Father Figure

by Emma Forrest

Gail is in trouble at school. Saint Saviours, the exclusive private girls school that she attends on a scholarship, cannot contain her. Impulsive, bored and looking for someone to adore, she is at that dangerous age when you want to be picked up by men and then driven home by your mother.

Ezra is rich, powerful and at the top of his game. His comfortable middle age is tainted only by the knowledge that he loved new wave music in his youth and had people killed—and by his crushing anxieties about his teenage daughter, Agata. When Agata starts at Saint Saviour's, Gail and Ezra's paths cross, and their lives intertwine in ways more dangerous than either could have predicted.

Genres: Coming Of Age, Young Adult, Fiction

272 pages, Hardcover

Published July 3, 2025

About the author

Emma Forrest is a British-American journalist, novelist and screenwriter. She currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.

Reviews

[Rosamund Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Emma Forrest's Namedropper was one of my favourite books as a teenager: I've probably reread it more times than any other book. It had a charm and an assuredness that I admired, and I felt that I was living directly under the narrator's skin. Maybe I'm too old to have that experience with a book again, but sadly Father Figure didn't engage me at all. The elements are somewhat similar to Namedropper -- single parent, extravagant wealth, highly intelligent teens, passion for beauty -- as though Forrest is attempting to redo her first novel. But Father Figure rings hollow: neither the adults nor the teens feel fully fleshed out, and central relationships fail to achieve emotional weight. Forrest is definitely trying to say something about white privilege and how what constitutes as white has constantly shifting boarders -- but I'm not sure even she knew what it was. It's a confusing book that feels undercooked.

[Lily Emerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emma! Back with something absolutely fire to offer after the disappointment of Royals. But we don’t hold grudges! Welcome back to form!

This was a super cute Emma Forrest crazy girl novel that will have fans of early work like Namedropper salivating while still being a more mature work.

[Eliza · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf page 110

Straw that broke the camel’s back was the line (to describe an anorexic character) ‘her tone and bones [were] prominent’

Good for you or sorry that happened but I ain’t reading all of that

[Lucy Skeet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a riot! Thanks so much to W&N for my copy

[elshillcox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teenage girls are wild

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars! I wanted to love this book, I really did, but it was a chaos that put me in a reading slump. First of all, the premise and the book title are both amazing. I kept playing the song Father Figure in my mind whilst reading. However, the characters are flat and most chapters are told like summaries rather than the characters experiencing the events as they are happening. The tension between Ezra and Gail was absent, therefore, I do not really know whether Gail was obsessed with him, his daughter, his wife or his mansion more. I understand this was a teenage girl’s POV most of the time and it is chaotic, but the story was all over the place and lacked focus.

[Emily Marshall · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️

Not for me this one - not what I thought we were going to get from the synopsis! I was expecting this to follow a similar thread to books like My Dark Vanessa but this centred more on teenage obsession on the whole- with her peers, her best friends family, her dwindling mental health... I found this really difficult to follow along with as the prose wanders and perspectives are truncated throughout. I found the discourse about being Jewish really interesting and felt like I learned a lot about prejudice within the religion, but I left the book not really understanding what I'd read? If you love a really trippy lit fic this might be for you, but for me this one missed the mark.

[A J HOOPER · Rating 3 out of 5]

The central character Gail is outrageous and smart. Her mother Dar is a bit of a walkover. And the villain Ezra is from the sound of it, an unsuccessful villain. But the story didn't really go anywhere. Ezra ends up in Israel. But he is not tough enough to kill Gail before he goes.
And what happens to the other members of the cast? I get that Melody had to die but what about Agata and Dar? I feel as though only half the book was here.

[Vitória · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5, possibly 3 stars if I’m feeling generous I suppose? The premise was good but I felt like the plot was hurried and there were far too many questions that were left unanswered, and the ending was particular unsatisfactory…

[Vicki Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this but unfortunately I was a bit disappointed! There were bits I loved but a lot I ended up skimming and the fact it took me 5 days to read a 259 page book says it all! Great cover though.

[kremace · Rating 1 out of 5]

neskutečná píčovina (obsahem i stylem) a škoda peněz

[Emma Greenough · Rating 2 out of 5]

All a bit silly and unbelievable

[Zoe Antoniades · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quirky, impactful and very excellent

[Carris Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pure anxiety. Not much plot.

[Shelly Rios Petrelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so endearing and what a great ending! Not what I expected but a nice bow on top of the box of a story

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

i too have an obsession with george michael x