Review: Not My Kid

Book Title: Not My Kid

 
Author: Mary Billiter

Publisher: Camel Press

Genre:  General Fiction

4.5 lightning bolts

Length-   279  pages

Reviewer name: Chalet

BLURB: What happens when a reporter covering a lead crime story realizes her son is a suspect? For journalist and single mom Megan Reilly, the discovery of her teenage son’s secret life throws her own existence into turmoil. When Austin is arrested for shoplifting and becomes the prime suspect in a series of bomb threats at the local middle school, Megan’s immediate response is, “Not my kid.” What does it mean to be a good parent?  How far should a mother go to protect her child?


REVIEW: Not My Kid is a book that any mother of a teenage son can relate to. Although the situation Megan and her son Cameron find themselves in is a little more extreme than most of us mothers have to deal with at any time, we have all been right where Megan is….. Saying not my kid.

Megan- She has seen it all as a reporter for one of the local newspapers. Despite her knowledge of the court system she hopes that there is a way for her to help her son out of the mess he is in. In the end she does something that would be hard for any mother, but is what is best for her son.

Cameron- A confused teenager who is dealing with the backlash of the horrors that he has seen in his young life. He does something stupid and gets the attention and help he has been desperately needing.

Robert- The abusive ex-husband. He finally realizes that he is the cause of Cameron’s issues and does what is best for his son.

The emotional damage caused by the abuse that Megan and Cameron have dealt with at the hands of an abusive husband and father comes back to rear its ugly head in this story. Sympathy for these two and Megan’s younger son Kevin draws you in and keeps you turning the pages to make sure that everything works out in the end.

I really enjoyed the fact that each new chapter was told from the point of view of the characters that played a role in the outcome of this story. Add in the conflict caused when Megan’s ex-husband Robert comes back to town and the emotional twist of a new love interest and you have a must read book.

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