From USA Today bestselling author Rochelle B. Weinstein comes an emotional novel for mothers, daughters, and anyone who has ever felt imperfect.Emma and Bobby Ross enjoy a charmed life on the shores of Miami Beach. They are a model family with a successful business, an uncomplicated marriage, and two blessedly typical twin daughters, Zoe and Lily. They are established members of a tight-knit … members of a tight-knit community.
Then, on the night of the girls’ fifteenth birthday party, they learn of Zoe’s heartbreaking mistake—a private and humiliating indiscretion that goes viral and thrusts her and her family into the center of a shocking public scandal.
As the family’s core is shattered by disgrace, judgment, and retribution, the fallout takes its toll. But for Emma, the shame runs deeper. Her daughter’s reckless behavior has stirred memories of her own secrets that could break a marriage and family forever.
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I’m writing this through tears. I wouldn’t have thought a book that addresses such difficult subjects could also be so beautiful.
Touching and challenging, SOMEBODY’S DAUGHTER is a close-up look at a family that is magazine-cover-perfect on the outside but struggling with the fallout of one mistake that threatens to dismantle everything they’ve worked to build. With trust, love, and support hanging in the balance, they must each make a difficult choice. And the consequences will either break them apart or make them stronger than ever.
An excellent storyteller, Rochelle Weinstein is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.
A gripping and heartfelt exploration of a family in crisis that questions how parents should respond when social media alters a teenager’s life in a painful instant. A thought-provoking choice for book clubs and general readers alike. Highly recommended.
Emma and Bobby Ross have the perfect loving family with twin daughters, Lily and Zoe. They all live in a ritzy hotel in Miami that is owned by their family. This idyllic life is shattered after Zoe attends a party with her high school friends. A week later while celebrating the twins fifteenth birthday Emma learns of a shocking video that has gone viral of Zoe. The aftermath stresses the entire Ross family with embarrassing scandalous attention and unknown ramifications.
Each family member has a different reaction to the scandal. Bobby seeks revenge against the person who posted the video. He is angry and unable to provide emotional support to his family in the midst of the investigation. Emma is concerned for her daughters’ emotional state and how she will cope at school. This event also becomes the catalyst to address problems that she has kept buried for years. This instability wreaks havoc on the family dynamics and they need to make major changes to move forward.
Somebody’s Daughter highlights an important topic which explores the growing use of technology by teens. The use of computers, phones, and social media can be greatly beneficial but when used improperly there is the potential for abuse. This was the first book that I read by Rochelle B. Weinstein and I look forward to more novels by this author.
This book is written about the problems cell phones bring into our lives. Too many times, teens do not think about the ramifications of their actions when posting pictures on the internet. This book, through some realistic characters, shows how their actions can and do destroy families. This story did have a happy endings, but too many times it does not end this way.
I have to give Somebody’s Daughter 5 stars for the brilliant writing it is. The novel about mistakes we human make and how they can influence us the rest of our live is a haunting, gripping masterpiece about unconditional love, forgiveness and growing through trials rather then just going through them. It was very real and raw. And I hated it because of that! I read to escape, to be taken away to another world. But there was no escaping Rochelle Weinstein heart-searing prose. Like the song by the Fugees, she was ” telling my whole life with his words, killing me softly…” I was torn apart but the incessant memories of a time in my life I only ever want to forget. Many times I swore I wouldn’t read another word. The next minute I find myself unable to put it down. I cried, I screamed and I pored out my soul in my diary. I had to finish reading because I had to know that this fictional family could somehow come out the other side of this life changing event. How could anyone survive this pain? Yet, I knew people survive, and love and families can become stronger for it because I survived it before, my family survived it. But we hated every minute of it. As I hated reliving every minute of it through this story. The story has a happily ever after that will bring you tears of joy. Hold on to your hat though because before you finally reach the HEA you are infor the emotional roller coaster ride of your life. I hated this book because it stripped me naked and made me confront some of the worse times of my life. Yet it desrves everyone of those five stars for being able with mere words, expose the inner human in all of us, letting us remember that not one of us is perfect, that no story is as simple as it seems and none of us have the right to judge anybody but ourselves. This novel is bound to be a bestseller and be the one that bookclubs discuss forever. Just not my book club ,please!
I read/listened to this audiobook a few days ago and it was fantastic ! Somebody’s Daughter narrated by
Tavia Gilbert is a 5 star book Filled with so much reality of raising teens in the world we live in it’s safe to say I am having a book hangover so if you need a good read I strongly recommend this one
A perfect family and one mistake – is it enough to tear this family apart? Emma and Bobby Ross own and live in a boutique hotel in Miami Beach with their 15 year old twin daughters, Zoe and Lily. Emma and Bobby are still totally in love and the girls are perfect students and teenagers. Their life appears to be absolutely wonderful. Until….on the night of the twins birthday party, a video shows up on everyone’s phones with a major indiscretion by one of the twins and the havoc that this video causes unearths family secrets and resentments. As the parents try to fix the problem, they find that they have more problems than they realized.
This novel is a well written novel that reflects life in today’s world for teenagers. As they get more involved in their electronics, they don’t stop to realize that what is posted remains there forever – there are no cover-ups or do-overs. Even though I didn’t always like Emma and Bobby, I did like the way parenting was one of the most important part of their lives. I also really liked the relationship between Zoe and Lily. This novel needs to be read by anyone who has a teenager.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
This is a beautifully wrought tale. Poignant and timely. This thought-provoking book is an absolute must-read for parents, in this digital age.
This is a book that I feel parents with teens need to read. It will certainly touch your heart in so many ways.
I never thought about how technology can and does touch us all. Especially young teens. They are so innocent and have no idea that they things they do today can and will affect them forever.
The Ross family have it all. Looks, love and an ideal place to live. What teen would not love living in a nice hotel on the beach. Going to a nice school and having many friends. What parent would not want to give their child the best life they can. But what do you do when a child makes a mistake that can cost them so much. What if one parent is not standing up for that child. Not taking up for them the way they should. Emma and Bobby are good parents but Bobby is not stepping up like he should when young Zoe gets in trouble. It causes a rift between him and Emma. Can they heal? Will things work out? This is a very touching story of twins. Different but the same. They are so close and love each other so much. One video from a cell phone has the ability of ruining three lives. The two teens in the video and the one who took it. This book certainly teaches much forgiveness. I would hope to have that much forgivenessin my heart if faced with the same adversity.
This is a very emotional book that will leave you feeling so hopeful. It will certainly bring many tears to your eyes too. I loved it. It was well written and researched. One that I think any parent with a teen should read. Thank you NetGalley for this wonderful touching book of love and forgiveness.
5 stars…..
Such an amazing book!! I loved the story and relevance to the world we live in today. Sadly, anything we do can end up forever documented in the world of social media with internet and camera phones. This book put that into perspective with how we would hate to it to happen…to our children. Weinstein made the main characters authentic and likable. She made me think about how I would feel if this happened to my child and how I would handle the same situation. I loved the story and she kept me engaged the entire way through. I would love to read more of her books!
“I’ve learned that we all have the capacity to do things that change us.”
How true is this quote taken from this amazing book? A book of retribution, love, family, caring and forgiveness as time moves on.
When Zoe gets “caught” with a boy at a party, and then it goes viral on the internet, you have to debate as a parent and as a teenager, how this will play out. What will Zoe’s parent, and her twin sister think and do?
How would you handle this?
This is an important read for parents and teens.
The modern days have created a way to share anything with anyone in the world that can enable people to harm others, often without understanding the hurt that can be caused.
“We are human. And none of us, not one of us in here, is entitled to judge.”
An insightful novel that I read in one day. This is a must read for parents and teens. Well done!
In this day and age of the internet this is a timely subject. The author has handled this subject beautifully. What a hard time to be a parent and have to guide your children through the use of the internet whether for good or evil. This is a must read for anyone who knows children who use this platform.
This is an amazing book that is so relevant today in this digital age that we live in. Since it deals with the issue of social media and how easy it is to share pretty much anything online, even things one thinks are done privately, I feel it is a very important read for those with teenage daughters AND sons. Rochelle Weinstein is a wonderful storyteller and her writing in this book is fantastic. This one kept me up reading late at night from the first night I started reading. It was so very hard to put down. I liked the characters in the book, parents Bobby and Emma and their twin 15-year-old daughters, Zoe and Lily, and could really feel their sadness and torment. Such a gut-wrenching story that was very well done. This is a book that I will be highly recommending!
This is a story on social media and how one picture, one text, one video can change the life of not only the person/people in the video but the family of that person also. I found this story so realistic to the teenage world today. One video was take of sweet 15 year old Zoe and her whole world was changed. Her school life was extremely tough with all the peer judgment. Her home life was hard due to her parents, father especially, not know how to deal with it. Everything she did or thought was called into question. At the end of this drama it was amazing to see the family and their friends come together stronger than they started.
The characters in this story are so real. The mother trying to be understanding, the father wanting to control the situation, the sister just wanting to protect, and the person videoed (I want to say victim but she wasn’t portrayed as such) not knowing who to trust. I could see this happening to many families and having the same reactions as this family. The mother is the hero. She doesn’t give up on anyone, she doesn’t accept that there is no way back from this, and she never stops loving her family.
The side story didn’t seem to add as much to the story as I thought it might. The secret the mother holds onto adds a small twist but doesn’t change my feelings towards the book. With or without the side story this is an eye-opening, conversation starting, and heart breaking/heartwarming story. I think it is a great read for a young adult as it can teach a life lesson and a good read for parents so their eyes are opened as to the world of teenage texting and videoing.
Somebody’s Daughter is not a WOW book, but it is a book that will make you take stock of your life, appreciate the little things, and maybe understand your children a little better.
Picture perfect family (Bobby, Emma, Lily, and Zoe) torn asunder when daughter (Zoe’s) private indiscretion was videotaped and went viral. With technology so present in today’s society, this is a must read, cautionary tale for all parents and teenagers!
The Ross family—father Bobby, mother Emma, and 15 year old twins, Lily and Zoe—was living a picture perfect life as owners of the prominent Ross hotel and were even dubbed “Miami’s First Family” by a local magazine. That perfect life, however, was ripped apart when Zoe’s indiscretion with a boy (Price) was videotaped and shared on YouTube for the whole world to see.
Further complicating matters, Zoe’s indiscretion causes a secret from Emma’s past to come barreling back into the forefront of her thoughts. Can both she and Zoe forgive themselves for their transgressions and learn to move on? Will facing this public scandal help the family heal? Or, will they be forever scarred by their mistakes?
This was a story about consequences, secrets, trust, love (parental and marital), forgiveness, and moving on after hardship.
“She’s not that one single mistake. There’s so much more to her than a single mistake.” – Emma to Bobby about Zoe
Lastly, the dedication of this book was absolutely spot on: “For anyone who has ever made a mistake. And for those who have judged and been judged.” I was surprised by the intense emotion at the end of this book and would recommend it to parents of teens, and the teens themselves. This was my first book by this author, and it definitely won’t be my last!
If you enjoyed this one as much as I did, then I would highly recommend Young Jane Young (4 stars) by Gabrielle Zevin!
Thank you to the author and the publisher for a free advance copy of this book! All opinions are my own.
Location: Miami, Florida
Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone has secrets. Those secrets, those private moments, are yours to safeguard to share privately with the people you trust. But what if someone took advantage of a private moment? What if someone shared your secret with the world? What would you do? How would you react? How would you feel?
When I went to school, there were no cell phones or tablets, no Internet, no YouTube. No easy way to record or memorialize a conversation or misdeed. Verbal gossip was bad enough. Today everything is immediate.
In Somebody’s Daughter, 15-year-old Zoe makes a heartbreaking mistake—“a private and humiliating indiscretion that goes viral and thrusts her and her family into the center of a shocking public scandal. As the family’s core is shattered by disgrace, judgment, and retribution, the fallout takes its toll. But for Emma, the shame runs deeper. Her daughter’s reckless behavior has stirred memories of her own secrets that could break a marriage and family forever.”
The questions that arise from this event are shocking. Rochelle Weinstein has the gift of exploring emotions, diving deep beneath the surface to land on the subconscious pulses that drive us every day, every moment. As Emma and Zoe face the shame of this public discovery, we see their fears, the sadness that lingers in their hearts, the bruises and scars that have scabbed over that still leave a troublesome ridge to pick at. No one is left unscathed. Emma fights a battle as deadly as Zoe’s, and it is only when she can come to terms with her own emotions, and her past, that the family begins to heal.
Somebody’s Daughter is a gripping, powerful story of the emotional upheaval that can rock any family and the deep, deep love that offers healing. I am so in love with Rochelle Weinstein. This is the second book of hers that I’ve read. It’s not an easy read—the subjects are difficult, abrasive, and harsh. But exploring them and understanding our humanity is what makes us better people. And the author does such a phenomenal job of that.
This was a difficult to read this heartbreaking story but it is well written and the story is a story inside itself.
This is a story of mistakes,lies,pain,but this is also a story of forgiveness,compassion and Love.
And Love is the the strongest of all and the root of this deeply emotional story and what you are left with at the end.
Thought-provoking and realistic and utterly terrifying for a parent.
Rochelle Weinstein has tapped into every parent’s nightmare in this poignant story.
Rochelle Weinstein has written an very relevant story in this day and age of technology and social media. Somebody’s Daughter is a book I would recommend parents of teenagers read!