Exposure: A Novel [Hardcover]

Therese Fowler (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 3, 2011

In Exposure, Therese Fowler has written her most gripping novel to date—a ripped-from-the-headlines story of ardent young love and a nightmarish legal maelstrom that threatens to destroy two families.

Amelia Wilkes’s strict father does not allow her to date, but that doesn’t stop the talented, winsome high school senior from carrying on a secret romance with her classmate Anthony Winter. Desperately in love, the two envision a life together and plan to tell Amelia’s parents only after she turns eighteen and is legally an adult. Anthony’s mother, Kim, who teaches at their school, knows—and keeps—their secret. But the couple’s passion is exposed sooner than planned: Amelia’s father, Harlan, is shocked and infuriated to find naked pictures of Anthony on his daughter’s computer. Just hours later, Anthony is arrested.

Despite Amelia’s frantic protests, Harlan uses his wealth and influence with local law enforcement and the media to label Anthony a deviant who preyed on his innocent daughter. Spearheaded by a zealous prosecutor anxious to turn the case into a public crusade against “sexting,” the investigation soon takes an even more disturbing and destructive turn.

As events spiral wildly out of control and the scandalous story makes national news, Amelia and Anthony risk everything in a bold and dangerous attempt to clear their names and end the madness once and for all.
 
A captivating page-turner, Therese Fowler’s Exposure is also a deftly crafted, provocative, and timely novel that serves as a haunting reminder of the consequences of love in the modern age.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A Letter from Author Therese Fowler
In an early review of Exposure, the reviewer said I’d done a brave thing in writing a story that was inspired by my own son’s arrest for what the media have dubbed a sexting crime. That word, brave, took me by surprise. Writing the novel had been necessary. It had been frightening. I didn’t--and still don’t--feel I’d done anything brave.

I’d been working on a different book when my son, who had just turned nineteen, told me a warrant for his arrest was being issued. That book was under contract, so although life became very complicated very quickly, I felt bound to keep working and meet my deadline--but I struggled with it; the story just wasn’t doing what I wanted it to do.

A few months after my son’s arrest, months in which his lawyer had urged us to stay silent about what was going on, the idea for Exposure came to me. I’m certain it grew from my horror and frustration with what was going on, and the effects events had on my son and on our family. I asked my son what he thought about my writing a novel inspired by the situation, and he was fully supportive. I wouldn’t have done it otherwise.

In some ways, the writing came easily because the scenario was so familiar and so close. In other ways it was hard, because even though Exposure is entirely fictional--the story inside the book is not my son’s, nor mine--I knew I was putting my son and myself in a position where we would be judged. All the while, though, I was telling myself, Think of what books can do.

I grew up being influenced by novels, and I fully believe in the power of story. Whether invented or true, stories have been the vehicles of lessons and warnings and inspiration for as long as humans have had the means to tell them.

So to craft a novel that might prevent even one person, one family, from having to face a similar or worse crisis was not, to me, a brave act. It was an opportunity to tell a story that reminds us all, To err is human--which is especially true when deep emotions are involved. I felt obligated to set aside the other book and write this one, to give you Anthony and Amelia and Harlan and Kim, all well-meaning people whose actions and choices add up to a cautionary tale that I hope will give you, at the very least, many hours of good reading.

Everyone in Exposure makes mistakes--as we all have done at times, and no doubt will do again. It’s what happens afterwards that makes all the difference.

From Publishers Weekly

Sexting leads to big trouble for two teenagers in Fowler's Picoult-lite latest, a cautionary tale more intent on hammering home its message than in creating believable characters. Anthony Winter, a charismatic 18-year-old raised by a single mom, is dating Amelia Wilkes, a nice girl from a wealthy, conservative family that doesn't want her in a relationship with a student who can afford private school only because his mother teaches there. Kids being kids armed with camera phones and digital cameras, they e-mail each other nude digital photos, and when Amelia's father comes across pictures of Anthony on his daughter's computer, he calls the police, and a nightmare begins for all involved: Anthony faces being branded a sex offender, and Amelia gets in trouble with the law as well. Unfortunately, Fowler diminishes the power of her story with a cast of predictable, two-dimensional characters (i.e., Amelia's controlling father is bad; Anthony's supportive mom is good) whose sole purpose is to move the plot forward. (May)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; First Edition edition (May 3, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345515536
• ISBN-13: 978-0345515537
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.3 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #523,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Therese Anne Fowler has a BA in sociology/cultural anthropology and an MFA in creative writing. Her work has won honors from the Faulkner Society and Thomas Wolfe Fiction prize competitions. She was an editorial assistant and taught undergraduate fiction writing before leaving academia to write full-time. An Illinois native, she has two grown sons and two nearly grown stepsons, and lives in North Carolina with her husband.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#23 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical

#26 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical

#23 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical

#26 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The consummate page-turner wraped in good story-telling May 5, 2011

By Karen

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was amazed at how this book captivated me!

Exposure is an eye-opening read with a premise I considered myself somewhat ignorant about--sexting. It was a heart pounding thrill ride-one I'd gladly go on again and again, but mostly it is a bittersweet modern day Romeo and Juliet and very powerful. Everyone is forever changed by something that seems so harmless.

Therese Fowler shows her proficiency as a writer and story teller. The Characters are true to life, I imagine them breathing next to me, huffing and puffing in some cases, as I read the story. Each character is multifaceted and developed in an organic fashion through out the story. I am constantly eager to know more about them. All the characters are tragically human and yet, somehow saved by their humanity.

I loved the way the teenagers came to life and grew-up right before my eyes. While the complexity of life shadowed them, they shined. The young adults in the story have the reader examine theme's like manipulation, friendship, trust and peer support.

The justice system is a monster creating a nightmare for parents and children alike. The nightmare is not lost on the reader--yet, it never usurps the story. Therese Fowler does a magnificent job of giving the full flavor of the frustration everyone experiences as the monster is unleashed by the first charges and then another, and another.

Parents and children have complex relationships, which the Author honors and handles justly. The reader can agree or disagree with each parent with out ever feeling preached to. No flaw in the adults is better or worse than another. Everyone makes mistakes, and usually people compound their mistakes before correcting them. The story telling is superb in this regard. "Nooooooo? Don't do that!" I found myself shouting at the pages like I would a TV show.

The mix of emotions at the page-turning events and the strength of young love in the hands of a consummate writer make this read fast and fantastic.

I simply adored Souvenier--Therese Fowler's first novel. I truly enjoyed Reunion. What a treat it is to be able to say Brava to the third novel as well. BRAVA!

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Modern "Romeo and Juliet" Story April 23, 2011

By Olivia Stabler VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

This was the first book I've read by Therese Fowler and she had me hooked instantly. The story is about Amelia and Anthony who carry on a secret relationship behind her strict parents' back, reminiscent of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." I love how the author in each chapter tells the story from the viewpoints of multiple main characters because you really get a sense of what's going through their minds over the "sexting" scandal and this really develops the characters completely. It's also interesting that "sexting" can be considered a crime, which Fowler explores as well, made even more interesting by the fact that this book was inspired by her son's trouble with the law in a similar "crime." This was a definite page-turner. I highly recommend this book - it is the perfect combination of romance novel and crime novel.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book - enthralling and gives you something to think about! May 5, 2011

By Crystal Fulcher VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

If I could only review this book in a few words it would read like this: "Run, do not walk, to your nearest bookstore and buy this book or download it to your ereader. This is a book that cannot be missed!"

Okay it was more than a few words, but that pretty much sums it up for me. This is one of my best reads of the year. Let's move onto why since I have gushed enough and not backed it up, because people generally read reviews to find out why the reviewer liked or did not like the book (or in this case love, love, love!)

First of all - I think this book is a must-read for anyone with a teenager or parents who will have teenagers in the future (I fall into this category). Ms. Fowler has been through a situation similar to the storyline of the book and she makes this plain to anyone interested in the book. Sexting is a problem and we as parents need to be educated about it so we can help steer our kids away from this and guide them in those teenage years. Now this isn't a parenting manual by any means, it's a fictional story, but it has warnings all in it to parents of teenage boys and teenage girls about sexting and the problems it can cause in the lives of the teenagers taking part in this along with how it affects the lives of the families involved.

One thing I especially loved was getting the story from both sides, from Anthony and his mom's side and also from Amelia and her parent's side. Also the look at a genteel southern family versus a single mother who is a transplant to the area. Ms. Fowler does not take sides, I think she really gives all her characters a fair shake in this book. Now there are characters you don't like, but they are redeemable and Ms. Fowler helps you see the reasons for the way they act. That really helps. I like that she hasn't made this a book that stands up and tells you which side is right, but like Jodi Picoult often does, presents you with the social problem and lets you read and enjoy and decide how you feel about the characters and the situation. I love that in a book and Exposure is packed full of internal debate for the reader and it's presented in a way that you just can't put the book down and when you finish you cannot stop thinking about the characters and the issues.

Exposure is also a love story. Can two teenagers really know what love is? Amelia and Anthony think they do, but some of the people around them don't think so. It's a Romeo and Juliet type story of hidden love because the daughter's parents wouldn't agree. I loved getting to know both of them and seeing their love from each side. It is a beautiful love story and a great addition to the storyline of the book. One that I think is important because it shows that all kids aren't completely lust-driven when they do things like Amelia and Anthony do in the book.

I'm afraid I'm rambling, but I really don't want to give away anything in the book, because the surprises are one thing that really made the book for me. It seemed every page I turned something new cropped up and I was enthralled. It was very hard for me to put Exposure down to go to my son's baseball game on Sunday and as soon as I came home, you can be sure I picked it right back up and read until the kids demanded supper.

So again in short, if you love stories that make you think, stories that grip you from the first page and love stories then this is a book for you. Even if you aren't sure you fall into the category that reads this book - this book is for you. Ms. Fowler is brilliant at weaving a story that both interests you and educates you. Exposure is beautiful, it's thought-provoking and it will keep you reading right until the last page.