Friday, January 29, 2010

15 - Not My Daughter; Barbara Delinsky

Not My Daughter; Barbara Delinsky
First let me say that I always seem to enjoy a Barbara Delinsky book. Not just because she is a New England author, but because her stories most always about real life situations. This particular novel is about a subject that would make most mothers of teenage girls cringe: A Pregnancy Pact.

In a nutshell Lily, Mary Kate and Jess are three teenage girls, lifelong friends, who decide it would be a great idea to get pregnant at the same time, so that their babies too could be friends. The girls are smart and popular, and even the mothers of these girls (Susan, Kate and Sunny) are friends.  

Susan, the mother of Lily is the first to hear the pregnancy news. She thinks what her daughter has told her is a joke, but when she learns that she is serious, all the hopes and dreams that she had for the daughter she raised on her own, seem to be just that -- dreams.  Susan always taught her daughter to be independent, and that it was possible for a woman to raise a well-adjusted child on her own.

Susan speaks from experience, as she too was pregnant at seventeen. She decided to raise Lily on her own; her own parents basically sent her on her way, and were never involved in Lily's life. Lily's father Rick, a successful news reporter, is still somewhat involved in his daughter's life and truly cares about Susan. Meanwhile, Susan has done well on her own, and is now a high school principal, and yes, at Lily's school. She has much to risk professionally, when the news of this pact breaks.  Once it is out in the open, everyone seems quick to point the finger and place blame.

As I eagerly turned the pages of Not My Daughter, set in the small, close-knit (fictional) town of Zaganack, Maine it brought to mind a similar, true to life story I had heard about.  An real life pregnancy pact in another coastal town, this one in Gloucester, Massachusetts. In case you haven't heard about that one, here is the link to the June 18, 2008, Time magazine article.

MY THOUGHTS -  I enjoyed this book a lot. It was thought provoking, timely and emotionally gripping, but I was a bit disappointed by the ending -- to say more might spoil it for others who plan to read this book. Despite the ending, the book is an important story that is told and the book is RECOMMENDED - 4/5 stars

(Finished copy provided to me by Doubleday for review - many thanks)

29 comments:

  1. Martha has been eyeballing this book because she's a Delinsky fan too. I think I'll get her the Kindle edition, nice guy that I am (we really do share the Kindle).

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  2. Too bad the ending was disappointing. I keep meaning to read one of Delinsky's books, but I haven't managed to yet.

    By the way, your link to the Time magazine article doesn't work.

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  3. I have never read anything by Delinksky- This one looks really good - thanks for the review.

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  4. I've been reading Barbara Delinsky for a really long time. I'm looking forward to this one. Having raised a daughter (who is now grown and married), this is an interesting topic for me. Can't imagine what it would be like to discover this about your child. Thanks for the thoughts and I'll let you know what I think when I get around to this one.

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  5. This sounds like such a great book! Wonderful review :)

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  6. I wanted to read this one. Pregnancy Pact...scary!

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  7. A mother's worst nightmare!! Terrific review, Diane.

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  8. Sounds very interesting. I remember when that story was in the news. Shocking.

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  9. I have this one on its way to me from PaperbackSwap. I can't wait to read it!!

    Your Time magazine article link doesn't work!

    Great review!!

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  10. I was a little disappointed by the ending too, and the writing style wasn't my favorite, but the content of the story was riveting.

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  11. I'm so glad to see that you liked this one. I like Delinsky for the reasons you do...she writes about real life. I'm going to make sure I get this!

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  12. wow. intense. i think i would find this topic hard to read, as raising a daughter in this day-and-age scares the crap out of me!

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  13. Avis and Jen...thanks for telling me about the link! I just fixed it.

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  14. I definitely agree with you that she is an enjoyable author because her books are about real life. I have been dying to read this one! I put it on hold at the library... I'm number 107 in the holds list haha! Glad to hear you liked it.

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  15. I was reading about this book today when researching books for our book club. It made my short list. Glad to hear you liked it.

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  16. Wow, just the topic definitely has me intrigued. I think I'm gonna have to add this one to my TBR list. Thanks for the review!

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  17. This book caught my eye at the drugstore the other day! By the way, I nominated you for a Kreative Blogger Award-come check it out!

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  18. Thanks for fixing the link, Diane. What a crazy story! Just goes to show that truth really is stranger than fiction!

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  19. Sounds like a really intense book! I haven't heard of this author before, I really should look her up.

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  20. I'm glad you enjoyed it on balance. The idea of a pregnancy pact makes my head hurt a little but I'm glad she wrote a good book on the topic!

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  21. I'm a Delinsky fan too. Delinsky always writes about interesting subjects that make for great discussion. Great review.

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  22. I've got this to read as well. I have heard that some are disappointed with the ending but that they still really like the book as you do. I'm looking forward to reading it.

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  23. I can't wait to read this one. I always enjoy her books as well (read 2 this month!) and love the New England connection!

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  24. My book club talked wtih Delinsky about a year ago and she was telling us about this book. I'm so glad you enjoyed it - I will have to read this one.

    I also enjoy her books, I can read her books over the weekend most of the time. I feel like I'm reading/watching a good movie!

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  25. I will be reading this book next and am curious to see how I find it!

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  26. I don't think I've read any books by Delinsky. I might give her a try one day.

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  27. The thought of a group of teenage girls having a pact like this is frightening, maybe because I have a teenage daughter myself. This book sounds really interesting to me and I think I am going to have to try to grab a copy for myself. Thanks for the great review, I will have to let you know what I think of it!

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  28. When I interviewed Delinsky last fall she was very excited about this one. I'll have to get to it soon.

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