This Is My Daughter by Roxana Robinson (1998) is a book that I found hard to put down, but then I found it hard to pick up again. There is such an undertone of sadness that it's almost a relief when something dreadful happens at the end of Part II and the characters begin both to separate themselves from one another and to come together.
Here's what Library Journal had to say: In this emotionally rich and evocatively detailed novel, Robinson tells the story of a difficult second marriage. Emma is fiercely protective of her young daughter, Tess, while Peter is more detached from teenaged daughter Amanda, oblivious to her attitudes and activities. Put together, they form a household rife with tension. For although theirs is a world of spacious Manhattan apartments and summer houses, wealth does not insulate them from sorrow. Emma and Peter do their best for the girls, but Tess and Amanda have their own opinions about this new family, and it is their actions, as much as those of the grownups, that propel the novel forward. The book is beautifully written, with each burnished chapter exhibiting Robinson's understanding and compassion.