I got a one way ticket as far as it goes: SOMEBODY'S DAUGHTER.

Somebody's Daughter by Rochelle B. Weinstein

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Emma Ross has a pretty great life. Beautiful twin daughters, Zoe and Lily, who have just turned fifteen. A handsome husband, Bobby, whom she's loved since they were kids. Emma and Bobby live in the hotel they own and manage, the Ross, which sits ocean-side in Miami. But everything changes when an inappropriate video surfaces of Zoe and a boy--and quickly goes viral. The video not only humiliates Zoe, but it forces Emma to confront some hidden memories from her own past. As Bobby turns on Zoe, Emma feels as if he's turning on her, too. Can she save her daughter's reputation--and her family?

So this is a very timely book--as it seems like sexting and its repercussions is everywhere right now--and its horrifying to see how quickly one bad decision can affect the course of so many kids' lives. Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me. I actually really liked Zoe--and even her twin, though she wasn't as prominently featured--but the book was told from Emma's perspective, and she drove me crazy.

It's made clear from the beginning that Zoe's incident parallels something Emma herself did as a teen or young woman. But, of course, we can't just be told what that is. Heaven forbid. Instead, there are constant allusions to whatever happened, or Emma mentioning it (to herself, since it's a secret) and agonizing whether she should tell Zoe or her husband, or blah blah blah. We go over half the book before finding out what really happened and by then I was way too annoyed to care.

Not to mention, Emma's husband, Bobby, is a total jerk. The guy turns on his teenage daughter when she needs him and then spends the majority of the book being a total a** to his wife and kids. I had zero sympathy for him and honestly wished either Emma or the kids would just kick him to the curb. Most of the book is Bobby sniping at Emma (or his fifteen-year-old daughter, who has just been through a huge trauma!), or Emma endlessly worrying about Bobby and the state of things. Ugh. Rinse and repeat. I found myself sort of skimming waiting to see if more was going to happen. (It really didn't.)

It's a shame, because there was real potential with Zoe's character, and the message of the book--about the dangers of sexting--is a good one, I think.



“There’s a monster out there,” she says. “It can be anyone pushing a button and ruining my life. I can’t see them, but they’re out there, and I’m terrified.”


Alas, the book was just too melodramatic and repetitive for me. I couldn't handle how long it took to reveal Emma's past, especially after all the build-up to said revelation. The rehashed bickering between Emma and Bobby is just way too much (and I couldn't stand Bobby whatsoever). I felt so bad for those poor kids. And, of course, to end it all, we have a predictable ending that you could see coming a mile away. I should have abandoned this one, but I kept holding out hope it would surprise me. It did not. 2 stars.

Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Google+ ~ Instagram ~ Smashbomb



View all my reviews