The Favourite Child by Emma Robinson

A pair of 13 years-old twins Mollie and Ben were living separately with their father and mother accordingly, because Ben needs more attention from his autism. It was hard to make the move, but Erica moved out with Ben to get to the school which suited Ben better. When Erica thought this was the best decision for everyone until Mollie disappeared. Mollie who used to be a charming girl, now her behaviour changed.

This all traced back to the fire at their home and Erica saved her favourite child...

The story was totally intriguing and it got me hooked right at the beginning. Among the 266 pages, it flew through in one seating. A real page-turner! The different POVs built up the tension and complexity which I enjoyed a lot.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and the author for my copy.

This was such an eye open story. I really enjoyed this story and seeing how the family had to figure out how to be a family. I think the story is very informative while also staying entertaining. Having a child with special needs is never easy and this shows the difficulty while also showing how when you ask for help or find the correct resources you can manage. It also shows some very concerning aspects of social media and children. Overall a very good story with great insights.

The Favourite Child is Emma Robinson's newest success in women's fiction.

The story revolves around Andrew and Erica, the parents of twins Mollie and Ben, who is neurodivergent. During the week, the family is separated to allow Ben to attend a school specifically designed for his autism. However, is this separation truly beneficial?

I found this family-oriented novel to be both engaging and profoundly emotional, told through the viewpoints of both Erica and Mollie. It truly resonates with reality! Great read

First, I want to thank Emma Robinson, Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I can bring you this review.

WOW!! My heart was beating out of my chest reading the first chapter of The Favourite Child!! It was an incredibly intense scene that had me biting my already short nails and praying for the best outcome. If Emma Robinson writes a book you know I need to read and review it! She is one of my favorite authors! Nobody can pull on my heart strings like she can!

In The Favourite Child transported me back to my teenage years where I empathize wholeheartedly with everything that Mollie was going through. There were so many times I just wanted to jump in the book and give her a comforting hug of support. This is a book you are going to want to put on your TBR list for sure.

I appreciated that Emma introduced a character with Autism into the story. In doing so she brought awareness to the disorder showing how it affects others in the family.

Emma is known for her tear jerkers but this time she throws a bit of mystery into play as Mollie winds up missing.

Most parents will tell you they don't have a favourite child, but they do. This story perfectly explores this contradiction with empathy and reality. Emma Robinson can always be counted on to tear your heart in two and they stitch it back together. Wonderful read!

My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Favourite Child’ written by Emma Robinson in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Erica and Andrew have twins, Mollie and Ben, but while Mollie is bright and an achiever, Ben has complex special needs. Erica is struggling to do what’s best for Ben and enrols him in an educational facility that’s more suited to his needs than the school Mollie attends but because it’s an hour’s drive away Erica needs to find herself and Ben a flat to live while he settles in. Erica’s so involved with caring for Ben that she’s forgets about Mollie and her needs until one day her daughter goes missing and both Erica and Andrew realise that they’ve made mistakes and things need to change.

‘The Favourite Child’ is an emotional family drama about a thirteen-year-old boy with special educational needs and his twin sister who feels forgotten. The story is told in the unique style that this author has perfected and describes how easily young girls can be taken in by people they meet on social media. The characters are described so superbly that I found myself sympathising with Erica who feels she’s being pulled in two directions and my heart goes out to Mollie who makes some careless decisions and instantly regrets them. Emma Robinson has written a wonderfully moving and thought-provoking story that will stay in my thoughts for a long time to come and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

The Favourite Child by Emma Robinson is a well written, thought provoking story.
This authors writing style was so enjoyable, full of emotion and heart.
Compelling, emotional and moving. This book was a rollercoaster of emotions. I was so invested and couldn't read it fast enough. Loved it.

The Favourite Child by Emma Robinson is a gripping well written novel that looks at the choices we make and how they affect everything and everyone.

When Erica and Andrew found out that they were having twins they were ecstatic. One boy and one girl made the surprise even better. But as Mollie and Ben started to grow older Erica and Andrew noticed that Ben was developing slower than Mollie. After a diagnosis of autism Erica realized Ben was going to need a lot more support than Mollie would need. When Erica made the difficult choice to move into an apartment with Ben closer to a specialized school, Mollie stayed in the family home with Andrew. Now that the twins are older, tensions between Mollie and Erica rise when Mollie feels Erica is putting Ben first and that he is her favorite child. And when Mollie runs away, Erica is forced to revisit a terrible accident years earlier when she had to make the most difficult choice to choose one child over the other.

This was such an emotional but intense book! Told from the perspectives of Erica and Mollie, you get to see how one choice greatly affects the whole family. Robinson's characters are real, vulnerable and relatable and this was such a raw and emotional read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Emma Robinson, and Bookouture for this ARC. Expected publication date is February 28th 2025.

There is so much to work through while reading this story. It’s quite emotional.
A horrible fire that has never been fully discussed. A parent assuming the lion share of responsibility for a special needs child.
The other parent feels weak and ineffectual. A teen daughter who feels shunted aside and barely noticed.
I may have yelled at the characters a few times but all the emotions are valid and realistic.
The one thing that has been abandoned was communication. When they chose to commit their family to work, they all began to get real with the situation.

I really enjoyed this book. Hard hitting, fast paced, lots of emotions. Found myself in tears a lot of the time. Highly recommend with lots of twists and turns.

This is definitely a well written, thought provoking book, with some great characters and a family going through some trials and tribulations.

Following a devastating fire Andrew and Erica have moved to a new home with twins, Mollie & Ben. Erica was home alone with the twins when the fire took hold and although everyone got out the house alive there are plenty of physical and mental scars remaining within the family.

They are now settled in a new home but family life has changed beyond recognition. Ben, who has autisim, has moved to a new school which is miles away from the family home, so himself and Erica now live in a small flat nearer the school. Meanwhile Andrew and Mollie have remained in the family home. Despite trying to return home at weekends Erica is finding herself drifting further from Andrew and Mollie. But Erica is the only person that can keep Ben calm and no what he wants, isn't she?

One day their life is turned up side down when Mollie runs away from home. She hasn't been herself for days and just recently she was caught stealing from her favourite teachers purse. Why did she do that? And what is happening with Mollie? Why has she suddenly changed? She was always the one that just got on with things and always so happy to help with everything, wasn't she?

A truly eye opening, though provoking story that will have you so invested in each of the characters. A complex family with so many different needs and relationships, will they stand the test of time? An absolutely well written emotional book.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

Emma Robinson, a master storyteller known for her compelling, soulful family dramas, returns with her latest emotional and gripping narrative, THE FAVOURITE CHILD, a must-read for her fans.

A mother, torn by guilt and facing every parent's nightmare, is forced to make a heart-wrenching decision: to save her son over her daughter. Years later, her daughter is missing, and the consequences of her choice haunt her.

About...

Erica and Andrew have twins. A boy. Ben and a girl, Mollie. However, Ben requires more attention due to his Autism and special needs. This puts a strain on the marriage and their family.

Andrews is a cop, and one night, while at work, there is a fire at the house. Erica is trying to get both the twins to safety and makes a split decision to help Ben first.

Five years later, they moved to a different house closer to Ben's school, but Mollie is resentful and, being the typical teen, starts getting into all sorts of trouble and acting out.

Then she goes missing.

Erica starts feeling guilty and questioning all the decisions she has made. She feels she has not given enough attention to her daughter, but she is pulled thin from being the primary caregiver for her son. Mollie is not open or shares her feelings, acting out.

Will this family, torn apart by their past, find a way to heal and reunite?

My thoughts...

THE FAVOURITE CHILD is a compelling and intricate story of a family wrestling with a myriad of complex issues. Life is hard, and as parents, we constantly question our decisions regarding our kids. Teens especially do not think of parents and others and tend to be self-centered.

The author compassionately navigates these emotionally charged topics, delivering a cautionary tale that silence is not always the best policy. Honesty and openness are always the better choice, even though some shy away from expressing their true feelings.

Motherhood and parenting are not easy, especially when accused of favoritism between siblings, especially when one has unique needs.

The character-driven story explores how decisions by one can have catastrophic effects on the remainder of the family. It is a moving story of a mother's love to protect her children as best she can.

Compelling, engaging, honest, and deeply compassionate with relatable characters.

Recs...

The Favourite Child is for fans of the author and those who enjoy complex family dramas, motherhood, and works by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen, Suzanne Redfearn, and Diane Chamberlain.

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for a digital advanced review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pub Date: Feb 28, 2025
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3⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy of The Favourite Child.

Erica and Andrew have twins named Mollie and Ben. Erica moves with Ben an hour away to have him go to a school that specializes in children with special needs. Mollie is suspended for stealing and her parents are shocked because it is so unlike her. Mollie accuses her mother of favoring Ben over her and Erica is devastated. Then when Mollie goes missing she blames herself. Can they find her before it is too late.

This book was different than I thought it would be. It discussed important topics but it just kind of felt like the story jumped around a lot. Overall it was just okay for me.

This is an emotional story about a family mum, dad and a twin, one boy and one girl. But because of the boy with special needs it doesn’t feel like a family any more. Can they find the love and companionship again even when life gets harder?
This story with its twists and turns kept me entertained till the end.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read it, this review is my own opinion.

As a mom of two autistic children, I saw pieces of my children in Ben and took this book way too personally. I cried a lot more than I expected especially with the simple trike learning scene. This was a faster paced book that kept me drawn in, however, my emotions made it so I needed to take multiple breaks to contain myself. It was a great book, and I do think that this can be very entertaining for most readers but it can be emotionally vulnerable for nuerodivergent parents.

Erica and Andrew were over the moon when they discovered they were having twins, and even more so that it was a boy and a girl. They took to parenthood well but as the twins, Mollie and Ben, grew they realised that Ben had special needs, he was going to need a lot more support than Mollie and Erica was putting Ben’s needs first. Now teenage Mollie has gone missing and her parents are trying to get their heads round what could have instigated this. Is it that Mollie got into trouble at school or does the issue run deeper than that? Erica is forced to relive an incident that happened five years ago when the twins were eight years old and the split second decision she had to make, does Mollie remember what happened that night, does she blame Erica for choosing Ben over her, is he her favourite child?

The Favourite Child is the latest family drama from Robinson, told from the perspectives of Erica and Mollie, this story depicts how decisions made by one person can have catastrophic effects on the rest of the family. When we have children, we are not given a handbook to show us how to do it right and we all make mistakes. I felt for both Erica and Andrew and, as a parent myself, I know I would move heaven and earth to protect my children, but sometimes you can over-protect and I think this was Erica’s downfall. It was obvious that Ben was always going to need more attention, but not at the expense of Mollie’s wellbeing and my heart went out to her too. Robinson’s books are written from the heart and it’s obvious that she does her research very well, her characters are relatable and realistic and her stories are so well written, time and time again she has torn my heart out and walked all over it and this time was no exception. Another heart-wrenching and emotionally raw story from this wonderful author, which I highly recommend and, as always, you will need tissues.

I’d like to thank Bookouture and Netgalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I enjoyed this book by Emma Robinson.

Mollie and Ben are twins, but Ben needs extra care and attention, which causes problems within the family as Mollie thinks he’s the favourite, and no one cares for her.

The story makes you realise what families in these circumstances deal with that we may take as a given, when children are healthy and don’t need the extra attention.

I highly recommend this book.

This was far more than I thought it was going to be. More of a physiological,thriller drama. It went deeper. And was more about how one family copes when circumstances mean difficult choices are.made and attentions can't always be balanced. This is sadly the case when one child is ill or needs more specialised care. It doesn't mean you love less but it does mean you love is shown differently. Often feeling unbalanced if you are the other child. In this case Mollie.
I felt for ll the family involved. It hard for them other child to see attention and not equate it to love. What ice learnt though is love isn't not tu attention given often in specialised care. And to the sufferer needed said care this different and weighted attention can feel awful. Needing to depend on parents outside of simply receiving there love is beleive it or not really tough. You question your own self and the love because "are you just a burden or cared for because you're ill"
Thus book showed what happens from all the families sides. And how a parent in this situation is in an often no win situation. And often they jave to chose one way simply because it is life and death for the suffering ill child just because of their ailments. But how love is never outbalanced in their heads!

Being a novel this obviously held these issues with a higher and "thrill" level. But it still managed to delve into the the topics covered well.
I really enjoyed this book. But it was emotional. Tough. Tender and heartbreaking.
But it was really very good.

The Favourite Child is a well written family drama that is so well written I wondered whether the author had personal experience of neurodivergent children. It was very close to home for me as I do have a child with special needs and autism and I could feel all the emotions of Erica.

It is an up to the minute story about the times we live in, family, love, guilt and parenthood and I highly recommend it.

An emotional read, really felt that it gave an insight into the struggles of having a child with SEND and the impact that has on the rest of the family and life in general.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.