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Danny's Mom
by
Elaine Wolf (Goodreads Author)
Beth Maller returns to her job as a high school guidance counselor shortly after her teenage son, Danny, is killed in a car accident. Beth didn’t want Danny to drive that snowy night, but her husband insisted the roads were safe. Beth blames him for Danny’s death, and she blames herself for allowing fear of confrontation to paralyze her. Now back at wor...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
November 1st 2012
by Arcade Publishing
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BOOK's blurb:
A compelling and timely novel about a grief-stricken mother who launches a one-woman campaign against bullying in the volatile high school where she works.
Beth Maller returns to her job as a high school guidance counselor shortly after her son, Danny, is killed in a winter car accident. Beth hadn't wanted Danny to drive that snowy night, but her husband insisted the roads were safe. Beth blames him for Danny's death, and she blames herself for allowing fear of confrontation to paral...more
A compelling and timely novel about a grief-stricken mother who launches a one-woman campaign against bullying in the volatile high school where she works.
Beth Maller returns to her job as a high school guidance counselor shortly after her son, Danny, is killed in a winter car accident. Beth hadn't wanted Danny to drive that snowy night, but her husband insisted the roads were safe. Beth blames him for Danny's death, and she blames herself for allowing fear of confrontation to paral...more
“Anti-bullying novelist” Elaine Wolf has done the seemingly impossible: she follows her terrific YA debut novel CAMP from earlier this year with an even more powerful anti-bullying novel, this time for adults. DANNY’S MOM is set in the early 2000s, in the aftermath of Columbine when many schools were only slowly beginning to realize the insidious causes and long-term effects of bullying, and those few professionals who took the issue seriously, such as DANNY’S MOM protagonist Beth Maller, risked...more
I don't normally review books, but felt I had to say something here:
I've seen a fair number of reviews (on Goodreads and elsewhere) that talk about how unrealistic a lot of the events and actions in the book are. While I'll admit that Wolf may have exaggerated some characters or ideas (eg: how one would treat a grieving mother), I think part of the message of this book is how that kind of incredulity on the part of teachers, parents, etc. is what creates the kind of situations that exist both in...more
I've seen a fair number of reviews (on Goodreads and elsewhere) that talk about how unrealistic a lot of the events and actions in the book are. While I'll admit that Wolf may have exaggerated some characters or ideas (eg: how one would treat a grieving mother), I think part of the message of this book is how that kind of incredulity on the part of teachers, parents, etc. is what creates the kind of situations that exist both in...more
I'm not sure how I felt about this book. The idea of the plot made the book sound interesting, but for me it kind of felt a bit short. To me it seemed a little bit unrealistic. I felt very bad for Beth, losing her only child and having her marriage fall apart, but I felt that most of the characters in the book were unnecessarilly mean to her. I don't really think that people would be that insensitive to a person who lost their child. I don't work in the school system but I found it hard to ident...more
I did not like this book. I felt like most of the characters were completely one dimensional - the principals, the students Jen, Tina and Fred, the husband. I find it unbelievable that principals and students would get away with talking to a school employee the way Beth was talked to in the book, and that her husband would be that much of a jerk to her. When I read the description for this book, it sounded like a mom fighting bullies in her son's memory. I don't think there was any bully fightin...more
Interesting story, but sort of unbelievable in how the teachers and school counselors were treated by the administration.
If that is an accurate description of how schools are run, I don't know why anyone would teach.
Why the women in this story put up with the crap they did from the administration is puzzling and infuriating.
Sounded more like the 1950's than 2012.
The part of the book describing the grief from losing a child and its effect on the marriage is sad. It mirrors just about every other...more
If that is an accurate description of how schools are run, I don't know why anyone would teach.
Why the women in this story put up with the crap they did from the administration is puzzling and infuriating.
Sounded more like the 1950's than 2012.
The part of the book describing the grief from losing a child and its effect on the marriage is sad. It mirrors just about every other...more
Nov 07, 2012
Mrs Mommy Booknerd http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.com
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
review-for-mmbbr-s
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” -Mahatma Gandhi
Wow, Wolf again writes a beautiful and heartbreaking story of loss, justice and redemption. Wolf, the anti-bullying author, tackles some very tough topics in this 5 stars novel that should be read by all. I feel that this novel with invoke change and encourage people to speak up against bullying and other injustices. I applaud Wolf and her ability to write such honest, moving and important work. Go out and get your copy today, read it...more
Wow, Wolf again writes a beautiful and heartbreaking story of loss, justice and redemption. Wolf, the anti-bullying author, tackles some very tough topics in this 5 stars novel that should be read by all. I feel that this novel with invoke change and encourage people to speak up against bullying and other injustices. I applaud Wolf and her ability to write such honest, moving and important work. Go out and get your copy today, read it...more
From the beginning pages on Danny's Mom, Elaine Wolf had me weeping into the pages, my heart feeling the exact pain that Beth Maller felt. When mothers have those gut instincts, you listen to them. Beth was talked out of hers. Because of this, she is now the mother of a child who lies within a grave. I couldn't imagine losing a child, and Elaine has captured that pain inside of Danny's Mom with utmost precision. Unfortunately, Beth doesn't just struggle from the day to day yearning for her son t...more
Elaine Wolf did it again -- what a fabulous book! I ended up reading the whole thing in one day, as I got so engrossed in the story that I didn't want to put it down. I'm so impressed by the way the author managed to take so many very difficult topics (bullying at school, bullying in the work place, losing a child, marital problems), tackle the emotions associated with all of these difficult topics, and weave it all into one compelling story. Well done!
I received this book as an arc. This was a very powerful book that follows the life a school counselor after her son was killed in an accident. Not only does she have to deal with the death of her son and her crumbling marriage, but she also has to struggle with the authorities at her school about certain things that she has been told to leave alone.
This book shows you what can really go on inside our schools, and how those who work in them have to struggle with doing what they know is right an...more
This book shows you what can really go on inside our schools, and how those who work in them have to struggle with doing what they know is right an...more
I read this book in one sitting. It is a thought provoking read that shows the power struggle between teachers (who truly care about their students), administrators and students; the emotional turmoil of kids being bullied; and sheds light on how so many schools today are more concerned about how they appear to the public rather than the well-being of the students.
Dec 29, 2012
Karen & Gerard
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
death,
relationships
Danny's Mom by Elaine Wolf is about Beth Mauler, Danny's mom who is a guidance counselor at the high school. Danny dies in a car accident when Beth's husband lets him use the car against her wishes. After the accident, Beth's home life and her job are a mess! This book kept me turning pages. No "wow" factor, but worth your time reading.
(Gerard's review)
(Gerard's review)
I'm not sure why, but for some reason this book didn't seem very believable to me. Maybe I'm too much of a Pollyanna to appreciate it. Sentence structure was also too choppy for a girl who can't event text except in full sentences. I sort of wish I had liked the book more because the premise sounded interesting to me.
A good story, for those who don't know the realities of the local high school it may seem a bit far fetched, but as I am in school on a weekly basis, it rings true about the kids dynamics, administration's attitudes and topics that cuase divisions in high schools. It could be seen as a cautionary tale to parents, don't forget to teach your kids tolerance or they will be in tolerant.
The book was a super quick read - partially because the characters lacked complexity. In Danny's Mom, people are either all good or all bad - nothing inbetween exists.
Feb 18, 2013
Cris Bergin
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
2013-reading-list,
cris-2013-reading-challenge
A remarkable book about a woman who suffers through a tragedy and then needs to figure out how to make sense of her life, marriage and career. I would highly recommend this book.
This book was horribly written and very unbelievable. The characters were underdeveloped and unlikeable.
The dialogue was forced, the plot is(?) slow, underdeveloped, and incredible in the truest sense. As were the characters. The dialogue was just ... excruciating at times.
This was an excellent book centered around bullying in high school. I could not imagine being a student under these conditions..
good. prescient and good.
Didn't get very far. Disliked the writing.
A very thought-provoking read about bullying, social politics, and sticking to one's principles. It also focuses on how we tend not to try to solve problems in general until they get out of hand.
I was lucky enough to read this as an ARC and was not disappointed. Elaine Wolf has once again taken on the subject of bullying, but this time the setting is one of the most common places where bullying occurs: high school.
In Danny's Mom, high school counselor Beth Maller no longer accepts the cruelty of bullies when she returns to work after the loss of her son. Beth not only takes on the the student bullies, but also takes on those disguised as school administrators.
In Danny's Mom, high school counselor Beth Maller no longer accepts the cruelty of bullies when she returns to work after the loss of her son. Beth not only takes on the the student bullies, but also takes on those disguised as school administrators.
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Known as "the anti-bullying novelist," I write about what really goes on behind the closed gates and doors of our camps and schools. The issues I explore in CAMP and DANNY'S MOM are those I am passionate about and know well.
I was a camper and camp counselor for many summers. When I entered "the real world," I taught in public schools in California and New York -- and then I became a district langu...more
More about Elaine Wolf...
I was a camper and camp counselor for many summers. When I entered "the real world," I taught in public schools in California and New York -- and then I became a district langu...more
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