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Not My Daughter: A Novel
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Not My Daughter: A Novel
Unavailable
Not My Daughter: A Novel
Audiobook12 hours

Not My Daughter: A Novel

Written by Barbara Delinsky

Narrated by Cassandra Campbell

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

A pregnancy pact between three teenaged girls puts their mothers' love to the ultimate test in this explosive new novel from Barbara Delinsky, "a first-rate storyteller who creates characters as familiar as your neighbors." (Boston Globe)

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?

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 5, 2010
ISBN9780307704740
Unavailable
Not My Daughter: A Novel
Author

Barbara Delinsky

Barbara Delinsky is the author of more than twenty-two New York Times bestselling novels. Her books have been published in thirty languages, with over thirty-five million copies in print worldwide. A lifelong New Englander, Delinsky currently lives in Massachusetts with her husband. She is a passionate photographer, an avid tennis player, a drop-all-when-they-call mom and Grammi, and a confidante to friends of all stripes.

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Reviews for Not My Daughter

Rating: 3.6723403957446807 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

235 ratings33 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Wow! Now I understand why there's a lot of controversy with this book. A lot of mixed reviews but as for me... I truly enjoyed this book. I gave it 4 stars because it got some boring parts.

    SOME SPOILER PART!!!

    But it was an easy read for me and I sympathize with Susan and her predicament (along with the other 2 mothers). It was tough in Susan's part, being the principal of the high school and having her teenage daughter pregnant and also knowing that the daughter is part of the pregnancy pact with her friends. Of course, all the accusation would be focus on her and was totally not fair. Anyway, everything worked out well in the end. I must also admit I can truly identify and love reading about the knitting and dyeing yarn part of the book since I'm a knitter myself. I like this book because it teach us a lesson not to be so judgmental with the mistakes of others since we ourselves are not perfect.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I had a hard time with this book and felt that much of it, especially the ending was just too unrealistic to me. The first third was pretty interesting and I did enjoy watching some of the character development, but as the book progressed it just seemed to become more and more unrealistic.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Did you know that three quarters of a million teens between 15 and 19 get pregnant each year? That's what the book "Not My Daughter" by Barbara Delinsky covers.This is a book that covers the very difficult relationship between a mother and her pregnant teenage daughter who makes a pregnancy pact with her two best friends.Lily and her friends, Mary Kate and Jess, have summer jobs babysitting for rich children at the beach. They decide that they're ready to have babies of their own. So they vow to help eachother out and not tell the fathers. Just one problem they're only 16. Now they are the talk of the town. Rumors start flying and the mothers of the three are left to question their parenting. Thus, this a touching tale that will leave asking "could this happen to me?"This is a great novel that made me want to read more. I loved it from start to finish.I think that teens and mothers alike would find this book to be one of their favorites.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I read this book in a day. Awesome story.What happens when 4 girls make a pact to each have a baby? What do their parents have to say when they find out and it's too late in the pregnancy to do anything about it? What happens when one of the girl's moms is the principal of the local high school? What makes a good or bad mother? So many questions asked and awareness raised on teen pregnancies. A great story line ripped from headlines. There aren't always clear cut answers on the issues. Sometimes you just "have to deal" as one of the mothers points out.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book was interesting, and "ripped from the headlines." The characters likeable and I blazed through the book until it was done.However, I guess I just have some issues with the book that do not let me give it a higher rating. Mild spoilers ahead.I just can't imagine that none of three girls would regret their decision to have a child so early. I know babies change lives and as a medical doctor myself, I've seen many of these girls-- even younger than these 17 years old. I've heard the excuse "I wanted a baby so that I'd have someone to love me and be all mine." And these children end up getting raised by a grandparent or god forbid a great-grandparent. I liked how Delinsky dealt with showing different sides to hard issues, but I never felt that Lily entirely realized how Susan, her mother, was feeling, and to what extent Susan was receiving backlash from her decisions. She saw some limited views on it and apologized in a very non-satisfying way-- just as you might imagine an immature selfish teenager may respond. And she thought it was a wonderful idea to have a child at 17 and had no conception of why this may get in the way of her life. I just wondered if she would always think the same, and educate her own child to have a child early. Being a good mother is more than just knowing how to change diapers and having someone to love. I just couldn't agree with the "happy ending" that Delinsky wrote.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Inspired by both the pregnancy 'pact' (though there apparently never actually was one) in Gloucester, Massachusetts and Sarah Palin's daughter being pregnant during the campaign, Not My Daughter by Barbara Delinksy is the story of teen pregnancy through both the girls' eyes and their mothers'.In this story, the girls--the seemingly smart, college bound Maine high school best friends, Lily, Mary Kate and Jess all become pregnant as part of a pact. This, of course, throws their mothers Susan, Kate, and Sunny (also best friends) for a complete loop and they were sure they'd done all they could to raise good girls. Add in that they're in small, conservative New England and that Susan is the high school principal who herself got pregnant as a teen and drama abounds.Told through the different points of view of the three mothers (and their fourth best friend Pam and some from the girls), Not My Daughter follows the developments of the girls early pregnancies, the families being told, the town finding out and the ramifications of not only teen pregnancies in a small town but the HS principal's daughter being one of them.I read Not My Daughter because Elizabeth Scott rated it on Goodreads and it sounded like something to give a try (and I've seen Barbara Delinsky's name & books but never read any)--and the Lifetime movie The Pregnancy Pact was going to be on, too. And while this book was compelling and certainly kept me up reading it to find out just how things were going to turn out, it also disappointed.I'm not sure if my feelings about it are because it's written more for someone that could have teenage children/daughters than someone who just was sixteen...Or if that has nothing to do with it. But, I feel like the story was almost sanitized to make parents feel better.AND HERE BE SPOILERSThere was a lot of talk of whether or not it was the mothers' fault that their daughters got pregnant with the end decision seeming to be that they were good mothers and the girls just made this choice regardless (there was more to it, more why but still the 'you raised them well and then they did this'). I'm not sure I completely bought that, though. Not to say they were bad mothers, but to me, saying how they were raised had nothing to do with it was wrong. Maybe I'm being too harsh, but when you're 17, if you make a conscious decision to get pregnant, how you were raised had something to do with it. Enough with that point now ;)I also didn't quite accept that all of the parents were so 'Okay, you'll keep that baby and we'll pay for it and that's that." I know one mother had more trouble accepting her daughters pregnancy than the others (still didn't seem like a whole lot) but there was still never any talk of anything other than the girls all keeping the babies. It was just 'no abortions or giving my baby away,' I don't think anyone even mentioned that there are open adoptions. And fiction's fiction for a reason, even if a tiny percent of teens put their baby up for adoption, maybe one of them in the story could have.That paired with Lily's 'my baby's this big now and has intestines' every other page made if feel kind of like a conservative take on things (with the abortion's evil, I'll keep my baby stance). It might have just supposed to have been her being happy about being pregnant but it seemed overdone.I think overall it just seemed to happy, easy. I know that Susan had trouble with her job and one of the girls had some trouble with her baby for a bit but overall it seemed like: the girls plan to get pregnant, they're ecstatic about it, they tell their families, that goes generally well, their families agree to provide for them and their babies, grandparents, moms and babies are all good and everyone's still a responsible parent.I know it's not a deep book or anything, but I guess I expected more out of it than that.END SPOILERSI think my other problem with the story was that everyone seemed to reach their conclusions or have things happen at the same time. You'd read one girl telling her mother she was pregnant, then the second would and then the third would...bam, bam, bam. Then later in the story there'd be some sort of conflict and magically one character would reach some sort of revelation and then next chapter the second character would reach the same and then so would the third.It would have made the story more enjoyable if even two of the three characters would have done something and there would have been either a time period or an event between that and the last character reaching the same point. Having different characters going through (even slightly) different things all reaching the same points at the same time became too predictable.While this book wasn't all I thought a book on this topic could be, I don't think I'm sorry I read it. I am trying to get my mom to read it to see if she thinks differently about it than I do and I might read another of Barbara Delinksy's books sometime to see if it's this book I didn't quite like or it's her style that doesn't work for me.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I received this Advance Reader Copy via Good Reads.Being a high school teacher, I felt that this book correctly hits on pact vs. pack behavior. The premise that 3 normally good girls would decide to become pregnant with not well thought out reasons is exactly how teens act today. They understand the here and now and short-term, but there is no concept about long-term. The girls in the story feel that they are smart enough/young enough/healthy enough to become pregnant and have a baby. They only see the baby as the culmination of their goal, not the years after.This story shows how the girls' pregnancies effect not only their families but also their extended families and their schoolmates. It also brings in the small town life. Not only what someone does becomes everyone's business, but also explores the politics of small town life. Who your family is, or what position your family holds means that the family is held to a different set of standards, whether it is good, bad, or otherwise.Yes, it is chick lit, but I feel that teen girls need to read this to completely understand what teen pregnancy means. It isn't just the 9 months of pregnancy and a baby, it is changing relationships, and losing dreams.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A well-written, easy to read book that tackles 2 big teen issues (pregnancy and peer pressure), you you won't be able to put this book down.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The story of three teenage girls who decide to get pregnant at the same time. The ramifications turn out to be much larger than they had ever anticipated. An interesting look at four sets of mothers and daughters and how the pregnancies affect all of their relationships. An easy but sometimes thought provoking read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A group of 17 year old girls decide that it will be fun to be pregnant at the same time. So...the pact begins. One of the girls who is pregnant happens to be the daughter of the principal, Susan, where she attends school. Susan is being asked to resign because the school board seems to think that she is an unfit mother for allowing her daughter and her friends to even think of this pregnancy pact to happen. The principal herself got pregnant at 17 so they also feel as if she is condoning her daughter's actions. Her daughter and friends find out that pregnancy and motherhoood isn't all fun and glory. The principal's daughter, Lily, finds out that her baby needs to have surgery even before it is born. Susan, the principal and mother of Lily, is struggling to keep her job and informing the student's parents of this crisis at the school. Delinsky writes about a delicate issue that happens in schools across the country. She also brings ...more A group of 17 year old girls decide that it will be fun to be pregnant at the same time. So...the pact begins. One of the girls who is pregnant happens to be the daughter of the principal, Susan, where she attends school. Susan is being asked to resign because the school board seems to think that she is an unfit mother for allowing her daughter and her friends to even think of this pregnancy pact to happen. The principal herself got pregnant at 17 so they also feel as if she is condoning her daughter's actions. Her daughter and friends find out that pregnancy and motherhoood isn't all fun and glory. The principal's daughter, Lily, finds out that her baby needs to have surgery even before it is born. Susan, the principal and mother of Lily, is struggling to keep her job and informing the student's parents of this crisis at the school. Delinsky writes about a delicate issue that happens in schools across the country. She also brings up the issue that often times teenagers percieve of only things that will make them happy but have no concern of how it will affect others, especially their loved ones. I always enjoy reading Delinsky's books. She writes about controversial issues and life lessons yet they always have happy endings.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Susan Tate is unmarried with a seventeen year old daughter. She became pregnant as a teenager and brought up her daughter on her own and subsequently forged herself a career as a successful high school principal. Her world is rocked to the core when her daughter becomes pregnant along with two of her close frineds, all good students, and it seems as if this was part of a pact, something they all made a conscious decision to do. This has a profound effect on her life as the community is torn between those who want her to stay as principal and those who believe she has let them down, and been a bad parent, not fit to lead their school.I ws a little disappoionted with this story. It was told from too many disjointed points of view - the mothers of the girls and the girls themselves - in short snippets. The characters were not well enough developed and everything was too neatly tied up at the end.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Excellent book by Barbara Delinsky. You hate to think that 4 intelligent teenage girls would make such a pact.....a good summer read.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Not much language or sexual content.Four female friends have daughters. The moms run a yarn business or PC, the company in Vermont that runs the town (sort of like LL Bean). The daughters all secretly agree to a pregnancy pact the summer before their senior year or high school. One miscarries, the others continue. The first pregnant girl is Lily, Susan's daughter. Susan is the high school principal and a single mother who herself got pregnant at 17. The town thinks she is unfit to be principal now that her daughter did this.The story was interesting. The four moms being best friends, too was a bit much, as was their company and its success with the yarn. The pact thing was interesting. At the end of the book, Susan and Lily's father end up getting married, which seemed a bit too much of a happy ending.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Three high school chums deliberately get pregnant.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This was not great, but interesting enough that I did enjoy the story, even though I felt it was completely unbelievable. That can be forgiven since it is fiction. Omigod is not a word, and I found that to be very annoying. Overall entertaining but I am not sure I would read her again.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I have read a few of Barbara Delinksy's but found them too simple for my tastes. Surprisingly, this one held my interest long enough for me to finish it, and it is probably my favorite of all of the Barbara Delinksys I have read. I found this one to be very "Jodi Picoult-esque".
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Not My Daughter is a novel about a "pregnancy pact" between four middle-class high-achieving high school girls. The book focuses more on the mothers of these four teenagers than on the teenagers themselves. One of the mothers is the high school principal, and her image and career suffer from her daughter's lack of judgment. This was a great read that kept me entertained to the last page.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I enjoyed it enough to finish reading, even though it is not really my type of book. I will admit to skipping ahead to the last chapter when I was about half-way through, because I had lost interest, and I needed to see that I was going to get a pay-off. I did bother to go back to where I had skipped from. (Yup, I totally cheat at reading.)I found the internal dialogue of most of the characters sort of self-indulgent, and, dare I say it, irritating, although perhaps that is true to life; I don't really know what is going on in other people's heads. The plot hinges on what other people think of what is going on, and I was perplexed by the amount that the daughter's actions were blamed upon the mother. Perhaps, however, that is also true to life. I don't quite 'get' the ending, but it was worth the time to get there.I have been recommending this book to patrons looking for 'a good read', or a good story.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A "ripped from the headlines" story about a teenage pregnancy pact. Barbara Delinsky is one of my favorites authors.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Susan Tate has worked hard to overcome her past. Pregnant at 17 and banished by her parents, Susan worked her way through school and up the ranks from teacher to high school principal in Zaganack, Maine. She has done her best as a single mom to raise her daughter Lily to be a bright, compassionate individual and considers herself Lily's friend and confidante. Lately, though, a space has grown between Susan & Lily. When she receives the shocking news that her daughter is nearly three months pregnant, Susan is blown away. It turns out it is not just Lily pregnant. Her best friends, Mary Kate & Jess are pregnant as well. The girls made a pact to get pregnant together.Susan's entire world is in a shambles. How can history be repeating itself? Wasn't she a good mom? Didn't she raise Lily to think things through and consider the consequences? As high school principal, news of the pregnancy pact does not sit well with the Zaganack school board. Susan finds her job in jeopardy while trying to come to terms with Lily's pregnancy. The pregnancies could even affect PC Wool, the yarn dyeing company Susan owns with her best friends, two of them the mothers of Mary Kate & Jess.This is the first time I've read Barbara Delinsky, and I have to say I'll be reading more! This is a complex story with lots of interwoven parts and connected lives. I find the story all the richer for the characters of Pam & Abby Perry, both of whom feel on the fringes of their groups. Pam is married to a Perry, and Zaganack was built around Perry & Cass, which stands for responsibility and respectability. Pam's daughter is not pregnant, but as a community figure and member of the school board, Pam must decide whether to stick up for Susan or remain silent. Abby had a key role in involving the other girls in the pact but miscarried and isn't pregnant and outed the pregnancy pact to the school. Susan also gropes with her complicated non-relationship with her own mother and her growing dependency on Rick, Lily's father. Meanwhile, Lily realizes the reaction of the town to the pregnancy pact is much worse than she had anticipated, and her baby's sonogram reveals troubling news.This story is told from multiple points of view, with Susan and perhaps Lily being the main protagonists, but we also get glimpses from other supporting characters. This is a complex tale of friendship and loyalty, which bonds are the strongest, and what does it take to be a good mom?
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A very nice, fast paced read. Contriversial subject, a pregnancy pact. Had my reservations about the main character Susan, she's a strong woman, but maybe too stong? Nontheless, I like the book and recommend it for a good women's lit or chick lit read. 
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    "Not My Daughter" by Barbara Delinsky is a story dealing with teen pregnancy and the pact that is made between close friends to all become pregnant at the age of 17. Obviously there are many sensitive topics discussed including miscarriage, abortion, birth defects, fertility issues and obviously pre-marital teen sexual activity.The writing was very intriguing and it drew me in quickly. However, I was disappointed in the ending. I felt as thought there was a lot of build up and a lot of good topics introduced but it felt like everything wrapped up too neat and nicely at the end. I would recommend this book as an interesting read and a book that causes the reader to think about these topics.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A rather talky, not very compelling novel about four 17-year-old best friends who make a pact to become pregnant. The action revolves around one of the girls, Lily, and her Mom who happens to be the high school principal. It also happens that the mothers of the four girls are also best friends who have started and operate a knitting company. The moms all respond differently to the position in which the girls' decision has put them, and the situation unhinges their friendship, as well as that of the girls. It seems pretty forced, and the characters are not people I really care to spend time with. Spoiled, selfish, petty--whether teenagers or adults. Please, let me out of this town!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Not My Daughter is about a group of friends that make a pact to get pregnant when they are seventeen. Their mothers are best friends also and very upset. The story also revolves around one mother who was 17 when she was pregnant and now is the principal. Which alot of it brought back memories from when I was in High school. I'd almost suggest that teenage girls read it as a real eye opening book about consquences from having sex. Only problem with that is that the ending is too easy so they'd think "oh well it will turn out fine."
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Very good story. It tugs the heartstrings, but it's so much more than a tearjerker. Lily intentionally gets pregnant, and she and her mother Susan both have to face issues and circumstances that arise because of her decision. Delinsky asks the question, What makes a good mom? This book will provide an answer.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love Barbara Delinsky. This book wasn't a disappointment. Three friends decide to get pregnant at the same time. The interesting take is that they are "good girls," and not typically who you'd expect to decide to do this. The book looked at each mother, and each family, and it was interesting to watch the characters learn, change, unfold, and come to terms with changes in life.There was a backstory about young love, mother daughter relationships and how they can connect to several generations, etc.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Susan is a high school principal in a small eastern town where three high school girls, including her daughter Lily, make a pact to become pregnant and have babies. Susan is shaken by the news and the town initially has a very negative response, feeling the mothers of the girls are responsible, and that Susan might not be fit for her job.Barbara Delinsky is one of my favorite authors. I enjoyed this book but found some of the actions of the people in the book a little far-fetched. Some of her previous books were more believable and compelling.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Teenage pregnancy has always been a controversial issue. What happens when three girls, with bright futures, form a pact and intentionally become pregnant? Who’s to blame? Most importantly, what is the driving force for making such a pact?In Barbara Delinsky’s latest novel, Not My Daughter, we meet Lily and her friends, Jessica and Mary Kate, three academic achievers, well-liked by the students and faculty, and who are also pregnant. Lily is Susan’s daughter. Susan gave birth to Lily at a young age and doesn’t want her daughter to face any of the problems she had when she became pregnant. And one more thing: Susan is the principal at Lily’s high school.Teenage pregnancy is difficult to discuss and deal with as Susan quickly comes to realize. She’s treated unfairly when it’s revealed Lily is one of the girls who is pregnant. Susan’s life is scrutinized at every angle and some feel she’s not the right person to run the school as she cannot prevent her own daughter from getting pregnant.Are Susan and the other mothers being treated and judged too harshly? Are parents to blame when an unwanted pregnancy occurs? Is the responsibility solely placed on the two individuals who are about to become parents? These are some of the questions Ms. Delinsky tackles in Not My Daughter.I enjoyed reading this book. A look inside the three girls’ reasons for becoming pregnant was both alarmingly and naive. I did want the author to delve deeper into the unknowing fathers’ perspectives. How did these young boys feel after hearing these girls were pregnant? The author, however did spend some time with the father of Lily’s baby and the growth of their relationship.I recommend reading Not My Daughter. I’d also consider it as a book club selection. There’s a reading guide included that will help facilitate a discussion.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Ms Delinsky has given us a thought provoking book. I appreciated the views of the different parents and how they handled this situatilon. I could actually see this type of thing actually happening. I recommend this book to my friends. I've already purchased one for a gift.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Barbara Delinski gives us yet another poignant look at life in Not My Daughter.What would you do if your seventeen year old daughter told you she was pregnant and what if that wasn’t the end of it.The story line/plot of this book is engaging, worrisome and very unique in a way only an outstanding storyteller could. She brings us the story through the voices of the young women and the voices of their mothers and families,. She gives us a good look at small town America and what could happen if the continuity of that town was broken. Her characters are rich and colorful and so three dimensional that they jump off the page. You will laugh and cry with them, hope and fear with them and above all you’ll cheer for them. The novel goes deep into the relationship between mothers and daughters. The dangers of youthful pacts and the consequences they bring. Her flowing dialogue keeps us turning pages as she tells her story. There is romance involved in the novel and it’s portrayed wonderfully but it’s not the major point of the story.This novel would appeal to all readers who love a great story. To women who have teenage daughters or granddaughters. To those who enjoy a coming of age story. To anyone who loves great literature.