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Book Review: Exposure by Therese Fowler

May 17, 2011 by Darlene


Exposure by Therese Fowler is an emotional and gripping novel that will resonate in your heart and mind long after you turn the last page and put the novel down. I’ve read one other novel by Therese Fowler and that was Souvenir which totally pulled me in as well and I loved it, but she has really outdone herself with Exposure. I found myself becoming so emotionally involved with this novel, ranging from shock and anger at the situation all the way to amazement at how the characters in this novel handle what has happened.

Exposure’s subject matter has such presence in our headlines today as it deals with teens ‘sexting’, which if you’re not knowledgeable on the subject is teens sending explicit photos of themselves to other teens. But what happens when two teens, almost adults, are in love and wanting to spend their lives together? What if they, for fun, send photos to each other of themselves with nothing on in artful positions? Even worse, what if they are discovered by an extremely overbearing and overprotective father? The story of what these two teens, 18 year old Anthony and 17 year old Amelia go through is what makes the novel Exposure so powerful and real to life.

Amelia has a father who sees the world through his own rose tinted glasses. He sees Amelia still as his little girl and he has a whole list of things he’d like to see her accomplish in life including who the right type of boy is to date and eventually marry. Does what she want matter? – no, not at all because according to Mr. Wilkes he knows better than a teen girl ever could and it’s his job to steer her in the right direction. The problem with that is love nor do dreams just wither and die because someone wants them to.

Amelia and Anthony have been secretly dating. Amelia isn’t allowed to date and even if she was her father would never allow it to a boy like Anthony who loves the arts. The only parent privy to this romance is Anthony’s mother Kim and that’s because of the strong relationship she has with her son. Kim is a teacher and pretty in tune with teens so she gets young love and she trusts her son. She feels he has a level head on his shoulders, he does really well in school, and has never given her a reason not to believe in him.

The simplest act can turn a world upside down though. Amelia forgot her laptop at home and when she goes home to pick it up she finds her father has managed to worm his way into her account and has found explicit photos of Anthony. He is outraged and immediately flies off the handle and phones the police. Mr. Wilkes is a wealthy man and he uses everything he can think of to convince everyone that Anthony is a sexual predator that lured his daughter into something sick and twisted. As time goes on he becomes even more angry as he finds that his daughter sent explicit photos of herself to Anthony but still he doesn’t see the truth – he still believes that Amelia was forced into all of this.

No good ever comes from a father using all the influence he can that money can buy or a DA who is dead set on making these teens an example not to mention a tool in furthering his political ambitions. Amelia and Anthony are torn apart, arrested, and charged with a multitude of charges. Desperate to be together they take matters into their own hands and risk absolutely everything to prove to everyone that by being in love with each other, they ultimately did nothing wrong.

I had such a reaction to this novel as I was reading it. I don’t condone teen ‘sexting’ in any way but what really angered me was the father’s reaction. Instead of sitting down and listening to his daughter and trying to work things out on a private basis, he exploded and took the worst turn he could by calling the police. Not only did he ruin Anthony’s life but he ended up dragging his daughter through the coals as well and that was something he hadn’t expected to happen. A lot of what bothered me was that Anthony was already eighteen and Amelia would be in months – legally adults. What they did was wrong – yes – but they were in love and certainly not thinking of the consequences of their actions. There is so much more I could say about this book but really, it is a book you need to read for yourself.

Exposure by Therese Fowler would make a fantastic book club selection! There will be no shortage of topics to discuss from the huge problem of sexting among our teens, teen relationships, parent/child relationships, and just what you would do if you found yourself in this situation. In fact, while Exposure is fictional, it is also inspired by the author experiencing this very incident in her own life with her son and I have such a great respect for her for opening up something that would have been a really difficult time in the lives of her family. I think most of all Exposure is important in that it brings to life this very real issue of sexting among teens and shows that lives can be changed forever and not in a good way because of it. It’s important that teens understand that it’s not ok thereby making this an important book for parents and older teens to experience.

Exposure by Therese Fowler is one that would come highly recommend by me. I read Exposure for her book tour with Pump Up Your Book! You can visit other tour stops to see what others think of the novel as well. Be sure to visit Therese Fowler’s website and you can find her Facebook too! Your own copy of Exposure by Therese Fowler can be purchased here in the US and here in Canada. Be sure to pop by tomorrow as Therese joins us with a guest post here at Peeking Between the Pages.

© 2010, Darlene of Peeking Between the Pages. All Rights Reserved. If you’re reading this on a site other than Peeking Between the Pages or Darlene’s Feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

My copy of Exposure by Therese Fowler was received for review from Pump Up Your Book! and the Publisher.

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Filed Under: 2011 Challenges, 2011•100 Books or More Challenge, 2011•ARC Tracking Challenge, Your Book Promotion Blog Tours

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sandy Nawrot says

    May 17, 2011 at 11:41 am

    Wow. My stomach is in a knot just reading your review. You know, this is such a big problem out there right now with kids. Not just troubled kids from bad families, but straight-A, Catholic school kids. Cell phones, as much as I love them, are the beginning of the end for kids. It promotes all this passive/aggresseive behavior, including sending naked pictures of yourself to others, or sending pictures of others as a form of bullying. I really need to read this one.

  2. Marce says

    May 17, 2011 at 12:57 pm

    Amazing review, I have this one on my Wishlist, looks like I should order it instead of downloading so I can share with my nieces and teens.

  3. bermudaonion says

    May 17, 2011 at 2:02 pm

    I thought this book was fantastic too! I was lucky enough to meet the author last week and we had a lively discussion about the book.

  4. Nise' says

    May 17, 2011 at 2:27 pm

    This book is going on my must read list. I totally agree with Sandy's comment. I've seen the devastation that texting can havoc to high schoolers.

  5. Rebecca Rasmussen says

    May 17, 2011 at 5:00 pm

    So glad you loved it Dar! I love Therese! 🙂

  6. Darlene says

    May 17, 2011 at 5:05 pm

    Sandy and Nise

    I completely agree. On one hand I see the benefit of cell phones so your kids can call if they need to but the thing is that isn't all they use them for. It's really scary now with camera phones and the internet and how much is really going on with our teens. I know my dad would have freaked if he'd ever found me doing something like that but we didn't even have cell phones when I was 17. lol.

  7. Blodeuedd says

    May 17, 2011 at 8:10 pm

    I do not like peeps like that 🙁 Her dad would have made me go through the roof! Sure they were a bit stupid (a lot!) but they were in love and almost old enough. And he was only one year older, arghh

  8. Staci says

    May 17, 2011 at 10:25 pm

    I must read this one!! I haven't read one of her books yet but I will change that for sure. I check my son's text messages and would so go ballistic if I saw any of those sexting messages going on.

  9. naida says

    May 17, 2011 at 10:34 pm

    wow, this one sounds intense! Its scary to think of how teens nowadays are sexting and sending explicit photos to each other. Technology makes things possible now that really worries me as a parent. We have our cellphone plan set to not accept or send out photos…lol. I remember when I was a teen, cellphones were almost non-existent or just for the rich. We used good old fashioned pay phones…lol.

  10. Zibilee says

    May 18, 2011 at 12:52 am

    I really need to read this. We have had problems with our young son and sexting, and though in some cases it is acceptable, in some cases it is not. We have had to have some pretty severe conversations about this in our home, and I would love to read another perspective on this. Thanks for the enticing and eloquent review on this one Dar. Like Sandy said, very timely.

  11. Beth(bookaholicmom) says

    May 18, 2011 at 11:41 am

    After reading your review this is going on my wish list. Sexting is a huge problem with teens but not sure they need to be labeled as sexual predator. I do worry about all this technology. Kids don't seem to understand that this stuff is out in cyberspace forever. My son knows some people in their twenties that found that out the hard way. I'll be reading this for sure!

  12. Amy says

    May 18, 2011 at 4:50 pm

    Wow, what a fantstic review Dar about an amazing book. I read a great review with Theresa Fowler last week about the inspiration behind the book etc. It's scary that the storyline of this book is a real life issue. I feel for parents of teens today because cell phones, computers and all that other technology invites too much intimacy. I wouldn't want my kids to have a cell phone but that's hard to do… I love how Fowler pulled you in and absorbed you in the book. From your reaction it's obviously a riveting book!

  13. Jenny Girl says

    May 18, 2011 at 7:52 pm

    Excellent review Darlene! This book has been getting lots of good reviews lately and I can see why.

  14. samantha.1020 says

    May 19, 2011 at 12:51 am

    This sounds like a really interesting read. I love a book that keeps me on my toes…I'm going to have to add this one to my wishlist. Great review!!

  15. TheBookGirl says

    May 19, 2011 at 2:47 pm

    Wonderful review Darlene 🙂

    I don't think I could have read this when my daughter was younger, but I am anxious to read it now. You are so right about cell phones being a two-edged sword; on the one hand, it made me much more comfortable allowing her to travel freely, and on the other hand, this whole idea of everything being so easy for the rest of the world to see, whether it be via phone, facebook, or some other internet connection, is just so frightening.

  16. Holly (2 Kids and Tired) says

    May 19, 2011 at 10:23 pm

    Fantastic review Dar! The book sounds like an amazing roller coaster ride. I need to look into getting a copy! 2 Kids and Tired Books

  17. carolsnotebook says

    May 20, 2011 at 5:19 pm

    Great review.

    I can totally see a father doing that, even though it's obviously not the right choice. Sound like a compelling book.

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