I’m psyched! Here’s the 3½-star (out of 4) review of Not My Daughter that just appeared in PEOPLE magazine.
“Calling to mind an ’08 news story about 17 girls thought to have made a pregnancy “pact,” this novel features three Maine teens who blithely orchestrate getting pregnant together. Refusing to name the fathers or to consider abortion or adoption, they are at once perplexing and heartbreaking – especially to their own mothers, who become primary characters. As the town erupts in outrage, the girls’ moms grapple with anger, sorrow and the nagging question: Where did I fail my daughter? It’s a topical tale that resonates with timeless emotion.”
Nice, huh? And filling the whole lower third of the page, including a view of the cover? Thank you, PEOPLE Magazine. A writer can’t ask for more.
But we do. Every writer wants to be reviewed. Why? Three reasons. First, publicity. Readers see the title, see your name, see that someone thinks your book is important enough to review – or good enough to review, which leads me to the second reason. Sales. One way to get new readers is to give them a short sketch of your story, along with words of recommendation from a reputable source, which leads to the third reason. Ego. Every writer wants to see praise of his work.
Here, truly though, is a case of being careful what you wish for. What if you get reviews, and they’re bad? That can be demoralizing. I know. I’ve been there. Forget trying to write for the rest of the day after you’ve read a bad review of your work. The worst reviews are the ones that just don’t make sense – and make no mistake about it. There are plenty of grudging reviewers out there who are forced to read your book when they want to be reading something else and resent the subject matter, the setting, even your success.
Publishing one book a year, I don’t get as many reviews as I’d like. Reviewers are more likely to flock to a first-time writer who may be on the cusp of stardom, or a veteran author who has just published his first book in four years.
The irony, of course, is that some of the best-reviewed books never do hit any bestseller lists. How bittersweet must that be?
By and large, I try to keep my review hopes in check. But Not My Daughter has now gotten four quotable reviews (click here to read the other three) from four solid sources. That’s cause for celebration, don’t you think?
But wait. What I really want now is reader reviews on this site. Want to be one of the first to post one?



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