Heather Newton's The Puppeteer's Daughters is one of those reads that feels like a gift: lovely, substantive, and leaving readers with a deep sense of satisfaction. In general, I'm not big on family-story novels. While The Puppeteer's Daughters definitely fits within that genre, I enjoyed it a great deal. The family in this instance is an aging puppeteer with the sort of cachet and respect Jim Henson has. The puppeteer is slipping into dementia. He has three adult daughters, each by a different mother, all of whom have difficult relationships with him and with one another. To complicate things further, he's now told them that there's a fourth daughter, one they've never met and have no idea how to find.

The novel moves into the realm of fairytale as each daughter is (is she really?) granted a wish by a stranger that sets her on a path to a deeper sense of self. Newton makes each of these characters sympathetic. They're definitely imperfect, but those imperfections are human and clearly grounded in their different childhoods. Seeing them confront themselves and one another and gradually come to terms with their very different lives makes for a pleasant reading experience. The Puppeteer's Daughters has a strong narrative arc, but it's the small details of everyday life that really carry the book.

When you're looking for a gentle, hopeful piece of reading, The Puppeteer's Daughters would be an excellent novel to turn to. You'll leave it feeling more forgiving not just of the book's characters, but yourself as well.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via EdelweissPlus; the opinions are my own. ( )