It left me feeling...IDK. I couldn't quit reading it cause it was great storytelling even though I knew it wasn't going to end good. I don't know, everything in it was foreign to me. I couldn't put it down, and now I'm just sitting here zoned out like a zombie.

If this book did not have an interesting topic (adult woman seducing a teenage boy) it would have gotten only 1 star. I think Coleman's writing was trite, her foreshadowing clunky and obvious, and her lack of consistency in characters downright annoying.

Most of my notes from the first third of this book have to do with frustration that Coleman doesn't appear to understand how much the typical 16-18 year old knows about sex and the world at large. When Judy first meets Zach (as one of her son's friends) she is shocked at his use of inappropriate language (come being offensive for her) and feels that she cannot or should not discuss the Lewinski-Clinton drama with these "kids".

I thought the Mrs. Robinson discussion on their way home from the OH trip to be so ridiculously overt as to almost warrant a cessation in my reading.

I thought Russ's drug use (and overdose) was just added drama. I think a book like this (done well) could be an interesting character piece on its own with just a hint of the neglectful (because he is too busy with work) husband, rather than the drug abuse and overdose having been thrown into the mix. Along the same lines, I thought the fact that the school was going broke (and even closes and her last paycheck bounces!) was unnecessary plot/drama.

I also found Zach to be unbelievably inconsistent. First, he is the obnoxious kid who is telling jokes and doesn't ever work up to his potential. Then, he is the super mature and responsive son who takes extra care of his pregnant mother (bringing her lunch in bed) and loves his soon-to-be-born baby sister despite her potential problematic parentage. He is also the kid who never lies and worries about the morality of the affair. Blech...too much wavering here; he needs to be either aloof and teenager-ish or moody and removed, but not alternating super-engaged and checked out.

I found the whole culmination at the Winter concert to be too rushed and silly (would the mid-wife really seek Zach out to warn him?) and the fact that Judy returns to find Russ dead (but amazingly not from an overdose that she caused) to just be too sudden. I get that she is mentally ill and has become obsessed with Zach, but I was surprised that she had not even really remembered that Scott exists and that after his DAD DIES she simply ignores them and allows him to leave the state (isn't there a funeral? aren't there other family members who come to take care of things even if Judy has lost it?). I also found it astonishing that their daughter doesn't come home. I know she has turned weirdly religious, but wouldn't she still come home because her DAD IS DEAD????

Overall so much of it was just not plausible. Coleman was trying to address an interesting topic, but she made it so ridiculous that the book was not worth the time or energy to read.

Originally published at my blog Chasing Empty Pavements

People are abuzz about Fifty Shades of Grey when Rebecca Coleman's novel is quite possibly even steamier and riskier. This novel tackles a subject that is both intriguing, mystifying and totally mind boggling to me. It's quite a taboo subject for the rest of the world, but I personally love to read novels with taboo topics. Teacher/Student sexual relationships are a no-no in today's culture, but this novel takes the topic head on.

The Good: This book will warp itself inside of you if you let it. I did. It was amazing what happened when I let the world Coleman created sink into my skin, my bones. I felt the words seep through me and I could NOT put this book down. The novel started off with breath taking imagery of Germany and a little background on Judy, the main character. Once the main story started to play out I was immediately pulled in. I wanted to hate the book because the subject matter was grotesque and so abnormal but it was like a train wreck I couldn't tear my eyes from. This is the type of book that makes you reconsider what you thought you knew or what you thought your beliefs were. Before I started this novel, I had a basic but firm belief about statutory rape and teacher/students sexual relationships. But after reading this novel, I'm realizing the lines between right and wrong are so completely blurry. Not saying that I condone the behavior because I certainly do not, but I can't 100% say that my views on it are the same as before. Life is crazy and messy and stuff happens and sometimes people make colossally bad choices and continue to do so, maybe its a tiny sickness that perpetuates it but what I'm saying is that not everything is black and white or exactly as we see it. The Waldorf school was an intriguing backdrop, I'd never heard of it before and promptly researched the hell out if it before completing the novel. After my research, I realized how well Coleman wrote the Waldorf culture into her novel. She expertly matched the good/bad aspects of the culture and it felt like the most natural place for the characters. I loved being able to get both Judy and Zach's perspective and it made it a little easier to understand and see how these type of affairs get started. It was weird because part of me hoped Judy wouldn't get arrested or caught but then another part of me did. I cant explain why, but this book just made me feel a million conflicting emotions. Judy and Zach's lust is so palpable, I almost dont blame them for what their doing yet they both know its wrong and they both continue to do it and ahhh! The confliction is driving me crazy. Judy's obsession with fire was interesting and I loved that the theme rippled through the entire book. There wasn't much I disliked about this book. I even liked the way it made me feel uncomfortable because that's hard to do.
I think about the only thing I disliked was some of the background chapters in germany. I liked the intro to Judy and the whole father/nanny relationship background but there was a whole slew of things that could have been cut out and pared down. Also the ambulance scene was a little unrealistic, wouldn't Scott have called his mom even if they weren't on the best terms, and wouldn't the cops have questioned Judy a little more than they did? It seemed like the scene was just a filler to get rid of Judy's husband. We don't know how she lost her job either...I would have liked to see that cleared up a little bit.

As you can tell from my jumbled review that I really really really loved this novel and it's hard to get all my feelings down in one place. I give this book an A!

**I received this book free from the publisher through www.netgalley.com. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The Kingdom of Childhood - Rebecca Colem... The Kingdom of Childhood is thought provoking and often difficult to read. It is one of those books that will stir passionate discussions with no clear winner, while exploring a topic that has been prominent in recent headlines.

I can’t say that I enjoyed The Kingdom of Childhood. It is well written and the author has a beautiful ability to both draw you into a scene and repel you at the same time.

Initially I was sympathetic to Judy. I felt her despair at the direction of her life and family. Judy’s whole life is nothing but an illusion, all bright and shiny from the outside but sick and twisted on the inside. By the end of the book, I was thoroughly disenchanted with her.

In order to fill the lonely void of her life, Judy becomes involved with a friend of her son, Zach, who is sixteen years old. This is where the book became uncomfortable for me and I have to admit that I had a very difficult time reading the rest. The subject of an adult who is in a role of trust and a young adult is personally one that I do cannot excuse under any circumstances.

Ms. Coleman explore the backgrounds of both Zach and Judy. Judy’s upbringing and experience as a youngster are particularly revealing. My heart went out to her for her lost innocence. However, in the end I could not excuse Judy’s actions, even though there were events in her background that influenced her. I’m not exactly sure how I feel about this book, I can’t say that I liked it, but it is very thought provoking and does explore this issues in a different manner than previous books. The Kingdom of Childhood will definitely leave you thinking about it long after you are finished.

Judy McFarland had a difficult childhood and her perceptions of appropriate relations has been skewed a bit by the past. She initiates an affair with a sixteen year old Zach, who is the same age as her own son, Scott. The story is told by flashbacks of her childhood, her point of view and that of Zach's. The story combines elements of Mary Kay Latourneau's story, a decidedly different school atmosphere of the Waldorf movement and weaves in the current affairs of the Clinton - Lewinsky scandal. McFarland's own marriage is on the rocks and she seeks refuge and distraction in the arms of Zach, who like most boys his age is flattered by the attention. While at times difficult to read, it will make you question if there was actually a crime committed by this teacher and if she really did take advantage of a student. I know when I was in high school, these affairs were not unheard of and were mostly ignored. The age difference is celebrated between and older man and younger girl, so it really points out the discrimination when the sexes are reversed. Reading this is like watching an accident occurring, you just can't look away, you must continue to the very end even if it is very disturbing. Coleman does a wonderful job of creating the tension and ends everything with a surprise...something I would never have guessed. I can see this being perfect for a book group since it will provoke many heated discussions about what is right and wrong.