Daughter: A Novel

by Kate McLaughlin

Overview

* 2023 ITW Thriller Award for Best Young Adult Novel *

Kate McLaughlin’s Daughter is a young adult novel about trying to right deadly choices that were never yours to begin with.

Scarlet’s life is pretty average. Overly protective mom. Great friends. Cute boy she’s interested in. And a father she’s never known – until she does.

When the FBI show up at Scarlet’s door, she is shocked to learn her father is infamous serial killer Jeffrey Robert Lake. And now, he’s dying and will only give the names and locations of his remaining victims to the one person, the daughter he hasn’t seen since she was a baby.

Scarlet’s mother has tried to protect her from Lake’s horrifying legacy, but there’s no way they can escape the media firestorm that erupts when they come out of hiding. Or the people who blame Scarlet for her father’s choices. When trying to do the right thing puts her life in danger, Scarlet is faced with a choice – go back into hiding or make the world see her as more than a monster’s daughter.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250817440
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/08/2022
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	647,494
Product dimensions:	6.36(w) x 8.46(h) x 1.19(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

KATE McLAUGHLIN is the author of Daughter and What Unbreakable Looks Like, a YALSA 2021 Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. She likes people, so much so that she spends her days making up her own. A proud Nova Scotian, she'll gladly tell you all about the highest tides in the world, the magical creation known as a donair, and people who have sofas in their kitchens. Currently, she lives in Connecticut with her husband and four cats.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Daughter:

2023 ITW Thriller Award for Best Young Adult Novel

2023 White Pine Award Winner

A Top Ten YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers

"A dark, surprisingly moving tale... Packed with great characters and a plot that often feels a little too much like real life, Daughter also manages to ask thoughtful questions about complicity, agency, and what justice really looks like." - Paste Magazine, "The Best New YA Books of March 2022"

“A chilling story of victimization, shame, and the casualties of crime, McLaughlin explores the myriad of emotions involved in discovering a heinous truth, and the obligation one can feel to fight for those who no longer can. Haunting and memorable, this book is perfect for true-crime junkies.” - Laurie Faria Stolarz, bestselling author of The Last Secret You’ll Ever Keep

Praise for Pieces of Me:

The Nerd Daily, "YA Book Releases To Add To Your TBR In 2023"

Quill & Quire, "2023 Spring Preview: Books for Young Readers"

"[An] empathetic portrait of a mental health condition. McLaughlin deftly integrates and fleshes out the various alters [in this] respectful and well-researched exploration of one teenager’s experience living with dissociative identity disorder." - Publishers Weekly

“Pieces of Me is a chilling, yet empathetic, look into Dissociative Identity Disorder. With her calm, pure, voice, Kate McLaughlin delves deep into the crevices of this misunderstood disorder and a young woman's mind. I had to keep reading not only to understand Dylan, the main character—but to understand all of the people inside Dylan’s head." - Hayley Krischer, author of Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf and The Falling Girls

Praise for What Unbreakable Looks Like:

A YALSA 2021 Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers

2022 White Pine Award Winner

Book Riot, "The Ultimate Guide to Spring 2020 YA Books for Your TBR"

Culturess, "13 must-read June YA book releases to start your summer off right"

"This shines a light on a little-talked-about topic that involves teens." - Booklist (Starred Review)

"This story of resilience and recovery is gritty and heavy but ultimately hopeful... A gut-punch story with an uplifting ending." - Kirkus

"[A] beautiful insight into what it means to heal and have hope. ...If you are wanting a heartwarming, heartbreaking, inspiring, and hard hitting story, I would definitely recommend you pick this book up." - The Nerd Daily

"Gritty and moving, What Unbreakable Looks Like is a compelling story about recovery and the problem of human trafficking that persists today." - Young Adult Books Central

"With unflinching honesty, What Unbreakable Looks Like exposes the injuries and scars we wear on our skins or in our souls. Hidden damage is tragically common, but helpful others who dared embrace hope invite Alexa to step onto the healing path. This novel may offer a springboard for a reader's own healing or foster empathy for life's walking wounded." - Liz Coley, author of international bestseller Pretty Girl-13

"Raw, unflinching, and authentic, Kate McLaughlin's thoughtful What Unbreakable Looks Like carefully crafts a story exposing the vulnerability of underage trafficked girls and what it takes to begin the process of healing from sexual trauma." - Christa Desir, author, advocate, and founding member of The Voices and Faces Project

“This is a powerful book about a sobering topic that I found myself thinking about for days after I completed it. It is wonderfully poignant, painfully real, and even laugh out loud funny at times. Not everyone can truly wrap their minds around the trauma these victims endure and yet somehow, despite all of it, are still just regular kids. But Kate McLaughlin gets it. ‘Lex’ is truly what unbreakable looks like and you’ll fall in love with her spirit.” - Tanya Compagnone, Trooper First Class

“Sex trafficking continues to seep into all our communities. In this novel, Kate McLaughlin brings to life the trauma that transpires in youth who forced into the life of sex trafficking. Her novel is a reminder that each of us can make a difference in someone’s life.” - Dina R. St. George, MSW, Juvenile Re-Entry Unit OCPD

From the Publisher

08/05/2022

Gr 9 Up—Scarlet is an anxious teen living with her single mom, when one snowy day her life takes a sharp turn. To her shock and horror, she learns her father is Jeff Lake, a famed serial killer, and her mother hid the truth to protect her. Now Lake is on his deathbed and wants to meet his daughter in exchange for providing more victim information to the FBI. Scarlet must make the difficult decision between offering the victims' families peace and keeping herself and her mother anonymous and safe. McLaughlin presents a compelling scenario, which she notes in the acknowledgment was inspired by Ted Bundy's daughter. The story is fast-paced, with short chapters and compulsive readability. However, at times, events seem to move too fast, and some characters feel underdeveloped. Scarlet's character is an emotional rollercoaster, which is reflective of her personal dilemma and journey but can sometimes read as chaotic and jarring. Scarlet's group of friends offer some characters of color and LGBTQ representation, though overall are merely background players. There are several scenes depicting drug use, sex, and necrophilia, which could be too graphic for some readers. Some elements leave more questions than answers, and Scarlet's love story feels like an unnecessary subplot. VERDICT While the premise is alluring, this might be best for a collection where crime and thrillers are in demand over a general purchase.—Kaitlin Malixi

School Library Journal

2021-12-24
In this contemporary drama a young woman meets her father, a psychopathic killer, for the first time.

High school senior Scarlet is a good student and aspiring filmmaker with an overprotective mom. She manages bouts of anxiety with medication—and sometimes with weed—and struggles to feel worthy of guys’ attention. These commonplace worries take a sudden back seat when the FBI arrives at her door and her mother is forced to reveal the truth: Scarlet is actually the daughter of a notorious serial killer, and they’ve been in hiding since his arrest and trial 16 years before. This fantastical premise and Scarlet’s wry but vulnerable observations are compelling. Her relationship with her mom and reintroduction to her extended family are moving. There is a chilling intensity to Scarlet’s visits with her father, who is terminally ill and says he will disclose the names of additional victims only to Scarlet and only if she’ll agree to see him. Online articles and posts about her dad embellish the first-person narrative. A romantic subplot feels a bit tacked on at times, though the juxtaposition of the horrific details of sexual violence her father tortures her by relaying and the healthy, affirming sexual experiences Scarlet has underscores her progress in gaining confidence and understanding herself as a person who is not defined by her father’s evil. Scarlet and her family are White; there is some racial diversity in secondary characters.

A gripping, thoughtful, and at times disturbing psychological thriller. (Thriller. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews