What does she want to do with her camera?
I know.........but for instance, I bought my last cam for sports pics...primarily. It had to deliver 5-6 + frames per second among other things. "Point and shoots" typically deliver good results but "take pic...wait a second....take another and so on".
More expensive SLR's will offer more performance...no waiting for the next pic. More money as well. There are some pretty decent intro packages available at Sam's and Costco. Adorama online is good, etc.
The body of the cam is important. Lense is everything. As you have already mentioned ability to gather light is where it's at. A cheap lense will do fine in bright sunlight. Good lenses get expensive fast, but deliver in low-light shoots. Like 300-400% more expensive than there cheaper cousins. On that note, used is always a good option on lenses and can be had CLEAN for about 1/2 price of new..Anyway, check out Ken's site....Great stuff
Spend some time here and you'll get everything you need. Tremendous info!
KenRockwell.com: Photography, Cameras and Taking Better Pictures
Actually you're in LA? I think Ken's in that area as well....