Somebody Else's Daughter | 
| Author: Elizabeth Brundage
Publisher: Viking Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy Used: $7.75
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Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 45160
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 352
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.3
ISBN: 0670019003
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780670019007
ASIN: 0670019003
Publication Date: July 3, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
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Product Description
A psychological thriller of secrets, dark motives, and an adoption buried in the past
At the center of Elizabeth Brundages new novel lies an adoption under stressed and tragic circumstances. Willa, brought up in elegant prosperity, is now a student at the prestigious Pioneer School. But her biological father, a failing writer and former drug addict, cant live with himself without seeing her again.
In this idyllic Berkshires landscape, Willas adoptive parents have fled a mysterious past; a feminist sculptor initiates a reckless affair; teenagers live in a world to which adults turn a blind eye; and the headmasters wife is busy keeping her husbands disastrous history and current indiscretions well hidden. The culmination of these forces is the collision of two very different fathersbiological and adoptiveand a villain whose ends and means slowly unfold with the help, witting and unwitting, of all around him. Somebody Elses Daughter delivers an electric, suspenseful tale of richly conflicted characters and the disturbed landscape of the American psyche.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 From S. Krishna's Books November 5, 2008
skrishna (http://www.skrishnasbooks.com)
Somebody Else's Daughter is a dark novel about the interaction of different families in Berkshire. The novel unfolds into a gripping tale of suspense, focusing on each of the characters. The book is narrated by different characters, allowing to reader to see the consequences of actions from multiple points of view. It is an effective method of storytelling, and one that Brundage uses well.
One of the most interesting thing about the novel is the way Brundage develops her characters. She establishes the basics of each character at the beginning of the novel and then spends the rest of it slowly building them up, layer by layer. By the end of the book, they seem to have developed their own lives, complete with damaged psyches. It's an interesting method of character development that slowly draws the reader into the twists and turns of a person's mind.
However, a consequence of this is the pace of the book - it is very slow. It takes a long time for the plot to become gripping and suspenseful.
The subject matter also makes the book difficult to read at times. Brundage deals with not one, but several weighty issues that could take up an entire novel on their own. AIDS, abuse, molestation, pornography, prostitution - and that's just to name a few! Still, Brundage tackles each of these subjects well and should be commended on her ability to juggle these multiple weighty issues with dignity and due diligence.
Somebody Else's Daughter is a novel that will appeal to people who enjoy character driven stories. If you can get through slow pace and heaviness of the novel, you will be rewarded with a well-written and expertly crafted novel that has a surprising ending you won't see coming.
3 and a half stars rounded up to 4
 Thought Provoking Thriller September 7, 2008
E. Appelman (West Hartford, CT)
I was drawn into Somebody Else's daughter from the first page. Ms. Brundage created characters who were complex, believable, and ultimately like all of us- flawed or scarred in some way. I appreciated her female characters, all different, yet representative of issues women face and how they handle them. Her descriptions were poignant and the voices were real. Elizabeth, through character development, showed us the vulnerablity and disappointment of her male characters. She beautifully gave the point of view of the father having to give up his daughter for adoption, the porn-king struggling with his identity as a provider, husband and father, and the head of school fighting his personal demons. This is a thriller that packs an emotional punch. Whether you read for a great story, or you prefer character development and thought-provoking issues- this is the read for you!
Compelling! September 7, 2008
Meg Waite Clayton (Palo Alto, CA USA)
As she did in The Doctor's Wife, Elizabeth Brundage has once again given us a compulsively readable, compelling story of the complicated secrets that lurk beneath the idyllic surface of small town life. Somebody Else's Daughter examines the interconnected lives of students and parents at an exclusive private school in the Berkshires, in the process exploring important subjects like adoptive parenting, drug use, and our fractured expectations for and treatment of women. Her writing is lovely and her characters ring true, and, like with the best of literature, the story here grabs the reader and never lets go. Somebody Else's Mother is one of the most satisfying books I have read this year.
LITERARY THRILLER DEEPLY OBSERVED August 31, 2008
Fiction Lover
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Dealing with themes of adoption, feminism, coming of age, and secrecy, Elizabeth Brundage weaves a thrilling plot that inspires the reader with her control of language and character development. Her interest in detail, such as her attention to various characters' hand movements, gives unity to the writing. Her focus on the male's reaction to adoption gives a fresh perspective. I could not put this book aside and recommend it for in-depth book club discussions.
 Chock Full of Cliches August 26, 2008
Maggie Catalina (California)
3 out of 8 found this review helpful
It is amazing that a book which touches on such diverse topics as adoption, pornography, AIDS, drug abuse, gambling, dog fighting, rape, child molestation, alcoholism, learning disabilities, feminism, murder, and cheating at school could be boring. Yet it is. Maybe that's the problem. This story touches on everything, reducing what should be significant topics to nothing more than cliches. I found myself laughing inappropriately -- not the right reaction for a novel billed as "richly drawn" and "transformative." I didn't believe in any character and, what's more, I didn't care.
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