Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Age of Consent

Age of Consent by Marti Leimbach.  336 pages.

Thirty years ago, June was a young widow with a huge crush on Craig, a local disc jockey. Unfortunately, Craig is a lot more interested in June's thirteen year-old daughter, Bobbie.  Today, Bobbie feels she has moved on and put her secret life behind her, until she discovers that Craig has pursued a number of other young girls.  Now, Bobbie is determined to bring her ugly past into the light, bringing Craig to trial. By now, June is remembering the past completely differently, and other people wonder why Bobbie would want to bring charges against someone for something that happened so many years ago. However, Bobbie is determined to face her past, and seek justice.

This is an uncomfortable story, to be sure. The story is mostly told from Bobbie's viewpoint, both in the present and in the past, although we do sometimes get June's point of view, as well.  Craig is definitely a nasty character, and the author doesn't shy away from the the ugliness of who he is and what he does (in the past and in the present).  This is the kind of story that I think is important, even though it's not a pleasant subject. It feels very realistic, and very true, and there is good character development.  I can see, though, where this would not be a book for everyone; although I feel it would make an interesting book group book, because there's definitely a lot here to discuss and talk about.

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