* Review * CHILD’S PLAY by Danielle Steel

* Review * CHILD’S PLAY by Danielle SteelChild's Play by Danielle Steel
Published by Random House LLC on October 8, 2019
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
four-half-stars

The lessons our children teach us are the hardest ones. What do we do when our children don’t pursue our hopes for them? In this riveting new novel, Danielle Steel explores how families can evolve and grow in unexpected ways.

A senior partner at a prestigious New York law firm, Kate Morgan couldn’t be prouder of her three grown children. Tamara, Anthony, and Claire all went to great schools, chose wonderful career paths, and would have made their father proud. A single mother for years after the death of her husband, Kate keeps a tight rein on her family, her career, and even her own emotions, never once asking herself if she truly knows her children . . . or if her hopes for them are the right ones, and what they want. She is about to find out.

During one hectic summer in Manhattan, Kate’s world turns upside down. One child has been keeping an astonishing secret while another confesses to an equally shocking truth. A wonderful match and picture-book wedding are traded for a relationship that shakes Kate to her core. A totally inappropriate love affair and an out-of-wedlock baby complete the chaos. Challenged as a mother and as a successful independent woman herself, Kate struggles to keep up with a dizzying and escalating chain of events, and begins to realize that she has a part to play in the chaos. Because Kate too has kept secrets from her children.

Sometimes the surprising choices our children make are the right ones . . . better than what we wanted for them. More often than not, parenting is about letting go of our dreams and embracing theirs.

 

Danielle Steel’s latest release CHILD’S PLAY brings us the story of an accomplished woman who portrays the perfect life and how it all plays out when the perfect things in her life turn out to have crumbling foundations. It shows the emotion a person goes through as things in life don’t go exactly as planned, but also has a very strong foundation of loving no matter what. I really enjoyed it and found it to be pretty fast paced.

Kate Morgan was an easily redeemable character. She kept parts of her life secret from her kids until a time when it seemed it might be a stepping stone to show them she understood how life can sometimes get away from you no matter how much you try to stay on course. She showed great restraint when faced with adversity and showed a beautiful side of a parent’s love supporting their child no matter the decisions and mistakes they made.

Eldest child Tamara came across as a bit distracted and cold to a bystander, but she was supportive of her mother and siblings and once we got to enter the true sanctuary of her world, her true side emerged with a softness that made her shine.

Middle child Anthony seemed like the one with the biggest heart and put in the most effort with the mom he adored. His fall from grace was a bit spectacular and redeeming him took a bit of work.

The spoiled baby of the family Claire quickly turned into a nightmare of an attitude. She was never totally redeemed but she was relaxed a tad towards the end.

Overall, I highly recommend this story to anyone looking for a close-knit single parent story that showcases her devotion to her kids and her support as they live their way into their happily ever afters before she relaxes into her own.

four-half-stars

Leave a Reply