Someone Else's Child

by Nancy Woodruff

From debut novelist Nancy Woodruff comes this chilling and beautifully wrought story of forgiveness, renewal, and the ever-elusive second chance. When fifteen-year-old Matt and his family move from... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684865076
• ISBN13: 9780684865072
• Release Date: July 2000
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Sheer Pleasure

I started reading this book one evening, and at 3 a.m. I had to force myself to stop (so that I wouldn't get fired from my job for lack of sleep). I promptly finished the book at 2 a.m. the next night. What caught me was not just the story, which is riveting, but the narrator's wonderful voice which is heartfelt and warm and does not have a trace of sentimentality. I was raised in a smug, well-to-do community like the one in Woodruff's novel and I was so gratified to see someone capture the dark underside of civic pride. I also found Woodruff's portrayal of family life to be dead-on -- she portrays family love in a way that is honest, kind and never, ever saccharin. I hope Woodruff is a fast writer because I can't wait for her next book, and I feel great envy for those who have yet to read it -- they have a really wonderful reading experience ahead of them.

Engrossing, moving, profound

I was swept away by this book; it puts you into the lives of the characters in a deep and profound way. I did not at all view it as a "light summer read", but rather as a purveyor of some deep and interesting truths. So often our society villifies young people who've made a dreadful and tragic mistake, as Matt did. In this novel we can see from his point of view how ready he is to agree with the town, and how little he deserves that villification, and also how Jen is able to give him some small relief from that hatred and start him on a path of healing. At the end, however, the reader finds one, of several, reasons why the title is "Someone Else's Child". Jen's ultimate loyalty has to be to her own. And although, in using Jen and Matt as the two voices of the novel, the author keeps us a step removed from the horrific pain the parents of the dead girls feel, it is still acknowledged and woven thoroughly into the story.As an inveterate reader, I highly recommend this book!

Once Is Not Enough

Someone Else's Child explores the feelings of those affected by the tragedy of teenage death in a mature and knowlegable way that had me saying, "I've felt like that." I wanted to know about the continuing lives of the main characters long after I turned the last page. There could be another whole book by this author relating the continuing "fall-out" from the accident, and I would read it!

Someone Else's Child

This book is what I refer to as a razorblader (that's a good thing). Matt is 15, and new to the ritzy community of Sheldrake, Connecticut. He has been making friends with three local girls-all of whom are 16. One Friday the girls ask him to go out with them, and he agrees. Tara really likes Matt, and it was her idea to ask him out with the group. But when she gets home, she discovers her mother is in labor, and she is expected to go the hospital with her parents. Matt goes out to a party with the other girls where they proceed to drink too much, and the driving responsibility falls on the too-young-to-drive Matt. Tragedy, of course, strikes. This is about the summer of grief that follows the accident, and how the town & particular individuals handle it. I truly felt the grief and healing through Nancy Woodruff's words and phrases. I'm already waiting for her next one.

Finding the Jennie in Ourselves

The characters telling the story, Matt and Jennie, have a touching, hopeful tale to tell. Matt is lost after the accident. Even though Jennie is unclear about her current position in life, she is still able to help Matt start to put his life back together. Doing this helps Jennie find her compass as well. A first rate novel. It makes you wish we all could find the Jennie in ourselves.