Not My Daughter
by Barbara Delinsky
by Barbara DelinskyGenre: Women’s Fiction; Contemporary Fiction
ISBN: 978-0-385-52498-8
338 pages
My Rating: 4 Stars
Synopsis:
“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 unimaginable tragedy for both Lily and herself.
Then comes word of two more pregnancies among high school juniors who happen to be Lily’s best friends-and the town turns to talk of a pact. As fingers start pointing, the most ardent criticism is directed at Susan. As principal of the high school, she has always been held up as a role model of hard work and core values. Now her detractors accuse her of being a lax mother, perhaps not worthy of the job of shepherding impressionable students. As Susan struggles with the implications of her daughter’s pregnancy, her job, financial independence, and long-fought-for dreams are all at risk.
The emotional ties between mothers and daughters are stretched to breaking in this emotionally wrenching story of love and forgiveness. Once again, Barbara Delinsky has given us a powerful novel, one that asks a central question: What does it take to be a good mother?”
My Thoughts:
What if your 17 year old daughter announced that she was pregnant? How would you react?
What if two of your daughter’s best friends also announced that they were pregnant? That the three of them formed a “pregnancy pact” so their children would be best friends like they are and like their mothers are. What would you do?
This novel explore that very issue. Set in the small town of Zaganack, Maine, Susan Tate is the school principal and a respected member of the community. She has come a long way from her youth, when her parents basically disowned her when she become pregnant at 17. Susan has worked very hard to be a good mother to her daughter, Lily, and to make something of her life. When Lily announces that she is pregnant and will not reveal the father, Susan is dumbfounded. “Good” mothers don’t let their daughters get pregnant! As Susan struggles with the aftermath of Lily’s announcement, we learn that Lily’s two best friends, Mary Kate and Jess, are also pregnant. The three well-respected, high achieving, college-bound girls, all decided to get pregnant at the same time so they could raise their babies together.
Yep – a pregnancy pact among 17 year old high school girls. Scary to think about, isn’t it?
Told primarily from Susan’s point-of-view, we also get brief passages from Susan’s best friends, who are the mothers of the other girls who are part of the pregnancy pact. As principal, Susan is under fire from the community, with her job and reputation on the line; her morals questioned; and her parenting under a microscope. This story is about mothers and daughters and what defines a “good” mother.
I really enjoyed this book. It will drive you crazy. The reasons the girls gave for wanting to get pregnant together were just silly. They never considered any of the outcomes of that decision and the effect it would have on their lives and the lives of their families. The ending was tidied up quite nicely, but a bit predictably. I’d definitely recommend it to fans of women’s fiction.
If you are reading this anywhere other than a feed reader, then this is not original content and was taken without permission from Crazy-for-Books.
Be Crazy - Share This!
Great review Jen! I rated this one the same as you.
I liked this one too. But the ridiculousness of the girls drove me crazy!!
Great review, I do think I will try this one. What an interesting story.
Sounds like an interesting read and an interesting premise. But the silliness of the girls' pact sounds at odds with the impression of thoughtful parenting and otherwise mature and bright girls. Unless the author helps us understand how the girls became convinced that the pact made sense, I feel like this book would be a challenge to read because of that nonsensical disconnect.