Customer Reviews

Not Without Anna

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One night of drugs and booze at a pool party shatters countless lives. Anna, the current darling of the in crowd dies of an apparent overdose/drowning leaving behind her devasted friends, especially her boyfriend, Mike, and mother, Katherine. Katherine finds purpose in life by trying to put a stop to drug abuse among teens and also by trying to see that Mike, who she views as responsible for her daughter's death, pays for her loss. This puts her in direct conflict with Mike's father, a vitriolic newspaper columnist. Then, a second trajedy dramatically alters all of this, bringing former enemies together as allies and causing new grief, even though answers are revealed by a new terrible loss.

***** This dramatic, moving story shows the depths of grief and how deeply death touches all those around it. No one who reads this will be unmoved by the story of these people united by pain. *****

Vicki M. Taylor's "Not Without Anna," is a gripping, hard-hitting, thought-provoking look at the escalating crisis of teen alcohol and drug abuse.

Psychologist Katherine Marshall is devastated when her daughter drowns. The apparent accident quickly turns into a murder investigation when the date rape drug is found in Anna Marshall's system during the autopsy.

Anna's boyfriend Mike is arrested and tried, but found not guilty in Anna's death, but his son's release does not stop Charles Beckett from continuing his personal attacks on Katherine and her parenting skills in his daily newspaper column. And when Katherine discovers Anna's journals and her daughter's secret life while going through her room and emails, she begins to doubt and blame herself.

Author Vicki M. Taylor digs deep into heart and soul, dragging the reader through the fear, the loss, the self-doubt and self-blame, the devastation, the denial, and the tragic results of alcohol and drug abuse in the compelling story of "Not Without Anna." The writing is tight. The pacing will keep your heart racing. The characters are your kids, your neighbor's kids, your friends, and maybe even yourself. Each one lives and breathes depth and reality onto the pages. "Not Without Anna," is a story that haunts from an author to watch.

As the mother of 3 teens I typically read non-fiction to learn about the stages of children. After reading Not Without Anna I may switch to fiction. I experienced the voices of teens in a way I never had before, and I'm grateful.

I highly recommend this book for parents, teachers, counselors, and teens.

Readers get a peek at the secret lives of teens and their emotions through dialogue that is alarming, gripping, and honest. I appreciate how the author takes a horrendous situation and creates a solution that involves interaction between teens and adults. She awakens us to the fact that teenagers need boundaries and love from adults. If you have a teen in your life you need to read this book.

Dotsie Bregel
www.boomerwomenspeak.com

Yes indeed, author Vicki M Taylor has breached the generation gap, meaning, although I am an older woman, almost from a different galaxy, she has made me understand and care about the teenage characters in the novel. Ms. Taylor's writing style is clear, without frills, and so streamlined that her story flows and flows and flows, without taking a break, to its satisfying conclusion. It's strongest point is that NOT WITHOUT ANNA is a no-nonsense wake-up call for mothers! Fast-paced enough to be a beach-book (or a pool-side book), nevertheless NOT WITHOUT ANNA is an eye-opener (for parents and children-alike), presented in a straight-forward manner. I cared about all of her characters, from Anna, to Jessie, to Katherine ... especially Katherine, who has lost the two most important people in her life, her husband and her daughter, and manages to pick herself up with such courage, such admirable purpose! I wondered about her choices for the future, even long after I turned over the last page.

This book is a very enjoyable read - I read it in a weekend.

I found it to be a "page turner" - very believable characters, lots of little twists as the story unfolds. I really felt the mother's grief - well written, not over done.

I could see where this would be a book that both adults and teenagers could read, and get different things from the story.

This is the second book of Vicki Taylor's that I've read. I have to admit, I like it when an author sends more than one book for me to read. It gives me a better sense of who they are as an author; gives me more examples to base my opinions on.

Of the two books I read, this one and "Trust in the Wind," I have to admit I liked this one much more. This one had more of a definitive plot line, and more of a struggle to it. The plot appealed to me more on a personal level I guess.

This story is about the death of a young teenage girl named Anna. The story is about the lives of those left behind; from her best friend, to her boyfriend, to her mother, who soon realizes she didn't know nearly as much about her daughter's life as she had once presumed. As Katherine, Anna's mother, struggles to accept this new knowledge surrounding her now deceased daughter, she realizes that she has a greater purpose in life. Determined not to let her daughter's death be in vain, Katherine embarks on a crusade to reach out to the teenagers in her community. The very same teenagers whom her daughter had previously bonded with--the ones struggling with anger and feelings of lonliness; turning to each other and drugs to ease these feelings of pain.

Katherine's community isn't entirely receptive of her new ideas, and we follow along as Katherine becomes more and more determined with each obstacle she faces and attempts to overcome. We're there as Katherine finds unlikely allies, is betrayed by those she thought she could trust, and as she ultimately begins to accept the loss of her daughter.

The story moves quickly, and is compelling in its own right. To me, its a pretty accurate portrayal of a part of teenage America. Its no secret that the drugs are out there, and that there are certainly those who abuse them. The book is well written, in a way that you connect with each character that is introduced, not just one or two of them. I'd recommend it to any parent, teenager, or anyone just looking for a quick yet quality read.