant is a fictional account based on an actual historical event. In 1937, a gas explosion destroyed the school in New London, Texas, killing over 300 children and teachers. The emotional devastation in the town was understandably profound. A group of mothers who had lost their children decided to try to get pregnant following this tragedy and nine months later, their "replacement" children were born. These babies were referred to at The Daisy Children. The book follows the lives of Margaret, one of these Daisy children. her daughter Georgina, and Georgina's daughter Katie. Each of these characters are impacted by the fact that Margaret was a Daisy child. The relationship between each mother and daughter is examined in detail and explores how an event from the past can impact families for generations. The characters are well developed and their relationships are expertly defined. While the romantic aspects of the book seem somewhat awkward and unconvincing, the story of the mothers and daughters makes this an enjoyable book to read.

Cherlynn

October 03, 2018

I was so glad I won this off of goodreads! This book was very good. It covers 3 generations of women struggling all tied to a tragedy from the 1937 New London School explosion. Margaret was one of the Daisy Children (children born to replace the children killed the explosion). All her life, she feels as if she's nothing more than a replacement as she often butts heads with her mother Caroline. As Margaret has a child of her own, Georgina, they often disagree. It takes the next family generation to come together to heal the past. Georgina tells her daughter Katie that Margaret has died & has left an inheritance to her in her will. When Katie arrives in New London she meets her cousin Scarlett. As they go through their grandmother's belongings they discover the truth to the past that will change their lives.

Janette

August 17, 2018

A novel of family secrets and tragedy. The ramifications of choices made and how they linger generation after generation. For readers of Wiseman and de Rosnay.

Amy

July 01, 2019

I really liked this book. It had me guessing the whole time and it came together nicely.

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