First line: Susan Tate never saw it coming.
From the back cover: When Susan Tate’s seventeen-year-old daughter, Lily, announces she is pregnant, Susan is stunned. A single mother, she has struggled to do everything right. She sees the pregnancy as an inconceivable tragedy both for Lily and herself. Then comes word of two more pregnancies among other high school juniors who happen to be Lily’s best friends. The town turns to talk of a pact. As fingers start pointing, the emotional ties between mothers and daughters are stretched to breaking in a wrenching story of love and forgiveness.
My thoughts: This is a thought-provoking, timely and emotionally gripping tale that reminds us just how powerful a story can be. Barbara Delinsky has created credible characters that are dealing with problems happening in today’s world – this story is loosely based on actual events. She delves into the struggles that teen pregnancy creates not only between mothers and daughters, but also between families, friends and even within the community. I found the story to be quite compelling, from the teens’ lack of foresight about how a pregnancy, and the resulting baby, would impact their lives and that of their families to that of how the mother’s reactions to the pregnancies varied. Having grown up in a small town, I can see how the town could react the way it did – not that I agree with some of the sentiment being discussed during the numerous town/school board meetings that take place as a result. While Susan Tate and her daughter, Lily, are the main characters in this story, Barbara Delinsky allows us to see how each family involved in this “pact” copes in a different way. At times the story is told through the eyes of the other girls or their mothers. The one reaction that can be said of all adults involved in this story is that they all believe it could never be ‘my daughter’ that would be involved in such an act. I haven’t read Barbara Delinsky in a while, but if this is any indication of her newer work, I will certainly be reading more of her.
About the author: Barbara Delinsky is the author of more than seventeen bestselling novels with over twenty million copies in print. She has been published in twenty-five languages worldwide. Barbara lives with her family in New England.
For more information, please visit Barbara’s website.
(Author photo by Mark Bennington)
I received a complimentary copy of Not My Daughter by Barbara Delinsky from Jen at Random House to review.
***Check back tomorrow for a guest post by Barbara Delinsky and a chance to win a copy of this book!
This is the first book of hers that I read and I really enjoyed it. I'm definitely going to pick up more of her work.
This looks like a fantastic book. I'm going to have to pick it up. Thanks for introducing it.
Barbara Delinsky is one of my favorite authors. I probably read this book this past Spring, and enjoyed it, as I do most of Ms. Delinsky's books. My friend borrowed it and enjoyed it as well. I will be looking forward to the interview tomorrow.
I recently read her book, "The Secret Between Us" and enjoyed it also, it was another thought provoking book, about a mother and daughter situation, about making bad choices or the right reasons and the terrible consequences that follows.
One of my all time favorite authors! I will definitely be back tomorrow!!
Girls with Books
Teen Bookshelf
I had this book on my "TBR list" and then accidentally forgot about it. Thanks for your thorough review. I'll definitely have to check it out!
Barbara Delinsky is one of my favorite authors! She is an awesome writer. I am slowly working on reading all of her books, including her romance ones. So far I have not found one that I did not enjoy.