Not My Daughter - Barbara Delinsky

READ: OCT 19 - NOV 03, 2011
RATING: 9 OUT OF 10
FORMAT: AUDIBLE AUDIOBOOK


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?


It has been far too long since I read a Barbara Delinsky novel, and that became ever more clear to me as I listened to this audiobook any chance I got - washing dishes, ironing, walking to and from town, cooking dinner, etc. This was one of those books that really got my emotions riled up, but in a good way. There's a definite difference between stirred up emotions over anger at a character, or anger at the way a character is being treated. In this book's case, it was the second one, and I became increasingly annoyed at the way everyone blamed Susan for her daughter's pregnancy. This book brought up a lot of important questions about parenting and responsibility, and in particular: at what stage do you stop being accountable for your children's actions? Sometimes, no matter how much you have talked to your child about a certain issue, they'll still ignore your advice and do their own thing. 

There were a couple of issues I had with this book, just based on the fact that I'm Scottish and situations like this would be treated entirely differently over here. For example, a principal could not be fired because her daughter got pregnant, and if a school board did try to do this, the teacher's union would get involved! And over here, I'm fairly certain the legal age for procreating is sixteen, even if you can't drive, drink or vote yet. You can also get married at sixteen. So Susan wouldn't have been held accountable for Lily's pregnancy, which I think is a good thing as seventeen year olds aren't children any longer! So I got pretty annoyed at the sections with the school board as it was entirely unjust to consider firing Susan over the actions of her nearly adult daughter. 

This was a very compelling novel, probably one of Barbara's best so far. It ranks right up there along with While My Sister Sleeps, Shades of Grace and The Family Tree. I'm so glad I picked this audiobook as it reminded me of how much I enjoy Barbara's family sagas, especially the way that she looks at situations from the view points of all the parties involved and examines how they each cope with the crisis at hand. I almost wish she'd revisit Lily and her friends sometime, once their children are grown up, and see how their friendships have changed over time. I will definitely be making an effort to seek out more books from Barbara and I'm so glad that Not My Daughter rekindled my love for her writing. 

The Christmas Singing - Cindy Woodsmall

GENRE: AMISH ROMANCE
PULISHER: WATERBROOK
PUBLICATION DATE: NOVEMBER 4, 2011
RATING: 7 OUT OF 10

Believing that her boyfriend Gideon Beiler had betrayed her, Mattie Eash had fled from Pennsylvania to Ohio one Christmas. Now settled into her new life with her Ohio relatives, she has opened a cake shop and has a successful career as a cake-decorator, and a lukewarm relationship with reliable Sol Bender. But when a catastrophe drives her back to her home community in Pennsylvania, she finds herself face to face with Gideon again. As she prepares cakes for two of her friends’ upcoming weddings, she’s forced to spend time with her old boyfriend, who is building the home that one of the couples will move into once they’re married. Their encounters make Gideon wonder why he gave Mattie up all those years ago, and whether now would be the good time to tell her the truth about why he broke up with her. Will Mattie be content to reconcile with Gideon, or have past hurts hardened her heart too much to allow her to forgive him?

This is your typical Christmas novel. The storyline has been done many times before, which makes it comfortable and reliable for the reader, but Cindy Woodsmall inserts a few changes here and there to make the story fresh and original. This has to be the first time that I've read a novel in which an Amish character makes and decorates cakes for a living, and I was equally surprised to read about another character that frequently went on hunting trips. I found it particularly refreshing to read about Mattie making a living for herself as a single woman. Most Amish novels don't go into much detail about the lives of the women who have to support themselves because they don’t marry young and don’t wish to stay at home and be a burden to their parents. Often crafts are shown to be hobbies that Amish women indulge in when they’ve finished with the day-to-day tasks of cooking, cleaning and raising a family, but there are many Amish women who do make their living from crafts such as quilting, sewing and in Mattie’s case, baking and decorating cakes. So it was encouraging to see Cindy revealing this often forgotten aspect of the lives of Amish women, and single women in particular.

I’m not going to deny that the story of a couple who have been separated for years being brought back together by a great catastrophe isn’t somewhat predictable and sometimes over-done. I’m not a massive fan of storylines that are created out of a lack of communication between a couple, but this is partly because I’m fortunate to be a relationship in which there is a lot of communication between both partners. The reason why communication-driven plots are so popular in the romance genre is that it is one of the simplest and most common causes of problems between couples. Mattie and Gideon’s story also contained another plot point that I’ve witnessed a few times recently in romantic fiction; that of one person discovering that they have some sort of medical problem and breaking up with their significant-other in an attempt to protect them from suffering alongside them in their illness. While I struggled to relate to Gideon and Mattie’s relationship problems in this story, I’m certain that the issues of keeping secrets and failing to communicate over misunderstandings will strike a chord with many other readers. If anything, I hope that someone will read this book and come out of it with the revelation and understanding that secrets should never be kept between two people who love each other, and that no matter how difficult it is, communication is key in order for a relationship to survive.

In all honesty, I wish this novella could have been longer. In discussing this book with my book group a lot of us felt that the shortness of the book limited the amount of time that Mattie and Gideon spent together on the page, and we really wished that we could have read about the day that they spent in each other’s company towards the end of the book. But this is the general issue with novellas – they’re short and sweet, but sometimes it just feels like there’s something missing. One thing’s for sure with The Christmas Singing, and that’s that I’ll be looking out for more of Cindy’s novels now that I know what her writing is like. A novella isn’t always the best example of an author’s work, but it’s often a good indication of whether you’ll like their books.

So if you’ve never read any of Cindy Woodsmall’s novels before, The Christmas Singing may be a good place to start. It does contain a well-used storyline, but the characters refresh it and make it into something new and original. This is the perfect book to get you in the Christmas mood, especially if you enjoy romantic tales of reconciliation.

Review title provided courtesy of Waterbrook.

Day 8 - Least Favourite Super Special

I realise I haven't updated this in a few days. Apologies, but sadly university work has to come before the Baby-Sitters Club! I know, it's shocking, isn't it? 

30 Days of the Baby-Sitters Club

Day 8 - Least Favourite Super Special

This was difficult for me as I don't remember any Super Specials that I particularly disliked. There are a few that I don't have terribly strong memories of, such as the book that took place at Shadow Lake, but none that I have bad memories of from my childhood. However, I did read Here Come the Bridesmaids! for the first time last year and found the story quite contrived. To be honest, most of the Super Specials are pretty contrived but sometimes reading a children's book for the first time as an adult can make you pick up on these things easier, without the smokescreen of nostalgia! I remember actually getting bored with the California part of the story and preferring the parts set in Stoneybrook with Stacey, and by the end of the book I felt like this plot would have worked a lot better as a regular series book told from the point of view of Dawn. I did enjoy this story as it was pretty fun, but it would probably have to be my least favourite of the Super Specials.

Also, I actually have a US copy of this book, but I love the cover-art for the UK edition so I had to use it on this post!

Day 7 - Favourite Super Special

30 Days of the Baby-Sitters Club

Day 7 - Favourite Super Special

As a kid, Sea City, Here We Come! was definitely my favourite book. I must have read it at least ten times. It just seemed so exciting, with the hurricane hitting Sea City and everyone having to evacuate and pack up their stuff and take emergency measures. I live in Scotland and we never have extreme weather. The biggest thing that's happened to me weather-wise is the extreme snow we had in 2010, and the most that happened then was that Tesco ran out of bread and milk for a day because the Forth Road Bridge was shut because of snow! So books with extreme weather emergencies were always exciting to me.

And to be honest, they still are! I reread Snowbound recently and found that I enjoyed it a lot more than I'd remembered. Although there's extreme weather in this book, all of the situations were much more normal and realistic than in the Sea City book, and the girls have their parents help them out when they're stuck with their baby-sitting charges! Definitely one of the more "real" Super Specials.

Day 6 - Least Favourite Mystery

30 Days of the Baby-Sitters Club

Day 6 - Least Favourite Mystery

Without a doubt, I'd have to say Beware, Dawn! I read this book earlier this year and as much as I love to escape into a BSC book and ignore the unbelievable aspects of the story, there were too many ridiculous things about this plot for me to ignore. The story surrounds the girls being given threatening notes but not consulting each other on this because they're too busy competing to win some sort of sitter-of-the-month award and don't want to look bad by being scared by the notes. I can buy Kristy doing this because she is competitive and I can see her wanting to look brave in the face of the threats, but the other girls, especially Mary Anne and the younger sitters would be scared for themselves and for the kids they were sitting for. The competition was blatantly just a plot device put in place to stop the girls talking to each other, since otherwise they would have solved the mystery immediately. As much as I like non-mysteries, this one was lame: Dawn had told off some boy for teasing someone else and got him in trouble with his parents so he rode around the town on his bike, leaving threatening notes for each of the girls as payback. Kudos for continuity as this kid had been causing trouble in other books, but otherwise this plot was pretty lame. Definitely one of the weaker mysteries.

What was your least favourite mystery?

Naomi's Gift - Amy Clipston

GENRE: AMISH ROMANCE 
PUBLISHER: ZONDERVAN 
PUBLICATION DATE: OCTOBER 1, 2011 
RATING: 8 OUT OF 10 

After having her heart broken more than once, Naomi King has given up on love and resigned herself to remaining at home and helping her mother care for her siblings. It isn’t until widower Caleb Schmucker returns from Ohio for the holidays, along with his eight year old daughter, Susie, that she begins to wonder whether God will grant her another second chance. Caleb has been told many times that Susie needs a mother and that he should remarry, but he wants to find a woman who will love Susie as much as she loves him. When Susie captures the eye of Naomi while at a farmer’s market, Susie latches on to the older woman and the two become fast friends. Soon Caleb is spending more time with his daughter and her new best friend than he would have expected, especially considering the rumours circulating about Naomi and the way that she supposedly chases after single men. But with Caleb cautious about courting again after the death of his wife, and his sister determined to match him up with someone other than Naomi, will anything come of this new friendship? 

Amy Clipston is one of the first authors I read when I discovered the Amish genre, so she’ll always hold a special place in my heart. I adore her Kauffman Amish Bakery series and I’m always eagerly awaiting the next instalment, so I was glad that she’d chosen to revisit one of the reoccurring characters, Naomi, in her Christmas novella. As much as I love Amy’s stories, I’m always cautious when it comes to novellas as their shortness often leaves little room for character development, which can make some novellas seem predictable or rushed. I’m pleased to say that I was rather satisfied with Amy’s attempts in Naomi’s Gift, and while the story did rely a little too much on the “love at first sight” idea, I enjoyed witnessing Naomi and Caleb overcome their past difficulties and become open to new relationships. 

The underlying theme in Naomi’s Gift is that God is always willing to give us another chance, no matter how many mistakes we’ve made. Those who are familiar with the Kauffman Amish Bakery series will recall that Naomi, in her younger years, was apt to throw her attentions at young men, often without thinking through her actions properly, and was then led along by another man who had no interest in marrying her. As a result of this, by the start of Naomi’s Gift, she’s convinced that love and marriage are not what God has planned for her since she’s been hurt so many times before. Caleb is also hurting because of the loss of his wife and although duty suggests that he should remarry for Susie’s sake, he can’t bear to marry someone who doesn’t care for both of them. While Naomi and Caleb are instantly attracted to each other, they hasten to deny it and bond over their love of Susie and the fact that neither of them feels ready for a relationship at that moment. While the chemistry is present between them from the start of the story, it was nice to see their friendship develop gently and naturally. 

Of course, well-meaning friends and relatives are apt to suspect that something more is going on between Caleb and Naomi, and in particular, Caleb’s sister Sadie, who is convinced that her friend, Irene, is a better match for Caleb. Repeating malicious rumours that she’s heard about Naomi, Sadie tries to push a wedge between the couple and convince him that Irene is more suited for him than Naomi. Here, Caleb’s desire to find a woman who loves Susie as much as she loves him comes into play, and it was so encouraging to see the way that Susie played a role in all of his relationships. Sometimes children are inserted into a story for entertainment and to give a book the “Aww!” factor, but Susie was a character in her own right who interacted with everyone. Caleb includes his daughter in every decision he makes, therefore how a woman treats his daughter is essential if he’s considering marriage to her. 

I really struggled with Sadie’s character, particularly because her gossiping and self-centred mannerisms are not in keeping with what one would expect from an Amish woman. As much as I would love to write off her character as an illustration of how gossip can infiltrate even the Amish way of life and hurt people, showing that no one is perfect, I could not see any motivation for Sadie acting the way she did. She constantly bad-mouthed poor Naomi and pressed Irene on Caleb at every opportunity without checking whether he actually liked the woman. In the end, she apologies, but I didn’t find her character terribly realistic or her actions believable, so ultimately it seemed as if she was acting as she did purely to move the plot along and create conflict. This is one of the problems with novellas, and Sadie definitely suffers from lack of character development. I felt the same way about David in Amy’s other novella, A Plain and Simple Christmas, who is stubborn throughout the entire story, refusing to listen to any of his wife’s ideas and suggestions until she goes behind his back and ultimately makes him realise that he was wrong, where upon he eventually apologies. Sadie’s stubbornness and belief that she knew what was best for Caleb and his daughter definitely reminded me of David, which is the main pitfall of this otherwise lovely novella. 

Despite the lack of development in secondary characters as can be naturally expected in a short novella, Naomi’s Gift is a sweet and endearing love story. A couple who don’t ever expect to experience love again stumble upon it at Christmastime with the help of Caleb’s adorable daughter, reminding readers that one of the gifts God gave us is the possibility to always have a second chance. 

Review title provided courtesy of Zondervan.

Day 5 - Favourite Mystery

30 Days of the Baby-Sitters Club

Day 5 - Favourite Mystery

I didn't read many of the mysteries as a child, but the one that I do remember the most fondly (and the only one I ever owned rather than borrowed from the library) was actually non-mystery, as such. 

Yes, I am talking about Jessi and the Jewel Thieves. And yes, the British mystery covers were even worse than the covers for the regular series, although at least Jessi looks a) like a real eleven-year-old and b) African-American rather than just being tanned. 

I know that some people hate the mysteries that didn't actually feature a real mystery, instead focusing on the BSC members worrying over something that they'd misheard or misinterpreted, but I preferred the more realistic non-mysteries. The way that Jessi and Quint rush around NYC convinced that they need to stop a jewellery heist is quite amusing, and it was nice to see kids acting like, well, kids for once.

Did you ever read the Mystery spin-off series? If so, which was your favourite book? Did you prefer the "non-mysteries" or not?