“The Good Daughters.” Joyce Maynard. William Morrow. 288 pages. $24.99.

Joyce Maynard’s new novel hangs on a couple of plot twists so cliched that one might be tempted to call them gimmicks. But one reads Maynard for characters, not plots. The author’s deft and delicate touch as she plumbs the depths of her characters’ psyches is what will keep readers pinned to the page for this story of a New Hampshire farm family, the Planks, and their friends the Dickersons.

Additional Photos