Scan barcode
A review by aplace_inthesun
Moral Compass by Danielle Steel
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.