I love Emily Giffin's other novels and was excited to read the advanced reader copy of her latest. It was quite a departure from her stories of love and loss, but so gripping nonetheless.
This story centers on a scandal at a Nashville private high school and touches on inequalities across gender, race, and socioeconomic status. Giffin did a wonderful job of creating a realistic scenario and adding emotion and nuance to the viewpoints from various players in the story. First, we have Nina, the mother of high school senior on his way to Princeton who appears responsible for a scandalous photo circulating to his classmates. When dealing with this situation at home, with her social circle, and with school officials, we see Nina's world shatter, as her relationships are challenged and trust broken by those she loves the most. She often struggles between being a "good mom" and doing what she feels is right and raising a son with high moral standards. Tom is the father of Lyla, the subject of the scandalous photo. He is a single dad who has had a challenging time bringing up his daughter, and is disgusted by behavior of the school and Nashville elite. Reading Tom and Nina's interactions and histories is at times difficult, and also touching. Lyla's perspective of the ordeal is also weaved throughout the novel and it is so interesting to read along with her feelings and how she processes and reacts to the events of the book. The contrast between adult and teen perspective is excellent. The actions of Nina's husband Kirk make me feel revolted, but are also not at all surprising. The ending was not as satisfying as I had hoped, although it did have a level of realism to how it may play out in today's society. Highly recommend!
This story centers on a scandal at a Nashville private high school and touches on inequalities across gender, race, and socioeconomic status. Giffin did a wonderful job of creating a realistic scenario and adding emotion and nuance to the viewpoints from various players in the story. First, we have Nina, the mother of high school senior on his way to Princeton who appears responsible for a scandalous photo circulating to his classmates. When dealing with this situation at home, with her social circle, and with school officials, we see Nina's world shatter, as her relationships are challenged and trust broken by those she loves the most. She often struggles between being a "good mom" and doing what she feels is right and raising a son with high moral standards. Tom is the father of Lyla, the subject of the scandalous photo. He is a single dad who has had a challenging time bringing up his daughter, and is disgusted by behavior of the school and Nashville elite. Reading Tom and Nina's interactions and histories is at times difficult, and also touching. Lyla's perspective of the ordeal is also weaved throughout the novel and it is so interesting to read along with her feelings and how she processes and reacts to the events of the book. The contrast between adult and teen perspective is excellent. The actions of Nina's husband Kirk make me feel revolted, but are also not at all surprising. The ending was not as satisfying as I had hoped, although it did have a level of realism to how it may play out in today's society. Highly recommend!