Sheep's Clothing

by Josi S. Kilpack

Six children keep Kate Thompson busy. Her oldest daughter, Jess, is almost sixteen and acting the part--something Kate had hoped to avoid. Yet, she's quick to remind herself that it could be so much worse. Besides, there are more important things to worry about than adolescent moodiness, like convincing her husband that they're ready for one more baby. Jess gave up competing for attention at home a long time ago. But now, even her best friend doesn't seem to have time for her. Then Jess meets Emily online. Unlike everyone else in Jess's life, she can talk to Emily about anything. Emily understands her. Emily listens. When the unthinkable happens, and Jess disappears, Brad and Kate Thompson realize that they missed something--something big. How could this happen in their home? To their daughter? Most important, will Jess ever come home again?

Genres: Lds Fiction, Lds, Mystery, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Suspense

320 pages, Paperback

First published May 2, 2007

About the author

I wrote my first book while on bed rest with my third child in 1998 and haven't stopped. My most recent books have been Historical Romance through the Proper Romance line with Shadow Mountain Publishing.

I currently live in Willard, Utah with my husband, and children.

Reviews

[Nikki Christensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The thing that I love about this book is the slice of life feel to it. The first 60% of the book is very slice of life. It covers smaller moments that happen in everyone's lives and presents them in a way that never gets dull of boring. It also alternates perspectives. The primary points of view come from Kate (mom) and Jess (daughter). I loved the way the book never focuses too much on one aspect but keeps moving the plot forward at a slow pace, but reasonably so. The time was taken for the reader to fully understand every angle of the relationship dynamics between characters so that we can understand what went wrong.

The topic of the book is a really heavy and scary one but I felt that it was handled really well. By seeing the perspectives of Kate and Jess the reader gets a first hand understanding of just how the online predator was able to get to Jess without anyone noticing. By the time it comes for Jess to go missing there is an intense level of dramatic irony where you are literally yelling at the characters, trying to convince them to do it differently. You know what's happening but they don't and that was really well done.

The other thing I appreciated was that Kate is not a bad mother, she is not neglectful, she truly loves all of her children. Her husband is the same way. It would have been easy to write a book like this where the parents were checked out but they weren't. It really built up the tension and proved that online predators can get to anyone, regardless of home life situations.

Now that I've said all this, I have to add a disclaimer. I would not recommend this book to everyone. The topic is heavy and while it never goes into detail about the more horrible moments that no one wants to focus on, It's clear that they happened and that is enough. Even still, this is a story about an online predator finding and taking advantage of a young girl. It shows all the manipulation. If you don't want to get wrapped up in a topic like this, then don't read the book. But if you are interested, by all means read on. It was really really well written. The characters were all, so well done and I feel so attached to both Kate and Jess as well as the rest of the family. So well written, but the nature of the story makes it not right for everyone.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was hard to put down, (kept me up reading almost all night) also scary as well because it IS a reality that can be faced by our children today.
I have teenagers and I can see how easily they can fall prey to online predators.
It is a timely book, & I will have my teens read it, and talk about it with them.
Suggestions of how to make your home/computer safer are in the back of the book.
It brings up the realistic idea that internet use should not be banned, but needs to be carefully taught and monitored, (just like teaching our children about carefully crossing the street, or what can happen if they don't know how to swim and they jump in a pool); as well as the every day dangers of life we have to make them aware of.
This was a really good book.

[Rheanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was surprised I enjoyed this book as much as I did. Definitely gives you a lot to think about!

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Is it fair to rate a 2007 book through a 2025 lens? Probably not. Am I gonna do it anyway? You bet. This book has an important message about internet safety, but that almost gets lost among some unnecessarily offensive content. The fat shaming does not need to be here, but it is almost another character, it’s included that often! Teens are insecure about their bodies. Adults are insecure about their bodies. But to include a mom thinking about her child that she really needs to lose that 15 pounds she’d gained since puberty is so incredibly damaging! There are also many instances of casual and/or straight up misogyny that really shouldn’t be part of how we look at men and women in society today. They are antiquated, reductive, and troubling. The actual drama doesn’t come until about 70% in with the rest mostly backstory to help understand why the main character makes the choices she does. The police essentially going from “she’s a runaway, so we’re not gonna look that hard” to “we found the guy’s name and where he was staying despite him paying cash” over the course of about 6 days is just incredibly unrealistic. This is a work of fiction and thus requires suspension of disbelief, but this was too much. It also bugs the heck out of me that the epilogue is only a few months after the main drama and we don’t even get to know if baby number seven is a boy or a girl! Come on!!!

[Melissa’s Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books that was a good reality check for me as a parent! I think it would be very helpful for parents with preteens/teens who are online. I also think this book might be good for teens to read. While the family in this book is LDS, it would definitely be relevant to everyone.

The author has done her research and presents a very believable scenario of how a good 15 year old girl can be isolated and tricked into revealing too much personal info online. She is manipulated into caring about the "people" that chat with her and things become extremely dangerous when she is asked to meet the "boy" in person. The best part of this book was the conversation between the predator and the teen because it showed how easily and effectively these types of predators lure kids into giving up clues about their identity, location and personal life. Simple things like mentioning the state the girl lives is in and then in another chat saying something like "Go Warriors!" revealed what high school she attended. It's little things like this that kids think aren't that big of a deal, but give intelligent predators easy clues to identifying them. The parents in the book are a little clueless, but it does show how parents can get so caught up in their own problems that they ignore the little clues that things may not be all that great with their kids.

If anything, this book encouraged me to talk to my daughter again about social media and make sure that her only contacts are people that she knows/trusts who she also knows in person. The author also gives some helpful websites at the end of the book for learning more about how to protect our children from online predators.

[Lacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a bit different then the type that I typically read but I really enjoyed it. It's about a young fifteen year old girl who innocently meets someone who she feels she can relate too online when in actuaility he is a predator. It was amazing at how easily it happened and how he manipulated her. She came from a good family, with good parents but they somehow with everything else going on, didn't realize this was happening. Even though, I felt the ending was somewhat rushed, I still felt like it was a huge eye opener as to how easily internet predators can track you down.

[Chantele Sedgwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a real eye opener. I didn't know how common it was for teenagers to chat with total strangers! It was a great story, creepy, suspenseful, emotional, and not usually the type of book I read. There are so many crazy people out there, you never know who your children could be e-mailing or chatting with. The author gave some great examples at the end of the book, about how to supervise and protect your children from some of the hazards they could find on the internet.

[Josi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my seventh published novel, my second one published with Deseret Book, and my first non-romance. It's a suspense novel that some of my usual readers found too creepy while other readers said it was there very favorite. It follows a family whose daughter is communicating with an internet predator. It won the Whitney Award 2007 for Mystery and suspense, which was awesome!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and keeps you on your seat, but too real for my comfort. You can tell there was a lot of thought put into this book.

[Kevan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every parent should read this book and then have their teenagers read it.

[Cheyenne Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10 - Even though this book is based within the Mormon religion, I think that anyone and everyone would be able to read it as it is very mild and honestly focuses more on hope and family than religion. I think that this book shares an amazing message of how one needs to be careful on the internet, especially young teens who are easily manipulated by those on the other end of the screen. I think anyone from ages 12 and up would be able to read this just fine. More books like this need to be written, where it has a good message, something valuable to learn from within and also something that mixes multiple different genres together that one might not normally read, but truly get enjoyment out of. I was hooked from the start and will add this to my to be read again list.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Horrifying story, but shows how real people can hide who they are behind the wall of the internet. I started fighting against pornography and predators of children in 1995. Was told then by agencies monitoring the internet that over 500 new sites a day came up. Agencies couldn't keep up with the dangers. Then there are the IM, Tweets, FB, Instagram, all other ways to contact people.

Parents PLEASE monitor every use of your children over the web. Keep our children safe.

[Janet Purser · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that parents should read then have your teenagers read it so you can discuss it together. This book illustrates the reality of Internet predators and how easily they can manipulate people to trust them and distrust their families and friends. Helping children and teenagers understand how to avoid becoming a victim of online predators and monitoring computer use is the best plan of action.

[Ranette · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book showed how easily young teens can be trapped by online predators... I liked the relationship between the family members which was real, and the touchiness of teens. Simple misunderstandings can ruin relationships

[Traci Sessions · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book deals with a frightening situation with a young girl getting involved with someone online, she thinks he is a teenager but he is really a predator. The author does a good job of telling about this intense story without being inappropriate.

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting

Engaging, relatable story. Complex characters with real world problems you empathize with. I couldn't put it down! I loved the focus on prayer and the impact it had on every person as the story evolved.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book and relevant to today's time. Delicate subject handled very well.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books that is So real it is terrifying.

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a parent it's emotional to read it

[Apzmarshl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a pretty active imagination when it comes to tragedy striking one of my kids, so this really freaked me out.

[Ranee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hope parents and children will read this. There are people out there trying to trick others for all kinds of reasons. Be careful, prayerful and listen to the Spirit!

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, this was an eye-opener for me with children just reaching this stage in life. Good motivator to have guidelines in place

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, though now slightly dated. I think it could easily be re-written to be more applicable to the youth of today and their smartphones. As a parent, this was a terrifying book to read.

[Kimberly Hurd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for every parent and child before allowing them access to the social media.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn’t put this book down. Maybe partly because I identified so well with Jess, but also because it was fairly well-written and you know there is danger around the corner and you don’t know if Jess will survive (well, there is a 90% chance she does because this is LDS fiction, but other than that…)

As much as I indentified with Jess, though, she was just plain stupid. I was the same age as her when I started making online friends, but I didn’t give out personal information and I wouldn’t have let them control me. You can argue Jess was really insecure and had no friends, but the same was true for me.

Maybe that’s part of why this book was a little difficult for me to read, though. Because maybe I would have shared Jess’ fate is I had been stupider and more open about myself.

But it was also difficult to read because this really happens to young teenagers. Many are too trusting and too open about themselves. Luckily, the majority of people on the Internet are good people and try to protect one another.

But the stupidity shown by Jess made sense. She felt a like a real person making mistakes she didn’t understand, and it didn’t help how the people around her (unintentionally) treated her. I loved watching her struggle to find her place in the world and I loved watching her grow as a character. It all felt very natural and she reminded me so much of myself at that age.

To switch topics a little… Kate—the mother. I didn’t really care for the chapters from her POV. The beginning of the story presented her as the perfect mother with the perfect home and the perfect family. Granted, that was all her illusions, but it was still really annoying, especially when she was such a jerk to her daughter.

I understand having your child do new things (even if they are opposed), as maybe they might actually enjoy whatever it is, and I understand having your child do at least one active thing to keep them in shape, but Kate… I really wanted to slap some sense into her. And I don’t understand why Jess was the only child with responsibilities. Yes, she is the oldest and she did enjoy much of her jobs, but it was still completely unfair. I just felt, as a mother, Kate didn’t get it. She was more concerned with being the perfect mother and with babies than with her actual kids—especially Jess. Which was kind of the point, as to drive up tension, but the character of Kate just kept pulling me out of the book, instead of in.

Even with Kate, though, I still loved this book. It’s not often I come across LDS fiction that isn’t afraid to touch on hard subjects. I might buy myself a copy of it if I see it somewhere. It certainly is a page-turner, and the ending is perfect.




SPOILERS BELOW THIS POINT








I just feel the need to expand my point about this book not being afraid to touch on hard things. Namely, when it comes to sexual abuse. That is a very hard topic to write about, and I felt like this book nailed it perfectly. There is one line that lets you know it is happening, and that line is more powerful than an open declaration, as it sent shivers down my spine when I realized what was going on. The book left it at that with the one line, but that was all it needed.

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book addresses one of the topics scary for every parent. I kept thinking about my children, my parenting, and what I would do if my child started behaving in a way that raised those red flags. I also thought it was important to show that the worst can happen even if the child seems to be turning it around and improving--and the author did this. If I have one complaint, it's that Jess's recovery after the fact was glossed over to the point that it felt too easy. What happened to her is not something that can be overcome in months; it takes years. We could call her one of the "lucky" ones, but at the same time that's the main part that just didn't strike me as real enough.

I also liked how the author portrayed the family as loving, but imperfect. Even though while reading it I was almost screaming "but she didn't mean that" and "why are you being so stubborn" they did eventually get around to communicating.

Internet predators (and other predators) don't spare anyone. This family was church-going and caring and stable, for the most part, yet the evil penetrated their protective shell and almost destroyed them. I appreciated the author's tips at the end of the book that addressed education as a way of arming our children against predators rather than trying to shield them. As parents, we should of course do all we can to ensure our children are in a safe environment, and that should not exclude their time spent online.

[Katrina Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 320 page book written on a young adult level was worthwhile. I picked it up from the public library after seeing it at a bookstore. My thirteen year old daughter was interested in reading it and so I checked it out for her, but I almost always read her books when I finish mine. This is one that was worth reading. I couldn't really relate to the mother, Kate Thompson, who had six children and was working on number seven, but I could relate to Kate's oldest daughter, Jess. Jess is a fifteen year old girl who is lost in a home where her younger siblings absorb most of her parents attention, begrudges having to babysit and help out at home all the time, and is growing apart from her friends. She spends more and more time on a computer networking site where she meets someone who seems to understand and care about her, her new on-line friend Emily. When Jess disappears, her parents are left questioning how this could have happened in their home.

I love how Josi pointed out Jess's online errors through the eyes of the predator at the computer who led Jess away from home and into a nightmare. I have thought about this book several times lately as I have seen photos of missing young women posted in Wal-Mart and as I watch my own daughter and her friends interact on-line.

This book is worth reading and worth encouraging parents and teens everywhere to read.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story. I enjoyed the trials that a big family go through. It was an interesting perspective for me to understand how Kate and Brad felt about children. It is something I didn't ever think of before and I am from a big family. I never considered how my mom felt about children and how it affected the family to have "just one more".

I also enjoyed the perspective of the beloved Jess - the teenage heroine. How I remember feeling lost and ignored in a big family eventhough it didn't mean it was true at all. As teenagers we were probably all stuck on ourselves and just really don't understand that there is more going on than what surfaces in our own small world. I really thought the story having more than Jess' perspective going on was enlightening because it provided that other side of the story that the teenage person just doesn't get at all.

I wouldn't have minded having more written when Jess was in captivity but that may be my having read too many mystery novels outside of the church genre. However, I think that would be really interesting. All in all, a really good job on the whole story. It seemed to have left a good sequel for Jess being grown up and going to college or something.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Went into this book hoping it would deal well with a hard subject. I was quite well pleased. Not too bad a story, and it did make it seem very plausible. I liked the point it was making that parents need to be aware and observant and INVOLVED in their children's lives to prevent them from becoming vulnerable to the online predators out there. I did and didn't like the LDS storyline...the mom wanting another baby and the dad not sure.... A few of the strictly LDS mentions made me cringe a little bit. I understand the need to address this as an LDS family because I think Mormons tend to fall into the naive, it won't happen to me or mine mindset. I just think most LDS fiction books tend to be too sappy and too happily ever after. The sentimentalism is trite at times, but true. Part of it is I don't like the "insider" feeling one gets that excludes non-LDS people from understanding the book. I did think that was kept to a minimum in this book and it dealt with things seriously without getting too graphic, while still giving the reader a bit of a startle. Overall a good read, and one that LDS parents should consider reading and then giving to their teens to read as well, afterwards followed by a good discussion about the internet use in the home.

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book!!!! Josi did an outstanding job of bringing the evils of internet predators to light. Jess is having problems with self-esteem and not feeling of importance, even when her best friend seems to be ignoring her and she seems to be left out with all the demands placed on her by her parents, so she starts looking into chat rooms and message boards, where she comes to find a friend who is lying around to deceive her. As we have a 22 year old son into porn, we've had to use filters to see where he's been on our computer, but a few years ago, Bob designed and built an electronic device that will safeguard your home and children from the negative aspects of the internet. We can just turn off the phone with a key and our son cannot access our computer when we're not home. We've got to be very vigilant with our children around the internet, esp with our children getting more tech saavy each day. I feel every parent and teen should read this very gripping eye-opener of a novel. Josi does such a great job with these timely issues.