Before the Blog #3

   Before the Blog is a new meme hosted by YA Litwit. The idea here is that we have all been reading much longer than we have been blogging and have many books in our reading past that are worthy of blogging about. This is a way to 'rediscover' these gems by answering a few basic questions. For details check out the YA Litwit blog.

This week I am choosing to remember...'Not My Daughter' by Barbara Delinsky

Why did you choose this book? This is getting to be a pattern. You've probably already guessed it....I chose this book because I was attracted to the cover. The girls with their arms on each others shoulders and the beach in the foreground drew me in. And I liked the simple font. I saw this book on the 'Most Wanted' shelf at the library shortly after it came out and snatched it up.

When did you read this book? March 2010

Who would you recommend this book to? Readers of contemporary women's fiction; readers who enjoy Jodi Picoult

   Here is the synopsis from Goodreads. You can read member comments here.

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 memory is that a quick read, and that it kept my interest the whole time. The basic story involves a group of girls at the local HS acting on a pact to become pregnant at the same time and raise their babies together. A complication is that these are the 'good girls' of the school that no one would expect this of, including the principal's daughter. The girls are very naive at the beginning, centering only on their desire to have a child and not grasping how this affects other; their families who now have another child to raise, the kids around them, and the unsuspecting fathers, who apparently aren't to be included in their child's life. And then, there is the controversy created when some blame the principal for 'allowing' this and want her fired! More evidence of naivety.....all babies aren't born healthy?....you can't be sure you will all have daughters? It is an interesting story to watch as these girls grow up quickly and watch as their parents and the town itself evolves and learns. This was the first Barbara Delinsky novel I'd read, and I enjoyed it so much that I've picked up another half dozen at book fair.

   I rated this book 4 Stars; I would have liked the option to give 4-1/2 stars. Other Goodreads members have combined to give it a 3.49 star-rating.