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beccalikes2read's review against another edition
This book was okay, I read it with a resident and she thought it was too sad.
novelsandjava's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you Net Galley for providing me this copy of Moral Compass by Danielle Steel! I havent read much by her before so this was a nice change. In this book she centers around an elite prep school in their first year of co-ed teaching and boarding. An event happens and everything goes wrong and changes the lives of the students. It definitely was an emotional ride with this one and kept me reading.
seadaz's review against another edition
4.0
One of the better Danielle Steel books I’ve read in recent times. I had been quite disappointed the last few DS books I had bought and read. This book was given to me by a friend otherwise I probably would not have bought it.
A previously all boys elite boarding school goes co-ed.
One terrible night following a Halloween event 7 students take the night further. By the end of the night all 7 students lives are changed, as well as the teachers, school staff, parents and police and some other students, in particular one young lady who is left for dead and had already been raped. Friendships are destroyed, families are torn apart.
A very easy read, think I read it about 3 hours. Its not a gory or graphic written story nor is it a psychological thriller.
A previously all boys elite boarding school goes co-ed.
One terrible night following a Halloween event 7 students take the night further. By the end of the night all 7 students lives are changed, as well as the teachers, school staff, parents and police and some other students, in particular one young lady who is left for dead and had already been raped. Friendships are destroyed, families are torn apart.
A very easy read, think I read it about 3 hours. Its not a gory or graphic written story nor is it a psychological thriller.
booknbhook's review against another edition
3.0
At an elite school, on the night of halloween things take a turn for the bad and it marks the beginning of a number of bad decisions.
aplace_inthesun's review against another edition
4.0
A female student in a co-ed boarding school is found unconscious, affected by alcohol. She has been raped and we follow the the unfolding police investigation.
What worked for me:-
- we knew the offenders from the outset, a different approach.
- Vivienne - the denial, fear, guilt and shame were spot on.
- The dynamics of sexual abuse are accurately described. As are stereotypes and archaic attitudes that continue to exist in society in relation to personal and & family violence and sexual assault.
- The portrayal of the police. They navigate an outcome via intuitive policing, being accessible and trauma-informed which is particularly important when working with children and adolescents.
- The stance taken by the fictional school of zero tolerance and maximum accountability.
What I struggled with and why:-
- declaration time - my background is working with children and young people impacted by trauma and abuse, including sexual assault and severe physical violence.
- Vivienne was not at the centre of this book. She is the most significant person in this story yet the book seemed more about the offenders. Whilst they were grappling with what is right and wrong, moving the focus from Vivienne really detracted from the dialogue that can be had given the wide audience of this book.
- The outcomes in are, in my experience highly unlikely in Australia in terms of the acquiescing of the defence legal teams as depicted.
- The characteristics and depiction of the morality of the co-offenders was just not believable. In my experience it just doesn’t happen.
- There was too much ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’ mentality. Too much ‘they were ‘nice boys’ who did a bad thing or perhaps were ‘unlucky to have found themselves in the situation.
Danielle Steele is no stranger to emotional, bittersweet stories and I have ready many and loved them. The writing, of course, was what readers can expect of recent works and the characters were distinctive.
However, this book has the potential to pack a larger punch with the subject matter and the statements it could make. I just don’t feel it went far enough. For me, the edge was taken off due to my own experiences in this area. There was too much discrepancy between this narrative and real life. I wasn’t sold on the outcome because the reality is far more complicated and this was just too perfect. Justice is rarely served in this fashion and the romance was very predictable.
Danielle Steele fans will undoubtedly welcome Moral compass and I’m likely to recommend this to people who I know will enjoy the style of writing. It’s a read that will bode well for book club discussions.
I always vehemently hope that with books about family violence and sexual assault there are discussions promoting debate, or the possibility that those who have remained silent about their own experiences might access services who to assist and support them.
Thank you to @macmillanaus for a #gifted copy of this book.
An abridged version of this review appears on my instagram account @aplace_inthesun.
What worked for me:-
- we knew the offenders from the outset, a different approach.
- Vivienne - the denial, fear, guilt and shame were spot on.
- The dynamics of sexual abuse are accurately described. As are stereotypes and archaic attitudes that continue to exist in society in relation to personal and & family violence and sexual assault.
- The portrayal of the police. They navigate an outcome via intuitive policing, being accessible and trauma-informed which is particularly important when working with children and adolescents.
- The stance taken by the fictional school of zero tolerance and maximum accountability.
What I struggled with and why:-
- declaration time - my background is working with children and young people impacted by trauma and abuse, including sexual assault and severe physical violence.
- Vivienne was not at the centre of this book. She is the most significant person in this story yet the book seemed more about the offenders. Whilst they were grappling with what is right and wrong, moving the focus from Vivienne really detracted from the dialogue that can be had given the wide audience of this book.
- The outcomes in are, in my experience highly unlikely in Australia in terms of the acquiescing of the defence legal teams as depicted.
- The characteristics and depiction of the morality of the co-offenders was just not believable. In my experience it just doesn’t happen.
- There was too much ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’ mentality. Too much ‘they were ‘nice boys’ who did a bad thing or perhaps were ‘unlucky to have found themselves in the situation.
Danielle Steele is no stranger to emotional, bittersweet stories and I have ready many and loved them. The writing, of course, was what readers can expect of recent works and the characters were distinctive.
However, this book has the potential to pack a larger punch with the subject matter and the statements it could make. I just don’t feel it went far enough. For me, the edge was taken off due to my own experiences in this area. There was too much discrepancy between this narrative and real life. I wasn’t sold on the outcome because the reality is far more complicated and this was just too perfect. Justice is rarely served in this fashion and the romance was very predictable.
Danielle Steele fans will undoubtedly welcome Moral compass and I’m likely to recommend this to people who I know will enjoy the style of writing. It’s a read that will bode well for book club discussions.
I always vehemently hope that with books about family violence and sexual assault there are discussions promoting debate, or the possibility that those who have remained silent about their own experiences might access services who to assist and support them.
Thank you to @macmillanaus for a #gifted copy of this book.
An abridged version of this review appears on my instagram account @aplace_inthesun.
thenerdandherbooks's review against another edition
4.0
This book was amazing but I did not expect it to talk about rape from the blurb so there should have been a trigger warning just in case it could have been triggering for others.
I liked the plot of this story but I found that it went a little bit slow and had a bit too much detail in places. I enjoyed learning about the school and all of the students backgrounds in order to gain a full perspective of what was actually happening within the school.
I liked the plot of this story but I found that it went a little bit slow and had a bit too much detail in places. I enjoyed learning about the school and all of the students backgrounds in order to gain a full perspective of what was actually happening within the school.
novelsandjava's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you Net Galley for providing me this copy of Moral Compass by Danielle Steel! I havent read much by her before so this was a nice change. In this book she centers around an elite prep school in their first year of co-ed teaching and boarding. An event happens and everything goes wrong and changes the lives of the students. It definitely was an emotional ride with this one and kept me reading.
thejanewayprotocol's review against another edition
1.0
This type of story is not my style. The story was told in multiple perspectives, and each character analyzed everything to death. And because they all are involved in the same situation somehow there was so much repetition, nothing left to figure out or wonder. Textbook definition of tell don't show.
The story centers around a girl being raped at her boarding school. This was such an unrealistic fallout and consequence that I am wondering how this book by such a prolific author got published???? In this perfect world, the cops believe the girl was raped right away and didn't bring it on herself. The headmaster of the prestigious boarding school wants the boys brought to justice despite what that means for the schools reputation. The boys who were in on the crime don't want to paint the girl as the slut who shouldn't have been drinking with them in the first place. The boys acknowledge what they did and want to come clean.
Yes, this is what should happen when something this horrific happens, but it doesn't. I'm not sure what the author was trying to do here, but this story just felt super basic and not at all something worth my time.
The story centers around a girl being raped at her boarding school. This was such an unrealistic fallout and consequence that I am wondering how this book by such a prolific author got published???? In this perfect world, the cops believe the girl was raped right away and didn't bring it on herself. The headmaster of the prestigious boarding school wants the boys brought to justice despite what that means for the schools reputation. The boys who were in on the crime don't want to paint the girl as the slut who shouldn't have been drinking with them in the first place. The boys acknowledge what they did and want to come clean.
Yes, this is what should happen when something this horrific happens, but it doesn't. I'm not sure what the author was trying to do here, but this story just felt super basic and not at all something worth my time.