Who's Your Daddy?

Lila, Meryl, & Caressa #1

by Lynda Sandoval

Lila Moreno and her two best friends, Meryl Morgenstern and Caressa Thibodoux, are social mutants. Not because of who they are, but who their guy-repellent daddies are. Lila’s dad is the chief of police; Meryl’s dad is the football coach, the driver’s ed instructor, and the dean of discipline at the high school; and Caressa’s dad is a famous musician. Boys are too terrified and intimidated by the girls’ dads to come anywhere near them.

So, Lila, Meryl, and Caressa decide to take matters into their own hands. On the night of homecoming, instead of going dateless, they hold a Dumb Supper—a Celtic ritual that shows single young women who their soul mates are. The dinner doesn’t go exactly as planned, but never could they guess how much this loser’s alternative to homecoming would change their lives.

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Teen, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2004

About the author

**Since I'm intimately familiar with the blood, sweat, and tears that go into producing a book, I will only be listing my 4-and 5-star reads. We don't all like the same fare (as is evidenced by some of the Goodreads ratings on my own work!), so if I don't love a book, you won't see it on my page. I'm not interested in bashing anyone else's creative efforts or negatively influencing anyone's reading choices. This is PURELY my choice, and how you review is up to you. On with the bio.**

Lynda Sandoval is a former police officer-turned fiction writer with 22 published (or soon to be published) books to her credit. She's written women's fiction and nonfiction for HarperCollins Rayo; romance for Silhouette Special Edition; a romantic novella for Avon A; and young adult novels and novellas for Simon & Schuster and Houghton Mifflin. She launched her career with five award-winning books for Kensington Bouquet and Pinnacle Encanto, and her popular nonfiction text published by Gryphon Books for Writers, True Blue: An Insider's Guide to Street Cops—For Writers, is still selling strong.

Lynda also works half-time as an emergency 9-1-1 dispatcher for the Fire/EMS Department, teaches writing for Long Ridge Writer's Group, volunteers at a GLBTQ youth center and speaks regularly to book groups and clubs.

Lynda's Awards:

Look of Love/Pinnacle Encanto/1999
~~2000 Rising Star award

One and Only/Pinnacle Encanto/2001
~~4-1/2 star Gold Medal Top Pick in Romantic Times
~~2002 Golden Quill Award, Short Contemporary

Thief of Hearts/Pinnacle Encanto/2001
~~2003 Colorado Romance Writers' Keeper Award
~~2002 Beacon Award, Long Contemporary
~~Finalist, 2002 Booksellers' Best Contest, Long Contemporary
~~Finalist, 2002 Golden Quill award, Long Contemporary

Unsettling/HarperCollins Rayo/2004
~~2005 Write Touch Readers' Award, Mainstream Fiction
~~2005 Laurie Award of Excellence, Single Title Fiction
~~2005 The Lories, Mainstream Fiction
~~2005 The Lories, Best of the Best Published
~~2005 Colorado Romance Writers' Award of Excellence, Mainstream Fiction
~~2nd place, 2005 More than Magic Award, Mainstream Fiction
~~2nd place, 2005 Beacon Award, Mainstream Fiction
~~Finalist, 2005 Golden Quill Award, Mainstream Fiction
~~Finalist, 2005 Aspen Gold Award, Single Title Fiction
~~Finalist, 2005 National Readers' Choice Award, Single Title Fiction

And Then There Were Three/Silhouette Special Edition/2004
~~Two weeks on the Waldenbooks Series Bestsellers' List, peaking at #3
~~2nd place, 2005 The Lories, Long Contemporary
~~Finalist, 2005 Colorado Romance Writers' Award of Excellence, Long Contemporary
~~Finalist, 2005 Orange Rose Award, Long Contemporary

One Perfect Man/Silhouette Special Edition/2004
~~2005 Holt Medallion, Long Contemporary
~~2005 Write Touch Readers' Award, Long Contemporary
~~3rd place, 2005 More than Magic Award, Long Contemporary
~~Honorable Mention, 2005 Barclay Gold Award, Long Contemporary
~~Finalist, 2005 Colorado Romance Writers' Award of Excellence, Long Contemporary

Who's Your Daddy?/Simon Pulse/2004
~~Finalist, Colorado Endowment for the Humanities's Colorado Book Award, Young Adult Literature
~~2007 Evergreen Young Adult Book Award nominee
~~2005 ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers
~~2005 New York Public Library's Books for the Teen Age
~~2005 National Readers' Choice Award, Young Adult Literature
~~2005 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, Young Adult Literature

Chicks Ahoy/Simon Pulse/2005
~~2006 ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers
~~2006 Books that Kids Love and Parents Hate, Cleveland Public Library System

The Other Sister/Silhouette Special Edition/2007
~~Nominee, 2007 Romantic Times BOOKCLUB Best Special Edition of the Year
~~Borders Group/Waldenbooks Series Romance Bestseller

www.LyndaSandoval.com

Reviews

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

There is only one word for WHO'S YOUR DADDY?--laugh-out-loud hilarious. Wait, I think that might actually count as four words. Or if you take into account the hyphens, at least two. Anyway, you catch my drift. I laughed through the entire three-hundred plus pages of this book, and now have only one request. Please, please, please make this book into a movie!

Meet three best friends unlike (or very much like) anyone you've ever known. There's Lila Moreno, whose dad happens to be not only a hottie widower sought after by all the town's women, but the police chief of White Peaks, Colorado. Then there's Meryl Morgenstern, who although she was named after Meryl Streep, is totally anti-pop culture, including television. Her dad is also the Vice President of discipline, the driver's ed teacher, and the assistant football coach at the high school they attend. And then there's Caressa Thibodoux, who has a very famous retired blues musician for a father, and also happens to live in a log cabin house that can only be described as a mansion. When you're sixteen, having the types of fathers these girls have does not put you high up on the popularity list. You're either too pretty and rich (Caressa), too weird (Meryl, who doesn't even know who Buffy is), or way, way off the instant-dateability list (Lila, whose dad is, you remember, the Chief of Police).

So what are three girls to do? Especially three girls who are desperate to gain dates to the homecoming dance? Well, the only thing three pretty, intelligent, intimidating girls can do. They stage a Dumb Supper, hoping that between the supernatural energy of having a meal entirely backwards combined with the helping-hand of the ghost of Lila's mother will help them in their search for a date. All they have to do is write down their wish, and after the Supper the first guy they see will be their one-true-love. At least that's how it's supposed to work, but in the lives of Lila and her friends, few things rarely ever go as planned.

The first guy Lila runs into is Dylan Sebring, lieutenant of the junior narcotics squad, otherwise known as the Police Explorers. If there's anything Lila doesn't need in her life, it's another cop. Her father and brother are enough, thank you very much. The first guy Meryl meets is Ismet, previously known only as That Bosnian Guy. Meryl's pretty sure things are looking up, until she realizes that the only type of girl Ismet wants is a typical, fully-submerged-in-American-culture teen, which Meryl most certainly is not. And as for Caressa? Her bright idea is to get musician Bobby Slade to ask her to the dance, which ends up with, you guessed it, some humiliating results.

WHO'S YOUR DADDY? is a downright funny, entertaining read. You won't go wrong reading this book for many reasons, the least of which is the exercise to your smile muscles.

[Damecatoe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I skimmed the first two pages of this book and the premise seemed silly and fun: three girls doomed by their dads to never have dates. (One dad is a Vice Principal, one's the Police Chief, etc.) Plus, there was a Meryl Streep and a Buffy reference within those first two pages, so I thought there would be a lot of pop culturisms.

Speaking of Buffy, does anybody remember how annoyingly Dawn was written? Like she was supposed to be 14 and they had her acting like she was 9? That's how this book was. Only the characters are actually supposed to be 16. No way.

And the pop culture references? Tell me, what 16 year old in 2004 uses Christie Brinkley as an example?

Then the book went in a completely new direction and actually outlined a pagan ritual. The main characters participate in a Dumb Supper to find out who they are "fated" to date. I guess this book is the fate I suffer for padding my numbers with Teen Fiction.

At one point, the book was so bad, I considered not only not finishing it, but actually throwing it away instead of swapping it at the Book Corner.

Then it got a little better. One of the characters wasn't so bad, and with her the author got right what it's like to be a dateless but smart and empowered girl at that age. Sometimes it is tempting to try to be the girl you think the guy wants. Whether you're 12 or 22.

Then Sandoval went sappy and had them all with dates for the prom. Oh yeah, real empowering.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, funny, and easy to follow. It is worth reading!

[Mareena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really good. It's teen fiction so if your a girl with feelings then you will like this book. Guys, you wont understand it if you read it

[Dhwani · Rating 5 out of 5]

sounds likeweirdish book but it rocked

[Sydney]

Funny story about friendship and overcoming your parents' status. My inner teen totally related to this story!

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

iam reading it right now

[Evan Tate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book. It was long, about 320 pages, but it was funny throughout all of them. I enjoyed reading the book, and the funny title made it even better. The plot, in my opinion, had a pretty intriguing plot and was a light read. Three girls are the subject of the story, and while they are close friends, they also have one thing in common: scary fathers. They thus never have boyfriends, let alone go on dates. However, they make the decision to fabricate a story throughout the book in order to secure a partner for the year-end dance. The characters are three close friends who are unique (or quite similar) to anyone you've ever met. Lila Moreno's father is the police chief of White Peaks, Colorado, in addition to being a hot widower who is desired by all the town's ladies. Then there's Meryl Morgenstern, who, although having the same name as Meryl Streep, is vehemently opposed to popular culture, particularly television. At the high school they attend, her father also serves as the vice president of discipline, a driver education instructor, and an assistant football coach. Caressa Thibodoux, whose father is a well-known, retired blues singer, also happens to reside in a log cabin home that can only be referred to as a mansion. Having the kind of fathers these girls do when you're sixteen does not make you particularly popular. You're either way, way off the instant-dateability list (Lila, whose dad is, you remember, the Chief of Police), too odd (Meryl, who doesn't even know who Buffy is), or too attractive and wealthy (Caressa). The theme was basically about how the girls had to struggle through having strict dads. The writing technique was more in a slang type of way, or funny kind of way if that makes sense. What I personally liked about the book was that it was funny, and as a person in highschool, I can relate to hearing about girls that go through this, and I find it more entertaining myself, since I have a personal connection to the book, and if everyone has been to highschool, I think they’ll also have a personal connection, as well, which makes the book a little more entertaining. What I dislike about the book is that It is very long, and at the beginning, It was hard to understand, but as I kept reading, I could understand the book more, and It was a great book overall. Personally, I think whoever is a girl and has a strict dad, or knows someone who is like that, You should read this book, or refer it to them. A book that relates to someone makes it more entertaining in my opinion, and they would have a lot more fun reading the book.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun, quick read about 3 friends, Lila, Meryl and Caressa. It's junior year and they just want to have dates to the prom but they each feel they are boy repellent through no fault of their own. Lila's father is the chief of police, Meryl's family doesn't even own a TV and Caressa has a famous father, Blues legend, Tibby Lee.

The 3 friends decide to hold a "dumb supper", a Celtic ritual they find in a book that will bring them the guys of their dreams. Lila is drawn to Dylan who she believes is the mini-me of her father and also has a girlfriend she refers to as Hellspawn, Meryl falls for Ismet, the Bosnian kid who doesn't see her as anything more than a friend and Caressa imagines her life with Bobby Slade, the 21 year old blues musician she just happens to see on the cover of a CD. Things don't go as plan at the dumb supper but in the end things work out for the girls.

What I did really like was the friendship between the girls. I also liked the way the relationship between Lila and Dylan was handled. However, I was not a fan of the whole Meryl and Ismet thing or the Caressa and Bobby Slade thing.

This is one of may favorite lines from the book when Dylan tells Lila he has broken up with Jennifer (Hellspawn) for good:

"I have to say, it was an act of pure will and an amazing feat of brilliance that my facial expression didn't change, because my entire mind, body, and soul were doing a happy dance at the news."

[Jeane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book had a really interesting plot and the writing was easy to relate to but it was a fun read kind of book. Its about 3 girls who happened to be good friends but they also shared one thing in common which is the fact that they have intimidating dads. This results in them never having boyfriends let alone dates. But through out the book, they decide to create a plot in order to get a date for the last dance of the year.

[Brighde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't be judgmental on the title. It is not a weird thing where the girls just turned 18 and are married to 60 year old guys. Its actually about 3 girls who have dads, that are authority figures. So guys don't want to go out with them cause their intimidated by their fathers. So they make a plan, that somewhat goes awry.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have re-read my copy of this book so many times the spine is starting to tear (note to self: be gentle with book). I don't have the faintest idea why, but I LOVE this book! It's great for a good laugh. This is the type of book that when I read it I just HAVE to have my friends read it. They liked it too! I highly recommend this book to any teenage girls out there!

[Angie crosby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. Three friends are social outcasts because of who their dads are- a police chief, a dean of discipline at the high school, and a famous musician.

They decide to hold a Dumb Supper- sort of a celtic ritual- in the hopes of being shown their soul mates.

The book is funny and heartwarming, and I can relate to it.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. I was laughing and I thought that the girls had a unique personality. The plot and how everything connected was great and I felt like the ending was just right and I had very little questions that I had to reread parts. I wish though that Caressa would have gotten a regular guy and not some older rockstar.

[Teen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lila, Meryl, and Caressa have no hope of ever getting boyfriends because guys are too intimidated by their dads (the chief of police, the school vice principal, and a famous R&B singer) to come anywhere near them—so they decide to take matters into their own hands.
Lesley@DTH

[Zarina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me laughing at every page. Three girls + three intimidaitng dads= no dates. So what is a girl to do? simple. Get with your girlfriends to attend a dumb supper. But what do you do when it all goes wrong?

[Brittani Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty funny. It's about three girls that a lot of teenage girls will be able to relate to. It's lengthy but enjoyable. I wouldn't ue it as a whole group book. I'd probably just suggest this book for recreational reading.

[Kacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read it a few times at age 12 and liked it, but at age 20, I found it barely tolerable. I mean, I have no idea what compelled me to waste time with a reread since it won't coins towards my Book Challenge goals anyway. Yikes, badly written, poorly paced stuff.

[J.Elle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Juvenile and predictable. B-O-R-I-N-G. The title suggested otherwise and I was very let-down.

[Roneka · Rating 5 out of 5]

from this book i learned that sometimes it just takes patience.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny! A teenage romance, so, naturally, I love it.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

You Can't Say Anything About It But Excellent

[Livia · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was pretty funny. I love the plots. and yeah it's a cute teen fiction. I can't imagine what it would be if i was Lila. i haven't finished it yet. But, it's good enough!

[Ashley Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

i freaking loved this book. i wish it was on audiobook though