When Susan's daughter, Lily, tells her that she's pregnant at 17, Susan is devastated. After all, she knows firsthand how hard things will be since she got pregnant at 17 herself. But then she finds out two of Lily's best friends are also pregnant ~ and all three did this on purpose. They made a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together, despite the fact that they're all "good," bright girls who were on the road to college in the Fall. The other girls' moms are Susan's best friends, and soon they are all trying to come to terms with what their daughters have done, and understand what makes a good mother.
I read Not My Daughter
I would have liked to read a story about the relationships between the moms and the girls, and how they got through this difficult time. Delinsky sort of touched on this but was too focused on the moms' jobs and reputations ~ and throwing in a whole bunch of knitting references that seemed out of place ~ to really get deep into the relationships. It was a very superficial story with very little substance despite the potential with this topic. I feel like she could have done so much more with it. She had the components of a good story, but just didn't execute it well in my opinion.
My Rating: 2/5
Reading group guide and discussion questions for Not My Daughter
This review was written based on a copy of Not My Daughter that I borrowed from the library.
Oh, too bad. I have wanted to read it. Sorry you didn't like it! :( Bummer!
ReplyDeleteFrom the description, I suspect I would have the same opinion as you.
ReplyDeleteBut I disagree with your equating simplistic writing styles with YA novels - the really great YA novels have complex characters and plots and really good writing! Try The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins to see what I mean. There is both great and mediocre writing at all age levels!
Thanks for the review -
Sue
Sue, that is a very good point. I have read The Hunger Games and it was excellent. I guess I just meant I felt the vocabulary and writing structure felt very elementary to me. But as you said, good YA books are actually written at a higher level than that.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review Julie- I didnt really know what the book was about but from your description I may pass on this one.
ReplyDeleteOk obviously I have to comment again as I did forget about this review and here we are 10 months later and guess who read the book? LOL
ReplyDeleteI was right the first time... I could have passed on it.
Thanks for reminding me of this comment...that is sooo funny!