Teen-aged Girls & Predators~"Dark Song" by Gail Giles

Published by:  Hachette Book Group

Little, Brown and Company

Pages:  320

Genre:  Fiction, YA Fiction

Summary:

Ames Ford has a perfect life--that is, she had a perfect life, until her father is fired and her family has to move from their mansion in Colorado to a slum in Texas. Now her mother won't stop yelling, her father won't stop drinking, and her little sister hides with a pillow over her head to drown out the fighting.

But then Ames meets Marc: Mysterious. Experienced. Rebellious. Gun-obsessed. He loves her more than anything, and he won't let anyone stand in his way where Ames is concerned--especially her parents. And when was the last time they did anything but ignore, dismiss, or hurt her? Ames must now decide just how far she's willing to go for loyalty, for revenge, and for love and if she's willing to commit the ultimate betrayal against her family.
 
Gail Giles, acclaimed author of What Happened to Cass McBride? and Shattering Glass, will have you questioning what you'd do at your breaking point.

The Dame Reviews :

Riveting book!  I thought this might just be a quick read pretty much without consequence...just a good story.  It's not.  It's a book that sits one back in the chair with a serious, cautionary tale.  I think it's a "must read" for parents of teen agers who use social media.

Gail Giles immediately enlists our sympathies for a father who has just been fired, a mother trying her best to cope, and teen aged, Ames, who's basically a "good kid" just trying to cope with private school.  Ames is kind to her little sister, thoughtful of her dad, and trying to understand her often bitchy mother who is controlling and demanding of all the family. 

Giles's command of characterization is sound and strong. These characters leap off the page with realism. They are the typical suburban family we are, or know.  It's a little bit voyeuristic!  Giles nails it on the head, here.

The emotional pitfalls each family member experiences as they adjust to the darker sides of themselves and eachother, are wonderfully sketched.  This is one of my favorite parts of Ms Giles novel.  It's honest and shines a light where we like to keep the shutters closed.  I like this kind of honesty and no sugar-coating in my authors.  Again,  insightful.  What we learn about human nature through the vehicle of these characters is tremendous.  "You're not the only one who feels this way" storytelling is always a good sign!

Mostly, I want to recommend this book in the strongest way possible for its stand on the dangers of predators who are lurking on social sites, hoping to entrap young children and young adults.  It's such an important issue, and I want to thank Ms Giles for taking up the story and writing this book for YA's and parents.

Without saying more that would give her story away, I want to also tell you that I loved her moral warning, as well, to parents that being honest and forthright with children is always the best route to take. Lying to protect them, doesn't protect them.  Lies always cause trouble.

Young adults will love the story, and parents will, too.

5 stars for an enlightening and needful book

Deborah/TheBookishDame