Reviews

Moral Compass by Danielle Steel

starelin86's review

Jumping between To many charecter. 

kookie9200's review against another edition

2.0

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to review this book.

I had a lot of issues with this novel. In a new tradition with Steel's novels, one will be great and then the next feels like an afterthought. This is the afterthought.

My first problem was the first chapter or so were so laden with names and details that it was very easy to get lost. No one wants to be slapped in the face with 20 characters in the first few pages! It is nearly impossible to keep them straight.

My second problem was the massive repetition and stereotypical ideas. I get it, they were "good kids" and they would "never do this". Steel took every possible stereotype and threw them together, then tied it up with an unnecessary romance plotline that did nothing to serve the novel.

This was a kiss off to the "me too" movement, and in my opinion it wasn't well done. Steel has covered rape before in other books, and done so well. This was just a verbose load of sentences strung together that really didn't make an impact. I skipped whole pages of text because I didn't need to read it.

isabelmazyck's review against another edition

1.0

This was my first and likely last Danielle Steel book. The most interesting thing happens in the first 50 pages, and the rest is just 300 pages of follow-up that should’ve taken 50.

kerrykennedyauthor's review against another edition

5.0

A gripping story of a tragic event

Danielle Steel writes the perfect book from plot to real life characters and is not aftraid to touch on such serious issues as rape and immoral behaviour
This book was in some ways upsetting to read that a young girl was raped one drunken night. The issues here are real and terrifying and the morality of very wealthy people can also be questioned. There is a small love story element with a non related couple that was sweet. Essentially however, this book is about a tragic event and how it morality can be questioned.
A good engaging book that I can highly recommend

chazza2's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

coffeebooksrain_8's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A

4.5

carolynphillips25's review against another edition

reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

gracie13's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

mommasaystoread's review against another edition

3.0

Moral Compass takes a hard look at how one bad decision can lead to another in an almost snowball effect. Of course, there's a bit more to it than that, and that one bad decision is compounded by someone who acts without a care for who he hurts. The premise for this book drew me in, and I did find the many different viewpoints intriguing. Yes, I completely believe that the victim should be the first and foremost consideration in a situation like this, but realistically, that isn't always the case, and Danielle Steel gives us the situation from every avenue, including those with varying degrees of guilt and their parents. To be honest, I'd like to think that people who would react as deplorably as a couple of these characters are few and far between, but the fact remains that we see similar actions all too often. As for this particular story, I will say that I had a fair bit of trouble getting into it. The beginning was rather slow, and the introductions to a considerable number of characters are all crammed into the first several pages. The problem with that is it amounts to information dumps rather than giving us the various details more organically throughout the story. The latter method works much better for me, and I'm more likely to remember the details later on when it's not all thrown at me at once while I'm waiting for the story to get moving. The writing style for Moral Compass was a bit on the dry side, and at times it felt more like a documentary than a story playing out before us. There wasn't nearly as much dialogue as I would've expected, and it all amounted to more telling than showing. We also get several little side stories about the various parents, teachers, and even a touch of romance for one character, and to be honest, some of that felt a little like filler to me. Not all of it, by any means. Basically, some of the situations with the parents and others were important to the story and others - well, not so much. Nevertheless, the subject matter did hold my interest, and I did feel compelled to keep reading. I wanted to know how everything would play out for the characters, and what decisions they would ultimately make. In the end, Moral Compass has a bit of a lesson in its story. A lesson about choosing the right path, and when we don't make the right choice, accepting the consequences for our actions. It's a lesson some of the characters had to learn the hard way, and it was an interesting road they traveled to get there.

rosieanna24's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Rape, and Sexual assault