What I'm Reading: Somebody's Daughter by Rochelle B. Weinstein

One of my newest goals as we enter month-nine (it’s been nine months, right?) of The Q is reading more. This goal comes after the heals of spending the summer finishing writing my third novel. Now that it’s in my agent’s hands, I can afford myself the liberty of sitting behind a different screen: that of my Kindle. First read: Somebody’s Daughter, by Rochelle B. Weinstein.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Premise: A teenage girl is secretly recorded performing a sex act and her world—and her family’s world—comes crashing down. Told from the mother’s perspective, here’s how this family handles it all.

Review: First, the book was incredibly well written, so kudos to the author and editor for a smooth book, start to finish. Regardless about how you feel about the content or the choices the parents made, at least you won't feel like you wasted your time.

All in all, I liked it. I felt truly sick to my stomach the first 30-50 pages of the book as we learn about the recorded sex act of the young teen, which I'm sure is the response Weinstein was going for. I don't have kids myself, so I cannot imagine how those with kids (specifically teenagers) could stand this set-up without a stiff drink.

My only issue is that I found the parental response to the situation unrealistic. I don't want to include spoilers in my review, so I'll leave it at: I just felt like the author was trying to have a kumbaya moment for all the wrong reasons. And maybe, just maybe, this situation doesn't warrant everyone getting a free pass to skip off into the sunset?

Still, what's impactful for me about this book is the way it demonstrates how times have changed and how "kids today" can be. Again, I don't have kids, but even at just the thought of having them...this book's premise will sit in the back of my mind for a long time.