Giffin dives into the popular topic of the “good old boys” getting into sexual situations and getting off the hook when they shouldn’t. She does excellent work building a realistic narrative and speaks to both the generations who said nothing and the generations that attempt to stand up to this mindset.
The story Giffin pens feels so familiar that you can’t help but to suspect the ending before it’s happened. There is a rich boy and a poor younger girl. He manipulates and lies and is let off. She must live with her shame for being too naive to prevent anything from happening. This is the dangerous loop our generation has fallen into.
Yet, this book brings a redemption and hope feeling into the mix. While we can sense the direction the story will go, the boys mother has been a victim of a similar story. She becomes an advocate for the girl, creating an unusual dynamic where the boy is not as protected as he usually would be. Instead of a whole family protecting him, he just has his father.
I enjoyed this story and found the mother to be the most interesting character. Seldom do we want our children to get in trouble, even if they have done something wrong. At least not on a permanent scale. His mother is an unusual voice because she sees the wrong and wants to do everything possible to make sure her son never does anything so awful again, no matter what he must do to learn his lesson.
Perhaps we forget that love can mean punishment. And punishment doesn’t always mean hate, but rather it means that we cannot hide children away from consequences. We forgive them and give them more opportunity to prove themselves, but we don’t shelter them so much to make them believe they are untouchable and able to get away with anything they desire to do.
The story Giffin pens feels so familiar that you can’t help but to suspect the ending before it’s happened. There is a rich boy and a poor younger girl. He manipulates and lies and is let off. She must live with her shame for being too naive to prevent anything from happening. This is the dangerous loop our generation has fallen into.
Yet, this book brings a redemption and hope feeling into the mix. While we can sense the direction the story will go, the boys mother has been a victim of a similar story. She becomes an advocate for the girl, creating an unusual dynamic where the boy is not as protected as he usually would be. Instead of a whole family protecting him, he just has his father.
I enjoyed this story and found the mother to be the most interesting character. Seldom do we want our children to get in trouble, even if they have done something wrong. At least not on a permanent scale. His mother is an unusual voice because she sees the wrong and wants to do everything possible to make sure her son never does anything so awful again, no matter what he must do to learn his lesson.
Perhaps we forget that love can mean punishment. And punishment doesn’t always mean hate, but rather it means that we cannot hide children away from consequences. We forgive them and give them more opportunity to prove themselves, but we don’t shelter them so much to make them believe they are untouchable and able to get away with anything they desire to do.