A story about the timeless struggle between mothers and their teen daughters with a razor-sharp 21st century twist. This heart-wrenching, harrowing debut novel for fans of Big Little Lies (Liane Moriarty) and Reconstructing Amelia (Kimberly McCreight) will make you question what’s needed to keep your children from harm. Phoebe’s mother, Isabel, is precariously balancing her career and her family. … family. Hard-working and caring, worried but supportive, all Isabel wants, in a world of bullies and temptations, is to keep her daughter Phoebe safe. With her busy schedule, though, she fails to recognize another mother’s mounting fury and the danger Phoebe faces by flirting with a mysterious boy on Facebook. A cyber-bullying episode aimed at Phoebe pushes her to the edge with horrific consequences. In her search for justice, Isabel, a DC lawyer, sets out to find the culprit behind this cruel incident. Saving Phoebe Murrow, set amidst the complicated web of adolescent relationships, tells a story of miscommunication and malice, drugs and Facebook, prejudice and revenge.
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Saving Phoebe Murrow by Herta Feely is a novel that tackles the subjects of bullying, cyber-bullying, cutting and suicide. It really puts emphasis on how hard it is for young teens today who are bombarded by and addicted to social media. It also takes a look at helicopter parents and their effect on their children.
I’m really conflicted about this book. Isabel Murrow is a tough defense attorney in Washington D.C. and is more invested in her job than her family even though there is an ongoing problem with her daughter Phoebe. She treats her husband as an annoyance and with little respect. Even though she knows Phoebe has been cutting she still puts so much pressure on her it just heightens Phoebe’s problems. I couldn’t find one single thing to like about Isabel. Her feelings of superiority over just about everyone were a real turnoff for me. Her contempt for Phoebe’s friends even though she didn’t know them was horrible. These kids were the support system Pheobe relied on to feel safe at school after being bullied. As distant and out of touch as Isabel is she still falls into that helicopter parent category because she expects perfection, is controlling, gets involved in spats between kids and rejects anyone as a friend for Phoebe who she feels is not up to her standards. Her constant nagging and interference would drive anyone of any age crazy.
Then we have Sandy Littleton the mother of Phoebe’s best friend Jessie. She’s a social climber who gets no respect from the other parents at the school Phoebe and Jessie attend. I actually felt sorry for Sandy and I don’t believe that was the author’s intent. Sandy grew up in an abusive household. Between her mother’s contempt and her stepfather’s abuse there is no way she would ever be a normal functioning adult without major therapy. Add to that becoming pregnant in high school by a boy she was madly in love with, then unceremoniously dumped by him she was a tragedy just waiting to happen. When she fixates on Isabel as her “in” to acceptance by the other parents and the society she wants to be a part of and is rejected at every turn it becomes something that drives her to seek revenge.
This is a cautionary tale for parents. It shows you everything NOT to do if you want your children to be happy and well adjusted. I remember running home and telling my mother how awful….. is and how awful they treated me. My mother’s response, unlike those in this book, was “I don’t want to hear it. Tomorrow you know you’ll all be friends again like it never happened.” I thank God for that common sense that taught me to fight my own battles, forgive innocent slights and determine who was truely a friend by myself. It also is a lesson on how much social media you let into your child’s life. In the case of this story social media is the evil that allows the unknown into the home to create havoc.
The storyline well defined and is easy to follow. Character development is excellent and pretty quickly the reader realizes the kids are more grown up than the adults. It takes a lot of work to create a character as unlikable as Isabel and as pathetically pitiable as Sandy. You can just feel Phoebe’s pain and hopelessness as well as the tension created by the adults who should be her safety net. All of Phoebe’s friends are fleshed out and likable teens.
I recommend this book as a guide on how not to parent. It may even make some parents take a step back and examine what they may be doing wrong. I also think it’s an important warning about social media today. Instead of people actually talking to each other and getting to know each other the majority are nothing but a picture on a screen and words typed on a page.
I received a free copy of this book from booksprout and voluntarily reviewed it.