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"Complexo, cativante, e rico em emoções, este Romeu e Julieta do século XXI trazido até nós por Therese Fowler, mistura soberbamente um drama dos nossos dias com uma análise profunda dos valores da família, lealdade, honestidade e o poder do amor."
Eleanor Brown, autora de The Weird Sisters, bestseller do The New York Times
O controlador pai de Amelia Wilkes não permite que ela namore, mas isso não impede a talentosa finalista do liceu de manter um romance com o colega Anthony Winter. Desesperadamente apaixonados, os dois sonham com uma vida em conjunto e planeiam contar aos pais de Amelia apenas quando ela fizer dezoito anos e se tornar, legalmente, adulta. A mãe de Anthony, Kim, que lecciona na escola que ambos frequentam, sabe - e guarda - o segredo que os une. Mas a paixão deles é exposta mais cedo do que planeavam. O pai de Amelia, Harlan, fica chocado e furioso ao encontrar fotografias de Anthony, nu, no computador da filha. Meras horas depois Anthony é preso. Quando os acontecimentos começam a espiralar fora de controlo e o caso toma uma dimensão nacional, Amelia e Anthony arriscam tudo numa ousada e perigosa tentativa de limpar os seus nomes e terminar com a loucura em que tudo aquilo se tornou.
Eleanor Brown, autora de The Weird Sisters, bestseller do The New York Times
O controlador pai de Amelia Wilkes não permite que ela namore, mas isso não impede a talentosa finalista do liceu de manter um romance com o colega Anthony Winter. Desesperadamente apaixonados, os dois sonham com uma vida em conjunto e planeiam contar aos pais de Amelia apenas quando ela fizer dezoito anos e se tornar, legalmente, adulta. A mãe de Anthony, Kim, que lecciona na escola que ambos frequentam, sabe - e guarda - o segredo que os une. Mas a paixão deles é exposta mais cedo do que planeavam. O pai de Amelia, Harlan, fica chocado e furioso ao encontrar fotografias de Anthony, nu, no computador da filha. Meras horas depois Anthony é preso. Quando os acontecimentos começam a espiralar fora de controlo e o caso toma uma dimensão nacional, Amelia e Anthony arriscam tudo numa ousada e perigosa tentativa de limpar os seus nomes e terminar com a loucura em que tudo aquilo se tornou.
400 pages, Paperback
First published May 3, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 204 reviews
January 2, 2020
Having enjoyed two other books by Therese Anne Fowler:
“A Good Neighborhood”, ( to be released on March 10, 2020), and “Z”.... I added, “Exposure”, with plans to add other books I’ve missed by Fowler.
I’m wonderfully satisfied with all of these Fowler novels. Each are different ...but I cozy-in nicely with her storytelling.
Other authors that come to mind that have given me this ‘cozy-in’ feeling— captivating/addicting... emotionally invested....is Wally Lamb...Rochelle Weinstein...and Ann Packer. There are other authors I could mention as well. But I simply enjoy a page turning engrossing well written story about the joys and sorrows of life .... of challenging situations.... with contemporary modern dialogue.... and with characters I can relate, empathize, and reflect with.
I purchased the hard copy of “Exposure”, because I didn’t see it available as an e-book. I had much joy holding his physical book in my hand snuggled in for hours on New Year’s Day — and finishing the book into the late hours last night/actually early this morning.
Reminder to self: the one problem in reading a physical book during sleeping hours, is that it’s not nearly as physically-comfortable while reading in bed. So I got up in the middle of the night -and sat in another room. I still would’ve preferred an e-book... but this 366 page hard copy ‘more’ than made up for my discomfort.
If you think I’m stalling... and getting to the heart of this review perhaps you’re right. I’m speaking into my iPad, while riding our spinnaker by... Multi tasking... trying to figure out what to say.
I’ll begin with saying I really enjoyed it!!!
I’m guessing this book might sell more, if an ebook was provided. However the print was a nice size on the right type of paper, easy for me to read without glasses. And I’m 67.
The blurb, here in Goodreads, gives plenty of information about this book. It’s pretty cut and dry, making this book and easy self-select. If you’re not interested in the topic, and you’ve not enjoyed the authors other books…then you’ll probably feel the same about this one. However, if you have read Fowlers other books, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy this one.
This was the third book that Therese wrote. It’s my understanding that she was in the middle of writing an entirely different book, when a true life crisis occurred in her family. Her son was wrongly accused and arrested.
Although this book is fiction, it was inspired by what happened in their family in 2009.
So let me leave some tidbits:
.....The DA in Wake County - Gibson Liles—“has a moral streak that would make a preacher want to adopt him”.
.....It’s totally legal for Anthony-eighteen years old- and Amelia- seventeen years old -to have sex.
“If you mean statutory rape,
then A) everything was consensual, and B) I thought that only applied to people under sixteen”.
“If the DA takes a shovel and flashlight to the statues, he might dig up some ugly charges”.
Raleigh, North Carolina, and it’s metro neighbors of Durham and Chapel Hill, known together as ‘The ‘Triangle’, was home to nearly two million people.
One of the leading television news stations made Amelia and Anthony the subject of a community-interest series titled “The Terrible Teens”.... a series that would spread over three evenings and feature a different ‘expert’ each time!
Anthony was being painted as a sexual predator and pervert. His mother was being made out to be neglectful.
There is much I could say about these two teens - The type of students they were - the type of school they attend - their different backgrounds - their individual and joint interests - their talents and maturity - their personalities - their families - their secrets and purpose for their secrets - but instead I’m going to leave you with two excerpts:
“A wildfire starts small—FROM A DROPPED CIGARETTE, someone burning leaves or trash, a single lick of lightning to a vulnerable tree— and then spreads in every opportune direction, eventually becoming so hot that nothing short of torrent, man-made or otherwise, can put it out. To travel, it needs little more than favorable conditions and available fuel to feed on, and will grow without conscience, disregarding wildlife, structures, prayer”.
“News of Anthony’s arrest was spreading from student to student., to teacher to secretary to maintenance worker to friend, relative, neighbor, parent at the speed of a whispered aside, forwarded news website link, text message, chuckle or sneer or concern ‘ did you hear...? over a four-dollar latte at a coffee shop at the road”.
A small part of me wondered if this book was a little dated…but I think that comes from my Bay Area liberal living mentality. It’s hard for me to believe that there are fathers, as controlling to their 17-year-old child as much as one of the fathers was in this story.
I’ve never had the experience of being ‘daddy‘s little girl’. I ‘was’ a little girl when he died....
but this story didn’t take place in California. And if there’s any question to the truth of this book being possible, one only needs to look to the author who wrote it. It was true in their family!
Written as fiction.... this is a great book club type discussion pick.
Thank you Therese.... for writing enjoyable books with worthy-contemplative topics. I like you and your books ‘lots’.
“A Good Neighborhood”, ( to be released on March 10, 2020), and “Z”.... I added, “Exposure”, with plans to add other books I’ve missed by Fowler.
I’m wonderfully satisfied with all of these Fowler novels. Each are different ...but I cozy-in nicely with her storytelling.
Other authors that come to mind that have given me this ‘cozy-in’ feeling— captivating/addicting... emotionally invested....is Wally Lamb...Rochelle Weinstein...and Ann Packer. There are other authors I could mention as well. But I simply enjoy a page turning engrossing well written story about the joys and sorrows of life .... of challenging situations.... with contemporary modern dialogue.... and with characters I can relate, empathize, and reflect with.
I purchased the hard copy of “Exposure”, because I didn’t see it available as an e-book. I had much joy holding his physical book in my hand snuggled in for hours on New Year’s Day — and finishing the book into the late hours last night/actually early this morning.
Reminder to self: the one problem in reading a physical book during sleeping hours, is that it’s not nearly as physically-comfortable while reading in bed. So I got up in the middle of the night -and sat in another room. I still would’ve preferred an e-book... but this 366 page hard copy ‘more’ than made up for my discomfort.
If you think I’m stalling... and getting to the heart of this review perhaps you’re right. I’m speaking into my iPad, while riding our spinnaker by... Multi tasking... trying to figure out what to say.
I’ll begin with saying I really enjoyed it!!!
I’m guessing this book might sell more, if an ebook was provided. However the print was a nice size on the right type of paper, easy for me to read without glasses. And I’m 67.
The blurb, here in Goodreads, gives plenty of information about this book. It’s pretty cut and dry, making this book and easy self-select. If you’re not interested in the topic, and you’ve not enjoyed the authors other books…then you’ll probably feel the same about this one. However, if you have read Fowlers other books, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy this one.
This was the third book that Therese wrote. It’s my understanding that she was in the middle of writing an entirely different book, when a true life crisis occurred in her family. Her son was wrongly accused and arrested.
Although this book is fiction, it was inspired by what happened in their family in 2009.
So let me leave some tidbits:
.....The DA in Wake County - Gibson Liles—“has a moral streak that would make a preacher want to adopt him”.
.....It’s totally legal for Anthony-eighteen years old- and Amelia- seventeen years old -to have sex.
“If you mean statutory rape,
then A) everything was consensual, and B) I thought that only applied to people under sixteen”.
“If the DA takes a shovel and flashlight to the statues, he might dig up some ugly charges”.
Raleigh, North Carolina, and it’s metro neighbors of Durham and Chapel Hill, known together as ‘The ‘Triangle’, was home to nearly two million people.
One of the leading television news stations made Amelia and Anthony the subject of a community-interest series titled “The Terrible Teens”.... a series that would spread over three evenings and feature a different ‘expert’ each time!
Anthony was being painted as a sexual predator and pervert. His mother was being made out to be neglectful.
There is much I could say about these two teens - The type of students they were - the type of school they attend - their different backgrounds - their individual and joint interests - their talents and maturity - their personalities - their families - their secrets and purpose for their secrets - but instead I’m going to leave you with two excerpts:
“A wildfire starts small—FROM A DROPPED CIGARETTE, someone burning leaves or trash, a single lick of lightning to a vulnerable tree— and then spreads in every opportune direction, eventually becoming so hot that nothing short of torrent, man-made or otherwise, can put it out. To travel, it needs little more than favorable conditions and available fuel to feed on, and will grow without conscience, disregarding wildlife, structures, prayer”.
“News of Anthony’s arrest was spreading from student to student., to teacher to secretary to maintenance worker to friend, relative, neighbor, parent at the speed of a whispered aside, forwarded news website link, text message, chuckle or sneer or concern ‘ did you hear...? over a four-dollar latte at a coffee shop at the road”.
A small part of me wondered if this book was a little dated…but I think that comes from my Bay Area liberal living mentality. It’s hard for me to believe that there are fathers, as controlling to their 17-year-old child as much as one of the fathers was in this story.
I’ve never had the experience of being ‘daddy‘s little girl’. I ‘was’ a little girl when he died....
but this story didn’t take place in California. And if there’s any question to the truth of this book being possible, one only needs to look to the author who wrote it. It was true in their family!
Written as fiction.... this is a great book club type discussion pick.
Thank you Therese.... for writing enjoyable books with worthy-contemplative topics. I like you and your books ‘lots’.
January 27, 2011
This, my third novel, was inspired by a crisis my son and our family endured in 2009. Because of that, it's very close to my heart. I hope readers will embrace it as well.
May 24, 2011
uh, something went very very wrong between this book and the inside of my head. I mean I picked it up and I thought wow that's such an interesting idea... I know, I know that should be a warning to me, any book that looks like an interesting premise should be run my karen to make sure I'm not getting ultimately pulled into some kind of insane silliness.
About 30 pages into this book I started to wonder if maybe this is what it was like to read jodi picoult. I mean I've never read her so I have no idea, but I've pretty much never read her because I feel like the tone of this book is the tone I'd get from her, and I'm... lets just say not a fan.
Okay lets talk prejudices. I mean I love the movie jailbait, I watched it hundreds of times growing up, I haven't seen it in years so it might suck. On the other hand I hated and still hate romeo and juliet cause it's just dumb. On that spectrum this is much more romeo and juliet than jailbait, as far as I could tell this has absolutely no relationship to reality whatsoever. or maybe I'm just living in a different reality than these kids. I mean when my friend got charged with statutory rape with his girlfriend, well he basically went out for himself because no one wants to go to jail. I mean yeah maybe he didn't love her, or maybe JAIL. Okay I don't mean to yell but I really think no matter how much I loved someone if I have just been charged with DISTRIBUTION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, I would not be worried about the fact I couldn't call my boyfriend or go for a run. I would be worried about the fact that I was about to be labeled a sex offender... just saying. I don't buy all this I love you so much there are no consequences crap. This is the real world... or the real fictional world... why is the lawyer the only one using her brain.
I don't know, I am clearly not the audience for this book the audience for this book is the people who read pastel books, I hate pastel books.
I have to say maybe this was meant to be a teen novel, it reads shallowly like a lot of teen novels do. maybe that's why there's an adult level of depth missing. just you know benefit of the doubt.
About 30 pages into this book I started to wonder if maybe this is what it was like to read jodi picoult. I mean I've never read her so I have no idea, but I've pretty much never read her because I feel like the tone of this book is the tone I'd get from her, and I'm... lets just say not a fan.
Okay lets talk prejudices. I mean I love the movie jailbait, I watched it hundreds of times growing up, I haven't seen it in years so it might suck. On the other hand I hated and still hate romeo and juliet cause it's just dumb. On that spectrum this is much more romeo and juliet than jailbait, as far as I could tell this has absolutely no relationship to reality whatsoever. or maybe I'm just living in a different reality than these kids. I mean when my friend got charged with statutory rape with his girlfriend, well he basically went out for himself because no one wants to go to jail. I mean yeah maybe he didn't love her, or maybe JAIL. Okay I don't mean to yell but I really think no matter how much I loved someone if I have just been charged with DISTRIBUTION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, I would not be worried about the fact I couldn't call my boyfriend or go for a run. I would be worried about the fact that I was about to be labeled a sex offender... just saying. I don't buy all this I love you so much there are no consequences crap. This is the real world... or the real fictional world... why is the lawyer the only one using her brain.
I don't know, I am clearly not the audience for this book the audience for this book is the people who read pastel books, I hate pastel books.
I have to say maybe this was meant to be a teen novel, it reads shallowly like a lot of teen novels do. maybe that's why there's an adult level of depth missing. just you know benefit of the doubt.
February 21, 2011
This book packs in a lot--several different versions of parental dilemmas, teenage love, lust, social media, cell phone cameras and texting, the law, and more. Much more. It's about society changing faster than the laws that bind it do, faster than most parents and school counselors can keep up with. It's about broad definitions and narrow minds. It's about what we want for ourselves, and what we want for our children. It's about what we expect of ourselves, and what our family expects of us. It's about brilliance and stupidity. But that's all simmering below the surface. The basic story is a about a teenage boy and a teenage girl who have fallen in love. They make a simple decision, a private decision, that gets exposed to the public in a damaging, life destroying way. This is a riveting story, made more so when you know that the author went through a similar situation in her own life with her teenage son. She is brave in writing it, and I believe that the reader will be richer for the reading of it. This is going to be a HUGE book for bookclubs--there is so much to talk about within it's covers. Fans of Jodi Picoult will embrace it completely. Fans of Therese Fowler will be blown away by how far she has come in her writing and in her grip upon her reader. This is a story no one will forget.
June 28, 2011
Young adult books are outside my normal reading genres, but this book came highly recommended by a friend. I was not impressed.
Short version of the plot: Anthony Winter (18) and Amelia Wilkes (17) are high school seniors who believe they are in love. Anthony's mother teaches at the private school that Amelia attends, making it possible for Anthony to also attend even though he could not afford to otherwise. Amelia is an only child, whose parents - particularly her father - have her whole life planned out for her. She, however, wants something else (she want to study art, not business) and she and Anthony have plans to move to New York City together after graduation and attend NYU. One day, Amelia forgets her computer at home and her father, who manages to hack her password, finds naked pictures of Anthony on her computer, pictures that Amelia asked him to send. The situation degenerates from there.
***WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS. DO NOT CONTINUE READING IF DO NOT WANT TO KNOW THE END OF THE STORY: WARNING ***
What I didn't like:
1. Much of this story is *told* to the reader, including key scenes like Anthony's first court hearing before a judge. We don't get to see what happens; one of the characters tells the reader about it after it happens. Most of Anthony and Amelia's relationship prior to the sexting is likewise told to the reader. I remember rolling my eyes and skimming many times to get to more actual action, to things happening in the present of the story. The big blocks of telling mitigated much of the emotional impact of the story for me.
2. Anthony and Amelia are portrayed as these perfect (cardboard) characters - he's the poor, smart, hard-working, romantic, good-looking guy, and she's the rich, funny, smart, beautiful, misunderstood-by-her-driven-father girl. Anthony's mother is also the perfect likeness of the supportive single mother working to make a better life for her son. Amelia's father is stereotypical the bad guy who doesn't listen to what his daughter wants and institutes draconian discipline to keep her away from Anthony. The prosecuting DA is the BAD GUY!!! *sigh* I wanted some depth or shades of gray to these characters. No one is perfect; no one is all evil.
3. I was a little disturbed by the message (my interpretation, not explicitly stated in the book) that sexting was OK in this case because it was just between two kids who were in lurrrvve. Now, I'm not a prude, and I don't find it morally offensive or horrible that two kids who are sexually active with each other send each other naked pictures. It's part of exploring the nature of a sexual relationship. However, the downside of spreading around naked pictures of oneself is never even mentioned outside the legal ramifications. The only negative to the sexting presented in the book was the overreaction of the legal system, and to me this lack of realism, added to the very black & white nature of this story.
4. The ending. Oh gosh, the ending. WARNING: SPOILERS. Near the end of the book, after Anthony and Amelia have violated the terms of their release on bond (and thereby risking Anthony's mother's house and job), Anthony decides that his best option is to commit suicide, because by doing that and by having friends post a bunch of stuff on the Internet "proving" that he and Amelia were in love, the DA might let Amelia off the hook. And guess what? It works. Anthony only almost dies, and the media hounds the DA's office and he drops the charges. Come again? I have two problems with this:
First, the outcome implicitly endorses Anthony's actions, which I find appalling. I know that suicide is usually an irrational act committed by someone who is under a lot of stress and is not thinking clearly, although the person committing suicide doesn't necessarily think that. So I'm OK with Anthony considering that a solution at the time, but to have events play out so that his irrational act actually benefits the characters in exactly the way he wanted? Um, no. Bad message.
Second, I don't find it realistic that the DA would suddenly drop the charges simply because he found out the two kids thought they were in love. Of course, the reader is never given any particular reason that DA is so out for blood in the first place other than a vague, "he's hard line". But why would the kids' feelings towards each other make a difference to him? Or is it the media attention? This is never made clear, and it seemed liked the easy way out. The kids' situation is horrible and dire, and then in six pages....it's not! Yay, everything is forgiven. *sigh*
I would give this one star, but I usually reserve those for books where the writing mechanics, as well as the story, are below par. The writing mechanics in this book is competent - the prose reminds me of literary fiction at times - so 2 stars it is.
Short version of the plot: Anthony Winter (18) and Amelia Wilkes (17) are high school seniors who believe they are in love. Anthony's mother teaches at the private school that Amelia attends, making it possible for Anthony to also attend even though he could not afford to otherwise. Amelia is an only child, whose parents - particularly her father - have her whole life planned out for her. She, however, wants something else (she want to study art, not business) and she and Anthony have plans to move to New York City together after graduation and attend NYU. One day, Amelia forgets her computer at home and her father, who manages to hack her password, finds naked pictures of Anthony on her computer, pictures that Amelia asked him to send. The situation degenerates from there.
***WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS. DO NOT CONTINUE READING IF DO NOT WANT TO KNOW THE END OF THE STORY: WARNING ***
What I didn't like:
1. Much of this story is *told* to the reader, including key scenes like Anthony's first court hearing before a judge. We don't get to see what happens; one of the characters tells the reader about it after it happens. Most of Anthony and Amelia's relationship prior to the sexting is likewise told to the reader. I remember rolling my eyes and skimming many times to get to more actual action, to things happening in the present of the story. The big blocks of telling mitigated much of the emotional impact of the story for me.
2. Anthony and Amelia are portrayed as these perfect (cardboard) characters - he's the poor, smart, hard-working, romantic, good-looking guy, and she's the rich, funny, smart, beautiful, misunderstood-by-her-driven-father girl. Anthony's mother is also the perfect likeness of the supportive single mother working to make a better life for her son. Amelia's father is stereotypical the bad guy who doesn't listen to what his daughter wants and institutes draconian discipline to keep her away from Anthony. The prosecuting DA is the BAD GUY!!! *sigh* I wanted some depth or shades of gray to these characters. No one is perfect; no one is all evil.
3. I was a little disturbed by the message (my interpretation, not explicitly stated in the book) that sexting was OK in this case because it was just between two kids who were in lurrrvve. Now, I'm not a prude, and I don't find it morally offensive or horrible that two kids who are sexually active with each other send each other naked pictures. It's part of exploring the nature of a sexual relationship. However, the downside of spreading around naked pictures of oneself is never even mentioned outside the legal ramifications. The only negative to the sexting presented in the book was the overreaction of the legal system, and to me this lack of realism, added to the very black & white nature of this story.
4. The ending. Oh gosh, the ending. WARNING: SPOILERS. Near the end of the book, after Anthony and Amelia have violated the terms of their release on bond (and thereby risking Anthony's mother's house and job), Anthony decides that his best option is to commit suicide, because by doing that and by having friends post a bunch of stuff on the Internet "proving" that he and Amelia were in love, the DA might let Amelia off the hook. And guess what? It works. Anthony only almost dies, and the media hounds the DA's office and he drops the charges. Come again? I have two problems with this:
First, the outcome implicitly endorses Anthony's actions, which I find appalling. I know that suicide is usually an irrational act committed by someone who is under a lot of stress and is not thinking clearly, although the person committing suicide doesn't necessarily think that. So I'm OK with Anthony considering that a solution at the time, but to have events play out so that his irrational act actually benefits the characters in exactly the way he wanted? Um, no. Bad message.
Second, I don't find it realistic that the DA would suddenly drop the charges simply because he found out the two kids thought they were in love. Of course, the reader is never given any particular reason that DA is so out for blood in the first place other than a vague, "he's hard line". But why would the kids' feelings towards each other make a difference to him? Or is it the media attention? This is never made clear, and it seemed liked the easy way out. The kids' situation is horrible and dire, and then in six pages....it's not! Yay, everything is forgiven. *sigh*
I would give this one star, but I usually reserve those for books where the writing mechanics, as well as the story, are below par. The writing mechanics in this book is competent - the prose reminds me of literary fiction at times - so 2 stars it is.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 22, 2012
What a reader should know before starting this book:
_ For most of the duration of this story, you'll probably experience long periods of incredulity. You'll probably feel some violence towards one of the characters. Feelings of rage and angst, can also appear.
If you're anything like me and don't especially love dramas, you'll probably want to finish it as fast as you can, and move on to another book. But reading this story has another side effect: It is addictive. Unbelievable _ although unfortunately it is inspired in a real situation _ shocking, in the way that we see how a young man's life is almost destroyed by prejudice and the need to control a daughter's life. How can such a situation between boyfriend and girlfriend, be considered the way it was?
I would have liked to have read more, from Amelia and Anthony's point's of view. And then that ending...humm.
For me this book is more a 3,5 stars.
_ For most of the duration of this story, you'll probably experience long periods of incredulity. You'll probably feel some violence towards one of the characters. Feelings of rage and angst, can also appear.
If you're anything like me and don't especially love dramas, you'll probably want to finish it as fast as you can, and move on to another book. But reading this story has another side effect: It is addictive. Unbelievable _ although unfortunately it is inspired in a real situation _ shocking, in the way that we see how a young man's life is almost destroyed by prejudice and the need to control a daughter's life. How can such a situation between boyfriend and girlfriend, be considered the way it was?
I would have liked to have read more, from Amelia and Anthony's point's of view. And then that ending...humm.
For me this book is more a 3,5 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 12, 2014
Romeu e Julieta, o original de William Shakespeare, é uma tragédia (literalmente) e eu, tendo já lido a peça original entrei um bocado a medo neste história. Porque fiquei logo agarrada às personagens principais, o Anthony e a Amelia e tinha medo que o fim fosse similar ao da peça. E não me apetecia nada finais tristes! Mas não querendo desvendar nada do enredo, posso dizer que o final bebe da peça de Shakespeare mas não chega a beber o copo todo! Gostei muito da história, apesar de algumas vezes me apetecer entrar lá para dentro e dar uma abanadela (quiçá algo mais violento) naquele pai. O livro é muito bonito, é extremamente encantador e não nos deixa fugir até ver onde é que aquilo vai dar, como é que eles se vão safar e se vão ou não conseguir ficar juntos. Um ponto negativo do livro são erros que encontrei, tanto de troca de nome de personagens como de troca de letras, que, apesar de não prejudicarem a leitura, deveriam ser tidas em atenção aquando da revisão.
Obrigada à Clarinda pelo empréstimo!
Obrigada à Clarinda pelo empréstimo!
February 24, 2011
Exposure is a well written captivating love story about teenagers caught committing the very modern crime of "sexting". It's the author's third book and I can honestly say it's her very best. Her writing has matured, is more assertive and her use of language and vocabulary is beautiful. The characters are likable and the situations are believable. It's a book I truly didn't want to put down! The book's appeal is certain to cross many lines: parents of teens will be able to read it and perhaps open candid discussions with their children based on the story; teachers of teens will easily be able to utilize the book as a starting point for proper and improper utilization of our modern technology; many others of us will read it because we enjoy well written, thoughtful, modern love stories. Congratulations, Therese, for writing such a personal, enjoyable novel.
June 25, 2017
Wow! Grab your book club and get ready to sink your teeth into this one, ladies! I'm referring to ladies because this is like a lifetime movie on steroids. The subject matter of sexting in this book is very timely, as teenagers everywhere are dealing with what is appropriate to send to a classmate and what is not.
This book centers around the relationship of Amelia and Anthony, young teens in love.
One day, Amelia's father comes home from work, only to find his daughter's laptop left behind. Then, like many parents of teenagers, he decides to do a little investigating. Needless to say, he gets far more than he bargained for. And everything unravels from there.
The rest of the book explores the consequences of sexting. I couldn't put this book down. I loved it!
This book centers around the relationship of Amelia and Anthony, young teens in love.
One day, Amelia's father comes home from work, only to find his daughter's laptop left behind. Then, like many parents of teenagers, he decides to do a little investigating. Needless to say, he gets far more than he bargained for. And everything unravels from there.
The rest of the book explores the consequences of sexting. I couldn't put this book down. I loved it!
September 26, 2017
Really good contemporary story. I always enjoy this author. I enjoyed the two main characters in the story and a few of the parents but not all of them. I must say when I got near the end of the book, I went to the last page to make sure one of the main characters was still alive. This would not have been as good of a story of there had been a death and it was pretty close. Will look forward to another book by this author. I did read her book about Zelda Fitzgerald which was made into a TV series.
September 5, 2017
This was picked for my Ladies Book Club and I really enjoyed this book.
This reminds me of a modern day Romeo and Juliet. Almost. And if you read the book you will see what I mean by almost.
Quick read and would recommend to those who like a good love story without being too sappy.
This reminds me of a modern day Romeo and Juliet. Almost. And if you read the book you will see what I mean by almost.
Quick read and would recommend to those who like a good love story without being too sappy.
June 28, 2016
Having never read anything by Therese Fowler before, I dived into this novel not really knowing what to expect. It was one of those books where I read the synopsis, thought it seemed to have a very nice plot idea and instantly bought it.
I can't say I loved it, but I didn't completely dislike it either.
The plot is pretty consistent throughout the entire novel and the character's reactions to every single situation is realistic enough to make you want to keep reading. One of the details that I particularly liked about this book was the depiction of the legal system and how the manipulation of facts and testimonies can deeply affect the outcome of the entire trial, as well as the lives of the people involved. I also liked the way the author captured the different dynamics, believes, culture and background of the two families involved, Amelia's and Anthony's, since it makes the whole story much more interesting and believable when you are able to see just how much the relation between Anthony and his mother differs from that of Amelia and her parents, and how that contrast affects the way they deal with and perceive this entire situation.
Nevertheless, the pace of the story can be quite slow at some points, making it hard to keep the reader interested in those parts. Plus, there are quite a few moments in the book where the plot doesn't advance and the reader is confronted with a set of conversations and situations that, after a while, can get incredibly boring and repetitive.
As far as characters are concerned, I found them all to be very realistically portrayed and enjoyable to read about, although I think Amelia lacked a bit of depth and personality. I didn't like the dynamic between Anthony and Amelia either and, although there were a lot of sweet and well thought-of moments between the two of them, their whole relationship seemed very forced and hollow to me right from the beginning. I did really like to read about Anthony, though. He was probably my favourite character in the novel.
(http://conceptualdreamer.blogspot.pt/...)
I can't say I loved it, but I didn't completely dislike it either.
The plot is pretty consistent throughout the entire novel and the character's reactions to every single situation is realistic enough to make you want to keep reading. One of the details that I particularly liked about this book was the depiction of the legal system and how the manipulation of facts and testimonies can deeply affect the outcome of the entire trial, as well as the lives of the people involved. I also liked the way the author captured the different dynamics, believes, culture and background of the two families involved, Amelia's and Anthony's, since it makes the whole story much more interesting and believable when you are able to see just how much the relation between Anthony and his mother differs from that of Amelia and her parents, and how that contrast affects the way they deal with and perceive this entire situation.
Nevertheless, the pace of the story can be quite slow at some points, making it hard to keep the reader interested in those parts. Plus, there are quite a few moments in the book where the plot doesn't advance and the reader is confronted with a set of conversations and situations that, after a while, can get incredibly boring and repetitive.
As far as characters are concerned, I found them all to be very realistically portrayed and enjoyable to read about, although I think Amelia lacked a bit of depth and personality. I didn't like the dynamic between Anthony and Amelia either and, although there were a lot of sweet and well thought-of moments between the two of them, their whole relationship seemed very forced and hollow to me right from the beginning. I did really like to read about Anthony, though. He was probably my favourite character in the novel.
(http://conceptualdreamer.blogspot.pt/...)
July 2, 2012
A ideia do livro é engraçada e mostra que por vezes, por mais que as pessoas nos queiram ajudar e pensem que sabem tudo sobre a nossa vida, só pioram. Como por exemplo o pai da Amelia, oh personagem mais antipática, a pensar que sabia tudo sobre a vida da filha e afinal foi por culpa dele que Amelia e Anthony foram presos e houve aquele escândalo todo!! Que raiva me deu, sempre que ele aparecia em cena!
Gostei do princípio do livro, o romance em segredo de Amelia e Anthony estava a ser muito giro mas logo que revelou-se o segredo e os dois jovens foram separados, a leitura tornou-se monótona e repetitiva, pois a autora encaixou várias descrições que eram a repetição de algo que já se tinha dito, mas por outras palavras. Acabei por ler algumas partes um pouco na diagonal. Mais para o fim o interesse aumentou, pois estava ansiosa por saber se os protagonistas iriam ficar juntos ou não. Desejava impacientemente que ficassem juntos e que no fim o pai da rapariga percebesse que se não pensasse que tem o rei na barriga, veria que Anthony faz a filha feliz e que tanto este como Amelia foram vítimas de algo que não aconteceu e eram inocentes.
A escrita não fluiu tanto quanto eu gostaria, e encontrei alguns erros na construção de frases que me confundiram, como por exemplo nos diálogos, por vezes n
ao havia referência quem dizia o quê.
Tirando aquela parte mais aborrecida e repetitiva é um livro que se lê num instante. Tenho a certeza que Anthony e Amelia irão conquistar mais leitores com a sua história de amor.
Gostei do princípio do livro, o romance em segredo de Amelia e Anthony estava a ser muito giro mas logo que revelou-se o segredo e os dois jovens foram separados, a leitura tornou-se monótona e repetitiva, pois a autora encaixou várias descrições que eram a repetição de algo que já se tinha dito, mas por outras palavras. Acabei por ler algumas partes um pouco na diagonal. Mais para o fim o interesse aumentou, pois estava ansiosa por saber se os protagonistas iriam ficar juntos ou não. Desejava impacientemente que ficassem juntos e que no fim o pai da rapariga percebesse que se não pensasse que tem o rei na barriga, veria que Anthony faz a filha feliz e que tanto este como Amelia foram vítimas de algo que não aconteceu e eram inocentes.
A escrita não fluiu tanto quanto eu gostaria, e encontrei alguns erros na construção de frases que me confundiram, como por exemplo nos diálogos, por vezes n
ao havia referência quem dizia o quê.
Tirando aquela parte mais aborrecida e repetitiva é um livro que se lê num instante. Tenho a certeza que Anthony e Amelia irão conquistar mais leitores com a sua história de amor.
March 1, 2012
Um segredo profundo e enamorado possibilita o reencontro diário entre duas almas gémeas que nasceram para se acompanharem uma à outra, tanto no amor como na paixão que partilham pelas artes performativas. Mas um segredo desta importância, quando revelado, pode ser o gatilho que disparará a mais certeira e conflituosa das balas... uma bala capaz de encurralar o futuro de um rapaz inocente, de enfurecer um pai ultra protector e de, aos poucos, matar o interior de uma mulher apaixonada.
‹‹Esc@ndalo›› é um romance revolucionário na medida em que, com personagens fictícias mas dotado de sentimentos bem reais, consegue chegar ao coração do leitor sem este se dar conta do verdadeiro perigo e implicações que as acções descritas ao longo da trama provocarão numa sociedade que se preza em dar o exemplo, em duas famílias que, de raízes bem distintas, lutam pela sobrevivência pessoal e num casal de jovens que, na inocência da idade, procuram um no outro o companheirismo e conforto do primeiro grande amor.
Com um estilo fluente e naturalmente moderno, Therese Fowler exibe um enredo forte estruturalmente, com um contexto social algo controverso e num seio familiar primado pela ausência de uma relação de confiança e bem-estar, ao mesmo tempo que se permite expandir até à nossa própria realidade, provocando o leitor face a clara possibilidade de tamanho escândalo acontecer bem perto de si.
Opinião completa, em:
http://pedacinho-literario.blogspot.c...
‹‹Esc@ndalo›› é um romance revolucionário na medida em que, com personagens fictícias mas dotado de sentimentos bem reais, consegue chegar ao coração do leitor sem este se dar conta do verdadeiro perigo e implicações que as acções descritas ao longo da trama provocarão numa sociedade que se preza em dar o exemplo, em duas famílias que, de raízes bem distintas, lutam pela sobrevivência pessoal e num casal de jovens que, na inocência da idade, procuram um no outro o companheirismo e conforto do primeiro grande amor.
Com um estilo fluente e naturalmente moderno, Therese Fowler exibe um enredo forte estruturalmente, com um contexto social algo controverso e num seio familiar primado pela ausência de uma relação de confiança e bem-estar, ao mesmo tempo que se permite expandir até à nossa própria realidade, provocando o leitor face a clara possibilidade de tamanho escândalo acontecer bem perto de si.
Opinião completa, em:
http://pedacinho-literario.blogspot.c...
November 15, 2012
Não compreendo a comparação deste livro com a peça “Romeu e Julieta” nunca li a peça mas vi o filme (não deve ser assim tão diferente) e na minha opinião, não há nada no livro que possa ser semelhante, tirando a premissa de um amor proíbido.
Para além da premissa do “amor proibido” a autora aborda também vários temas e alguns controversos. Como por exemplo, as relações familiares, ao contrario de Anthony que tem uma relação de cumplicidade e confiança como a mãe, Amélia sofre exactamente o contrário, apesar de sempre ter demonstrado ser uma filha exemplar, os pais não lhe dão liberdade de se expressar devidamente e sufocam-na com tanta protecção. Ou, as consequências do mau uso das novas tecnologias e incapacidade de os adolescentes as utilizarem devidamente. Também, é abordado o tema das diferenças entre os extractos sociais.
No fundo é um romance amoroso, cativante mas também muito irritante, no entanto, é de leitura fácil devido a uma escrita simples e fluída.
Para além da premissa do “amor proibido” a autora aborda também vários temas e alguns controversos. Como por exemplo, as relações familiares, ao contrario de Anthony que tem uma relação de cumplicidade e confiança como a mãe, Amélia sofre exactamente o contrário, apesar de sempre ter demonstrado ser uma filha exemplar, os pais não lhe dão liberdade de se expressar devidamente e sufocam-na com tanta protecção. Ou, as consequências do mau uso das novas tecnologias e incapacidade de os adolescentes as utilizarem devidamente. Também, é abordado o tema das diferenças entre os extractos sociais.
No fundo é um romance amoroso, cativante mas também muito irritante, no entanto, é de leitura fácil devido a uma escrita simples e fluída.
November 12, 2012
Confesso que este livro me irritou um bocado. Não por não ter gostado da escrita mas pela tempestade num copo de água que se fez por causa de 2 miúdos apaixonados, que se calhar não procederam da melhor maneira mas que no fundo apenas cometeram um pecado: amarem-se. Suponho que nós pais nunca queremos que os nossos filhos cresçam mas é a ordem da vida e claro, se calhar achamos que nunca ninguém é suficiente bom para os nossos filhos, mas fazer todo este chinfrim, achei um bocadinho demais... mas parece que o filho da autora viveu um caso parecido, dai ela ter escrito este livro... mas gostei, apesar de não me parecer nada a história de Romeu e Julieta tendo em conta que as famílias dos jovens não se detestavam, apenas nem se conheciam :)
May 2, 2011
In Exposure, Therese Fowler has written her most gripping novel to date—a ripped-from-the-headlines story of ardent young love and a nightmarish legal maelstrom that threatens to destroy two families.
Amelia Wilkes’s strict father does not allow her to date, but that doesn’t stop the talented, winsome high school senior from carrying on a secret romance with her classmate Anthony Winter. Desperately in love, the two envision a life together and plan to tell Amelia’s parents only after she turns eighteen and is legally an adult. Anthony’s mother, Kim, who teaches at their school, knows—and keeps—their secret. But the couple’s passion is exposed sooner than planned: Amelia’s father, Harlan, is shocked and infuriated to find naked pictures of Anthony on his daughter’s computer. Just hours later, Anthony is arrested.
Despite Amelia’s frantic protests, Harlan uses his wealth and influence with local law enforcement and the media to label Anthony a deviant who preyed on his innocent daughter. Spearheaded by a zealous prosecutor anxious to turn the case into a public crusade against “sexting,” the investigation soon takes an even more disturbing and destructive turn.
As events spiral wildly out of control and the scandalous story makes national news, Amelia and Anthony risk everything in a bold and dangerous attempt to clear their names and end the madness once and for all.
A captivating page-turner, Therese Fowler’s Exposure is also a deftly crafted, provocative, and timely novel that serves as a haunting reminder of the consequences of love in the modern age.
My take: I have far too many thoughts on this book to concisely discuss so I will choose a couple and hope my feelings are accurately portrayed. I loved this book. It was uncomfortable and accurate. In my day job I met a 19 year old boy who had not been to school for many, many months. He showed up last week and wanted to enroll to finish high school. He'd been gone because he'd gone to jail. He didn't share details, both because he didn't want to and I told him if he did he'd be creating a possible witness. Here are some facts of his case:
The young man and his girlfriend got pregnant during high school. Her parents highly disapproved, the couple continued their relationship but chose to place the baby for adoption. By this time, the young man had turned 18 but the girl was still 17. It is perfectly legal for the couple to have sex. Ironically, the girl and her mother were sitting at church a few months after the baby and the mother scrolled through the girl's pictures on her phone. She found a picture of her boyfriend who was less than appropriately clothed. Her parents reported it to the police against the girl's wishes and the boy was arrested. He was provided a public defender who showed up once out of the 4 court dates. He was encouraged to plead "No Contest" and take his punishment. He spent a couple of months in jail and now on road crew and expressly forbidden to have any contact with his girlfriend. She has now turned 18 and someone has reported that he violated the no-contact rule before she had her 18th birthday. He is facing up to a year in jail.
A few side notes to these facts. He had spent the day calling attorneys but couldn't get past a secretary because he didn't know the difference between civil and criminal case. Which was his? He also did not know that he was not supposed to talk about the case to anybody except his lawyer. He told me things he should not have. He even went as far as to proclaim his guilt or innocence. What he DID know by now is that 1) he would hire an attorney and never trust a public defender again and 2) never talk to the police. Ever.
Ms. Fowler writes an amazing novel, artfully describing the process of teenagers falling in love, sneaking around, their first sexual experience, how the pictures came to be, and how they are discovered. She also artfully paints a picture of a loving father who believes with all his heart that his daughter must have been coerced and tricked, a single mother who loves her son but can't protect him from forces that are determined to destroy him. These charges, when in written form, look ugly and will place a lovesick 18 year old boy squarely on the sex offender's registry. It will destroy all hope of college applications being accepted and job considerations of import.
The story was inspired by an event that occurred in 2009 when the author's son approached her with dread and announced, "Mom. I'm in trouble and I'm going to be arrested." In heartbreaking detail, Ms. Fowler revisits the painful process of a boy losing his freedom to officers who are just doing their jobs by placing his wrists in heavy cuffs, ignoring all questions and explaining nothing while leading him into a holding room where he is coerced to remove all objects that could cause harm; his belt, shoelaces, empty his pockets. He is completely dehumanized and it is apparent that "innocent until proven guilty" is a misnomer.
Should the pictures have been sent or even taken? Probably not and it is easy to judge from afar. On the other hand, a couple in love does not want to discuss, in detail, their most intimate moments and have it splayed on the police blotter, around school, or in the media. It is easy to judge until I look at the pictures on my own cell phone of my brand new nephew, still slimy from his little trip through the birth canal. The photo I openly show to anybody who will look at his cuteness until I realized my little nephew is having his first meal on my sister's boob. An experience I found sacred and symbiotic with my own children could easily be misconstrued as pornography by an uptight D.A. or anybody else with an agenda.
I applaud you, Ms. Fowler.
Amelia Wilkes’s strict father does not allow her to date, but that doesn’t stop the talented, winsome high school senior from carrying on a secret romance with her classmate Anthony Winter. Desperately in love, the two envision a life together and plan to tell Amelia’s parents only after she turns eighteen and is legally an adult. Anthony’s mother, Kim, who teaches at their school, knows—and keeps—their secret. But the couple’s passion is exposed sooner than planned: Amelia’s father, Harlan, is shocked and infuriated to find naked pictures of Anthony on his daughter’s computer. Just hours later, Anthony is arrested.
Despite Amelia’s frantic protests, Harlan uses his wealth and influence with local law enforcement and the media to label Anthony a deviant who preyed on his innocent daughter. Spearheaded by a zealous prosecutor anxious to turn the case into a public crusade against “sexting,” the investigation soon takes an even more disturbing and destructive turn.
As events spiral wildly out of control and the scandalous story makes national news, Amelia and Anthony risk everything in a bold and dangerous attempt to clear their names and end the madness once and for all.
A captivating page-turner, Therese Fowler’s Exposure is also a deftly crafted, provocative, and timely novel that serves as a haunting reminder of the consequences of love in the modern age.
My take: I have far too many thoughts on this book to concisely discuss so I will choose a couple and hope my feelings are accurately portrayed. I loved this book. It was uncomfortable and accurate. In my day job I met a 19 year old boy who had not been to school for many, many months. He showed up last week and wanted to enroll to finish high school. He'd been gone because he'd gone to jail. He didn't share details, both because he didn't want to and I told him if he did he'd be creating a possible witness. Here are some facts of his case:
The young man and his girlfriend got pregnant during high school. Her parents highly disapproved, the couple continued their relationship but chose to place the baby for adoption. By this time, the young man had turned 18 but the girl was still 17. It is perfectly legal for the couple to have sex. Ironically, the girl and her mother were sitting at church a few months after the baby and the mother scrolled through the girl's pictures on her phone. She found a picture of her boyfriend who was less than appropriately clothed. Her parents reported it to the police against the girl's wishes and the boy was arrested. He was provided a public defender who showed up once out of the 4 court dates. He was encouraged to plead "No Contest" and take his punishment. He spent a couple of months in jail and now on road crew and expressly forbidden to have any contact with his girlfriend. She has now turned 18 and someone has reported that he violated the no-contact rule before she had her 18th birthday. He is facing up to a year in jail.
A few side notes to these facts. He had spent the day calling attorneys but couldn't get past a secretary because he didn't know the difference between civil and criminal case. Which was his? He also did not know that he was not supposed to talk about the case to anybody except his lawyer. He told me things he should not have. He even went as far as to proclaim his guilt or innocence. What he DID know by now is that 1) he would hire an attorney and never trust a public defender again and 2) never talk to the police. Ever.
Ms. Fowler writes an amazing novel, artfully describing the process of teenagers falling in love, sneaking around, their first sexual experience, how the pictures came to be, and how they are discovered. She also artfully paints a picture of a loving father who believes with all his heart that his daughter must have been coerced and tricked, a single mother who loves her son but can't protect him from forces that are determined to destroy him. These charges, when in written form, look ugly and will place a lovesick 18 year old boy squarely on the sex offender's registry. It will destroy all hope of college applications being accepted and job considerations of import.
The story was inspired by an event that occurred in 2009 when the author's son approached her with dread and announced, "Mom. I'm in trouble and I'm going to be arrested." In heartbreaking detail, Ms. Fowler revisits the painful process of a boy losing his freedom to officers who are just doing their jobs by placing his wrists in heavy cuffs, ignoring all questions and explaining nothing while leading him into a holding room where he is coerced to remove all objects that could cause harm; his belt, shoelaces, empty his pockets. He is completely dehumanized and it is apparent that "innocent until proven guilty" is a misnomer.
Should the pictures have been sent or even taken? Probably not and it is easy to judge from afar. On the other hand, a couple in love does not want to discuss, in detail, their most intimate moments and have it splayed on the police blotter, around school, or in the media. It is easy to judge until I look at the pictures on my own cell phone of my brand new nephew, still slimy from his little trip through the birth canal. The photo I openly show to anybody who will look at his cuteness until I realized my little nephew is having his first meal on my sister's boob. An experience I found sacred and symbiotic with my own children could easily be misconstrued as pornography by an uptight D.A. or anybody else with an agenda.
I applaud you, Ms. Fowler.
November 13, 2023
Started a review that disappeared without warning!! Stupid software.
A great read!
A great read!
May 6, 2011
If I could only review this book in a few words it would read like this: "Run, do not walk, to your nearest bookstore and buy this book or download it to your ereader. This is a book that cannot be missed!"
Okay it was more than a few words, but that pretty much sums it up for me. This is one of my best reads of the year. Let's move onto why since I have gushed enough and not backed it up, because people generally read reviews to find out why the reviewer liked or did not like the book (or in this case love, love, love!)
First of all - I think this book is a must-read for anyone with a teenager or parents who will have teenagers in the future (I fall into this category). Ms. Fowler has been through a situation similar to the storyline of the book and she makes this plain to anyone interested in the book. Sexting is a problem and we as parents need to be educated about it so we can help steer our kids away from this and guide them in those teenage years. Now this isn't a parenting manual by any means, it's a fictional story, but it has warnings all in it to parents of teenage boys and teenage girls about sexting and the problems it can cause in the lives of the teenagers taking part in this along with how it affects the lives of the families involved.
One thing I especially loved was getting the story from both sides, from Anthony and his mom's side and also from Amelia and her parent's side. Also the look at a genteel southern family versus a single mother who is a transplant to the area. Ms. Fowler does not take sides, I think she really gives all her characters a fair shake in this book. Now there are characters you don't like, but they are redeemable and Ms. Fowler helps you see the reasons for the way they act. That really helps. I like that she hasn't made this a book that stands up and tells you which side is right, but like Jodi Picoult often does, presents you with the social problem and lets you read and enjoy and decide how you feel about the characters and the situation. I love that in a book and Exposure is packed full of internal debate for the reader and it's presented in a way that you just can't put the book down and when you finish you cannot stop thinking about the characters and the issues.
Exposure is also a love story. Can two teenagers really know what love is? Amelia and Anthony think they do, but some of the people around them don't think so. It's a Romeo and Juliet type story of hidden love because the daughter's parents wouldn't agree. I loved getting to know both of them and seeing their love from each side. It is a beautiful love story and a great addition to the storyline of the book. One that I think is important because it shows that all kids aren't completely lust-driven when they do things like Amelia and Anthony do in the book.
I'm afraid I'm rambling, but I really don't want to give away anything in the book, because the surprises are one thing that really made the book for me. It seemed every page I turned something new cropped up and I was enthralled. It was very hard for me to put Exposure down to go to my son's baseball game on Sunday and as soon as I came home, you can be sure I picked it right back up and read until the kids demanded supper.
So again in short, if you love stories that make you think, stories that grip you from the first page and love stories then this is a book for you. Even if you aren't sure you fall into the category that reads this book - this book is for you. Ms. Fowler is brilliant at weaving a story that both interests you and educates you. Exposure is beautiful, it's thought-provoking and it will keep you reading right until the last page.
Okay it was more than a few words, but that pretty much sums it up for me. This is one of my best reads of the year. Let's move onto why since I have gushed enough and not backed it up, because people generally read reviews to find out why the reviewer liked or did not like the book (or in this case love, love, love!)
First of all - I think this book is a must-read for anyone with a teenager or parents who will have teenagers in the future (I fall into this category). Ms. Fowler has been through a situation similar to the storyline of the book and she makes this plain to anyone interested in the book. Sexting is a problem and we as parents need to be educated about it so we can help steer our kids away from this and guide them in those teenage years. Now this isn't a parenting manual by any means, it's a fictional story, but it has warnings all in it to parents of teenage boys and teenage girls about sexting and the problems it can cause in the lives of the teenagers taking part in this along with how it affects the lives of the families involved.
One thing I especially loved was getting the story from both sides, from Anthony and his mom's side and also from Amelia and her parent's side. Also the look at a genteel southern family versus a single mother who is a transplant to the area. Ms. Fowler does not take sides, I think she really gives all her characters a fair shake in this book. Now there are characters you don't like, but they are redeemable and Ms. Fowler helps you see the reasons for the way they act. That really helps. I like that she hasn't made this a book that stands up and tells you which side is right, but like Jodi Picoult often does, presents you with the social problem and lets you read and enjoy and decide how you feel about the characters and the situation. I love that in a book and Exposure is packed full of internal debate for the reader and it's presented in a way that you just can't put the book down and when you finish you cannot stop thinking about the characters and the issues.
Exposure is also a love story. Can two teenagers really know what love is? Amelia and Anthony think they do, but some of the people around them don't think so. It's a Romeo and Juliet type story of hidden love because the daughter's parents wouldn't agree. I loved getting to know both of them and seeing their love from each side. It is a beautiful love story and a great addition to the storyline of the book. One that I think is important because it shows that all kids aren't completely lust-driven when they do things like Amelia and Anthony do in the book.
I'm afraid I'm rambling, but I really don't want to give away anything in the book, because the surprises are one thing that really made the book for me. It seemed every page I turned something new cropped up and I was enthralled. It was very hard for me to put Exposure down to go to my son's baseball game on Sunday and as soon as I came home, you can be sure I picked it right back up and read until the kids demanded supper.
So again in short, if you love stories that make you think, stories that grip you from the first page and love stories then this is a book for you. Even if you aren't sure you fall into the category that reads this book - this book is for you. Ms. Fowler is brilliant at weaving a story that both interests you and educates you. Exposure is beautiful, it's thought-provoking and it will keep you reading right until the last page.
May 16, 2011
Exposure was the story of Amelia Wilkes and Anthony Winter who were high school seniors, have dreams of staring in Broadway and deeply in love. Their relationship was an open secret in school--their friends know as well as Kim Winter, Anthony's mother, who was a teacher at the school--but Amelia's strict parents do not know. Amelia and Anthony planned to tell her parents of their relationship when Amelia turns eighteen and legally an adult. However, when her father discovers naked pictures of Anthony in her computer, all hell broke loose.
Exposure was a fast-paced, intense read and I loved every minute of it. It wasn't an easy read by any means because it was so real, this can (and does) happen in real life. It was told in alternating limited third-person mostly in the point of view of Anthony, Amelia, Harlan and Kim Winter so we get to see intimately get to know the characters--their thoughts and emotions and see through their eyes the events that quickly spiraled out of control. The author did a fantastic job with the characters--I had some strong feelings about them throughout the book and I love it when an author can take hold of my emotions that way. I quickly sympathized with Anthony and his mother who took most of the brunt of the whole situation. I wanted Amelia to do something more to convince her father that Anthony was a good and innocent. I wanted to hate Amelia's father and his uncompromising belief that Anthony preyed on and defiled his daughter. I was angry and frustrated with him but I know that he loves his daughter and, as a parent, only trying to protect her, wanting the man who, in his eyes, hurt her severely punished. I definitely see my parents acting like Amelia's parents if one of us, their daughters, was in a similar situation.
There were many themes that were touched up in this book like impulsive nature and power of [young] love, family and parents' sometimes misguided protection of their children, the misuse of modern gadgets, how the media can work for and against an individual, teen sexuality and "sexting." But the one I found the most interesting was how Anthony and Amelia's private and intimate pictures of themselves, not meant to be shared with anyone but the two of them, were misinterpreted as child pornography. I started thinking about the various pictures of my siblings and I that my parents took when we were toddlers and we were unclothed (in the tub, on a blanket after a bath, etc.). These pictures cause us some embarrassment but we were babies--just the same, can they also be mistaken for child pornography?
Inspired by the experiences of the author's own son, Exposure was thought provoking, beautifully written and, yes, gripping. An author praised it as "a twenty-first-century Romeo and Juliet" and it was definitely that. While this novel is not technically young adult, it's a must-read older teens as well as adults. I cannot say enough about this novel except that you have to read it.
Exposure was a fast-paced, intense read and I loved every minute of it. It wasn't an easy read by any means because it was so real, this can (and does) happen in real life. It was told in alternating limited third-person mostly in the point of view of Anthony, Amelia, Harlan and Kim Winter so we get to see intimately get to know the characters--their thoughts and emotions and see through their eyes the events that quickly spiraled out of control. The author did a fantastic job with the characters--I had some strong feelings about them throughout the book and I love it when an author can take hold of my emotions that way. I quickly sympathized with Anthony and his mother who took most of the brunt of the whole situation. I wanted Amelia to do something more to convince her father that Anthony was a good and innocent. I wanted to hate Amelia's father and his uncompromising belief that Anthony preyed on and defiled his daughter. I was angry and frustrated with him but I know that he loves his daughter and, as a parent, only trying to protect her, wanting the man who, in his eyes, hurt her severely punished. I definitely see my parents acting like Amelia's parents if one of us, their daughters, was in a similar situation.
There were many themes that were touched up in this book like impulsive nature and power of [young] love, family and parents' sometimes misguided protection of their children, the misuse of modern gadgets, how the media can work for and against an individual, teen sexuality and "sexting." But the one I found the most interesting was how Anthony and Amelia's private and intimate pictures of themselves, not meant to be shared with anyone but the two of them, were misinterpreted as child pornography. I started thinking about the various pictures of my siblings and I that my parents took when we were toddlers and we were unclothed (in the tub, on a blanket after a bath, etc.). These pictures cause us some embarrassment but we were babies--just the same, can they also be mistaken for child pornography?
Inspired by the experiences of the author's own son, Exposure was thought provoking, beautifully written and, yes, gripping. An author praised it as "a twenty-first-century Romeo and Juliet" and it was definitely that. While this novel is not technically young adult, it's a must-read older teens as well as adults. I cannot say enough about this novel except that you have to read it.
February 6, 2012
Uma história completamente intrigante e de um certo modo fascinante.
Escândalo mostra-nos como o sistema jurídico por vezes não funciona.E como por vezes a família ao pensar que faz o melhor pelos filhos,nem sempre é o melhor.
Amélia (de dezassete anos)vem de uma família rígida e principalmente o pai que é super protector, no entanto tem completa confiança na sua filha. Querendo esta seguir para o teatro, o seu pai diz que isso não será nenhum futuro, que a vida dos artistas era uma miséria e que ela deveria de desistir disso.
Anthony (dezoito anos) é filho de uma mãe solteira, que é professora na escola do filho.
Ambos têm aulas de teatro juntos. e faz um ano que ambos namoram em segredo, pois Amélia sabe que o pai não pode descobrir visto não iria estar de acordo com esse namoro.
O que acontece é que perdidos no amor que ambos sentiam, partilham fotografias com teor sexual, que Amélia guarda no seu computador protegido com password. O seu pai descobre o computador e com várias tentativas de colocar a password, descobre-a, encontrando várias fotografias de Anthony nu.
Aqui começam os problemas todos,o pai dela considera o rapaz um predador sexual e que quer levar a sua rica filha por maus caminhos.
Mas devem ser eles considerados predadores sexuais quando mantem um relacionamento? Está certo que fizeram as coisas menos inteligentes, mas a maioria dos adolescentes é assim. Mas por mais que Amélia explicasse o que tinha acontecido, ele não ouvia pensando que ela poderia estar em choque, ele mesmo cria o que aconteceu na sua cabeça.
E assim de uma hora para a outra estão envolvidos a policia depois o tribunal e já há que procurar um bom advogado, há dias para julgamentos, há alguns dias passados na prisão.
Como diz no livro, é um romance de Romeu e Julieta nos tempos modernos, juntando as tecnologias de agora. Eu pessoalmente temi pelo pior no fim.
Gostei muitos da divisão e de algum vocabulário que pertence mais ao teatro, gostei bastante desse toque.
Escândalo é uma leitura leve e viciante, e que nos dá vontade de ler sem parar, tentando passar pelo remoinho de acontecimentos judiciais.
Escândalo mostra-nos como o sistema jurídico por vezes não funciona.E como por vezes a família ao pensar que faz o melhor pelos filhos,nem sempre é o melhor.
Amélia (de dezassete anos)vem de uma família rígida e principalmente o pai que é super protector, no entanto tem completa confiança na sua filha. Querendo esta seguir para o teatro, o seu pai diz que isso não será nenhum futuro, que a vida dos artistas era uma miséria e que ela deveria de desistir disso.
Anthony (dezoito anos) é filho de uma mãe solteira, que é professora na escola do filho.
Ambos têm aulas de teatro juntos. e faz um ano que ambos namoram em segredo, pois Amélia sabe que o pai não pode descobrir visto não iria estar de acordo com esse namoro.
O que acontece é que perdidos no amor que ambos sentiam, partilham fotografias com teor sexual, que Amélia guarda no seu computador protegido com password. O seu pai descobre o computador e com várias tentativas de colocar a password, descobre-a, encontrando várias fotografias de Anthony nu.
Aqui começam os problemas todos,o pai dela considera o rapaz um predador sexual e que quer levar a sua rica filha por maus caminhos.
Mas devem ser eles considerados predadores sexuais quando mantem um relacionamento? Está certo que fizeram as coisas menos inteligentes, mas a maioria dos adolescentes é assim. Mas por mais que Amélia explicasse o que tinha acontecido, ele não ouvia pensando que ela poderia estar em choque, ele mesmo cria o que aconteceu na sua cabeça.
E assim de uma hora para a outra estão envolvidos a policia depois o tribunal e já há que procurar um bom advogado, há dias para julgamentos, há alguns dias passados na prisão.
Como diz no livro, é um romance de Romeu e Julieta nos tempos modernos, juntando as tecnologias de agora. Eu pessoalmente temi pelo pior no fim.
Gostei muitos da divisão e de algum vocabulário que pertence mais ao teatro, gostei bastante desse toque.
Escândalo é uma leitura leve e viciante, e que nos dá vontade de ler sem parar, tentando passar pelo remoinho de acontecimentos judiciais.
May 13, 2011
Exposure by Therese Fowler is a story of young love gone terribly wrong. Amelia and Anthony are high school seniors bidding their time until they can go to college together. They plan on going to school in New York and want to try to make names for themselves on Broadway. Until then their relationship is being kept under wraps, so Amelia’s overbearing father, Harlan Wilkes doesn’t get wind of it and tear them apart. Harlan had Amelia’s life all planned out for her, and her theater loving boyfriend isn’t want he has in mind.
They plan on telling her parents about their plans once Amelia turns eighteen, but what they didn’t expect was Harlan to open up her laptop and find what they’d been hiding! Once Harlan’s eyes have been opened he is out for blood…Anthony’s blood. Harlan goes on a tirade having the police, DA, the school and the media out for young Anthony. What he doesn’t want to see is Amelia and Anthony are in love with each other. Will Harlan ever see their love or will it be too late?
What a story! This definitely has a modern day Romeo and Juliette underscore to it. Therese Fowler wrote a wonderful book that really captures those strong adolescent feelings of love. With an added jarring of reality of love in modern times (you know facebook, camera phones, and laptops). I was shocked over and over again with the legal system and news slants. It really made me stop and think about my own daughter and the new realities she faces in this technical savvy world she lives in, so different than the one I was in. It made me stop to realize how behind our legal system is compared to current technology.
I picked up this book every chance I got. I plan on reading more by Therese Fowler
They plan on telling her parents about their plans once Amelia turns eighteen, but what they didn’t expect was Harlan to open up her laptop and find what they’d been hiding! Once Harlan’s eyes have been opened he is out for blood…Anthony’s blood. Harlan goes on a tirade having the police, DA, the school and the media out for young Anthony. What he doesn’t want to see is Amelia and Anthony are in love with each other. Will Harlan ever see their love or will it be too late?
What a story! This definitely has a modern day Romeo and Juliette underscore to it. Therese Fowler wrote a wonderful book that really captures those strong adolescent feelings of love. With an added jarring of reality of love in modern times (you know facebook, camera phones, and laptops). I was shocked over and over again with the legal system and news slants. It really made me stop and think about my own daughter and the new realities she faces in this technical savvy world she lives in, so different than the one I was in. It made me stop to realize how behind our legal system is compared to current technology.
I picked up this book every chance I got. I plan on reading more by Therese Fowler
March 18, 2012
Em Escândalo é nos contada a história de dois jovens que por causa de um pai super protector e muitos mal entendidos acabam por ser arrastados para uma situação que rapidamente sai fora de controlo. Ambos os jovens são presos e a única maneira de acabarem com as acusações de que são vítimas é de uma maneira trágica.
No geral é um livro com uma linguagem simples e que consegue ser cativante. É-nos apresentado apresentado o ponto de vista de um vasto leque de personagens, no entanto tenho que ser sincera e dizer que apesar de ter gostado das personagens no geral, não me conseguiram cativar completamente. Achei-as subdesenvolvidas.
A narração em si é agradável, mas há alturas em que parece que as situações se arrastam e nada de novo ou importante é adicionado à história. O que faz com que as pessoas possam ter vontade de ler essas determinadas partes na diagonal.
Outro ponto interessante para se focar é o juiz que está a presidir o caso e que é bastante religioso e vê nesta situação uma oportunidade para ganhar poder em todas as frentes. Sem pensar nas consequências para dois jovens, sem lhes dar uma hipótese de esclarecer as coisas.
Em suma, um livro interessante para se ler quando e quer descontrair um pouco.
No geral é um livro com uma linguagem simples e que consegue ser cativante. É-nos apresentado apresentado o ponto de vista de um vasto leque de personagens, no entanto tenho que ser sincera e dizer que apesar de ter gostado das personagens no geral, não me conseguiram cativar completamente. Achei-as subdesenvolvidas.
A narração em si é agradável, mas há alturas em que parece que as situações se arrastam e nada de novo ou importante é adicionado à história. O que faz com que as pessoas possam ter vontade de ler essas determinadas partes na diagonal.
Outro ponto interessante para se focar é o juiz que está a presidir o caso e que é bastante religioso e vê nesta situação uma oportunidade para ganhar poder em todas as frentes. Sem pensar nas consequências para dois jovens, sem lhes dar uma hipótese de esclarecer as coisas.
Em suma, um livro interessante para se ler quando e quer descontrair um pouco.
March 5, 2021
I won an ARC on goodreads. This was my first time reading Therese Fowler. I really enjoyed the novel. I think it's a book that can cross the YA and Adult lines. It is told in third person from many of the characters in the story, which kept the story fast paced for me. The topic is completely current to today, which I find refreshing. The whole idea of the system taking over like it did in this book is terrifying. It makes you really think and question what you would have done if in the same situation. I really enjoyed this book overall. My only complaint is that Amelia's character could have been fleshed out more in the beginning. I would have liked to see more of her artistic side because I didn't really understand her motives when she asked for the nude pictures. But other than that I found the characters believable. A great book to bridge narrow mindedness.
*Won in a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway
*Won in a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway
October 4, 2015
Aquilo que de início parecia uma estória bem interessante, foi-se, com o passar das folhas, tornando numa estória cansativa...
Um casal de adolescentes apaixonados, mas impedidos de assumir a sua relação por imaturidade e receio da reacção de um pai preconceito e que está longe de ser perfeito, mas que exige a perfeição à sua filha de 17 anos...
Mesmo depois de tudo o que o pai de Amélia faz e que a prejudica a ela e a Anthony, ela parece incapaz de o contrariar e de assumir o namoro, deixando que o namorado seja acusado de uma espécie de pedofilia enquanto ela fica em casa... com "a mamã e o papá"!
Obviamente que no fim tudo acaba bem... mas ficamos com uma estória cansativa de onde só sobressaiem o namorado - Anthony - e a sua mãe - Kim.
Tinha uma expectativa alta para este livro, mas ficou muito abaixo...
Um casal de adolescentes apaixonados, mas impedidos de assumir a sua relação por imaturidade e receio da reacção de um pai preconceito e que está longe de ser perfeito, mas que exige a perfeição à sua filha de 17 anos...
Mesmo depois de tudo o que o pai de Amélia faz e que a prejudica a ela e a Anthony, ela parece incapaz de o contrariar e de assumir o namoro, deixando que o namorado seja acusado de uma espécie de pedofilia enquanto ela fica em casa... com "a mamã e o papá"!
Obviamente que no fim tudo acaba bem... mas ficamos com uma estória cansativa de onde só sobressaiem o namorado - Anthony - e a sua mãe - Kim.
Tinha uma expectativa alta para este livro, mas ficou muito abaixo...
June 22, 2012
I enjoyed this book until the last couple of chapters. All the build-up about Amelia's mom and what she was hiding, why she acted as she did and then we don't even "hear" the conversation or find out what the deal was??? Same thing with her dad's attitude. He was sooo unreasonable and then POW he does a 180 for no reason. Weird. Maybe I'm just dense but I still don't see the point of going out in the cold and getting hypothermia! How did that change all the minds that had been so rigid for the rest of the book?
Pretty good read until the end. Seemed like the author got tired of writing or something and just ended it in one fell swoop. Personally, I felt cheated out of half the story.
Pretty good read until the end. Seemed like the author got tired of writing or something and just ended it in one fell swoop. Personally, I felt cheated out of half the story.
March 3, 2011
Headlines rarely reveal the truth. EXPOSURE does. This nail-biting story of families caught in a collision of teen romance, the age of instant disclosure, an over-zealous prosecutor, and the media, provides an incisive stay-awake-till-you-finish exploration of hot-button issues. I truly couldn’t put it down.
November 10, 2011
Crammed full of one-dimensional characters and improbable situations, Exposure is positively ridiculous. Written for people who claim that they "don't like to read", Jodi Picoult fans, and teenage girls in the mood for "outrage lite".
stricken
July 28, 2011Reading the reviews I get the feeling she's mining Picoult territory: dramatic ripped-from-the=headlines plots that involve a great deal of legal proceedings, and the fun twist of making the victims those who are normally the perpetrators.
Want to read
February 2, 2011I really can't wait to read EXPOSURE! Ahh! I can't believe I won a copy! SO exciting! Review upcoming (of course!)
As an aside, I LOVE the cover!
As an aside, I LOVE the cover!
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