The Rock Star's Daughter

The Rock Star's Daughter (the Treadwell Academy Series)
By Caitlyn Duffy

The Rock Star's Daughter was another one of those "freebies" I got on my kindle this past week. I was blown away. This is an awesome book that really spoke to me and made me think about what makes a good writer and a better book.

Taylor is the daughter of a rock star and a fledgling actress. Taylor has grown up in Los Angeles but she is not the typical spoiled young woman you would imagine. She has only seen her father two times in her life and she is the true caretaker of her alcoholic mother. Duffy must have had some real-life experience living with an alcoholic as the enabling behavior is evident.

Taylor goes to a prestigious private school on the east coast but does have at least one close friend near her home in the summer. Taylor and her mother never travel (she has not ever met her grandparents) but stick close to the pool in their own backyard. In fact, Taylor has to live on a tight budget. Her father pays for her school and some child support, but there is never enough. She later discovers that her mother has been using all of Taylor's money for booze.

Then Taylor's mother dies and Taylor is forced to go on the road with her father and his rock star band. Not only does Taylor have to deal with her grief but she has a father who has little time for her, a strict stepmother, a spoiled little sister, and the paparazzi. She discovers some things about herself, her father and what it means to trust others. There is some typical teenage behavior and some that is not so typical (Taylor is very smart, talented, as well as a social misfit).

I loved watching Taylor grow and seeing the other characters change during the book. Some folks seemed to be nice people but ended up not so nice. And others who seemed indifferent ended up having the best hearts. I also enjoyed getting a glimpse of what life is really like on the road with the rich and famous (it is not so pleasant).

What did this book have to do with my faith? The character of Taylor made me think about how Christians try to interact in the larger culture. How far should we go to accommodate what everyone else is doing? Should we try to fit in or be left out? What happens when we try to be good, or get others to be good/ follow the rules and we get into trouble anyway? Should we just blow the rules off and do our own thing? Or stand by our convictions? It took Taylor a long time to figure this out and it should take us a while as well.

I highly recommend this book! In fact, I have downloaded the next in the series: The Believer's Daughter.

Happy reading!

Amelia