Danny's Mom
Elaine Wolf, 2012
Arcade Publishing
223 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781628725131
Summary
Friday Night Lights meets Ordinary People when Beth Maller returns to her job in Meadow Brook High School shortly after an unspeakable tragedy.
Railing against the everyday injustices she had overlooked until her world cracked open, Beth stirs up the moral battles being waged in the school, where administrators cling to don't-rock-the-boat policies and mean girls practice bullying as if it were a sport.
As Beth struggles to find her "new normal," she learns to speak out, risking her career and her marriage—the very life she’s embraced.
Danny’s Mom is a story about reinventing ourselves and about finding strength and courage when our illusion of safety fractures. Mostly, though, Danny’s Mom is a novel about relationships—marriage and friendship, parents and children.
Author Bio
• Birth—1948
• Where—Great Neck, New York, USA
• Education—B.A., M.A., New York University
• Currently—lives in Los Angeles, California
Known as "the anti-bullying novelist," Elaine Wolf writes about what really goes on behind the closed gates and doors of our camps and schools. The issues she explores in her novels are those she is passionate about and knows well.
She was a camper and camp counselor for many summers. When she entered "the real world," she taught in public schools in California and New York. In her most recent teaching position, she served as a high school reading specialist, and then she became the district language arts chairperson. In that position, Wolf designed and supervised reading and writing programs for students at all grade levels, facilitated reading groups and writers’ workshops, and selected books for classroom libraries as well as for ancillary and summer reading lists.
One of the author’s greatest joys was getting wonderful books into the hands of students, teachers, and parents. In the time before Kindles and iPads, she spent countless hours stocking shelves with "good reads." And she dreamed of seeing her books on those shelves. Now she is thrilled that Camp and Danny’s Mom are there.
Although critics call her novels "mesmerizing" and "must-reads," what pleases Wolf more than great reviews is the fact that Camp and Danny’s Mom have given her a literal bully pulpit—a platform from which to carry on the anti-bullying conversation so that, in concert with professionals, we will make our camps and schools kinder, more embracing communities for everyone. Wolf is committed to keeping this conversation going until the bullying epidemic ends.
The author and her husband raised their children in Roslyn, New York, where she was a co-facilitator of an adult writers’ workshop. Then they moved to Northampton, Massachusetts, a community brimming with readers, writers, artists, and musicians. Shortly after settling there, Wolf won a prize for short fiction (the perfect welcome for her). Currently, she and her husband live in Los Angeles, California. (From the author.)
Visit the author's website.
Follow Elaine on Facebook.
Book Reviews
Brutally honest, no-holds-barred narrative….Wolf writes with insight and authority about an issue that society cannot afford to ignore.
Kirkus Reviews
Readers may recognize their past selves in the fragile students outside the high school’s guidance office…hoping for a nod from a reassuring face.
Booklist
With its themes of grief, rage, school bullying, sexual orientation, hate crimes, and how much educators can and should do to protect students and themselves, this novel seems ideal for reading groups.
Jefferson County Public Library, Alabama
An excellent and essential read for mothers, adults who work in schools, and the LGBTQ community.
Advocate.com
Once you start, it’s hard to put down.
Instinct Magazine
Danny’s Mom is an eye-opening novel about what really goes on in schools and with the people in charge. This is an excellent read.
Coming Out Journal
Wonderful book…very inspiring. Danny’s Mom made me sit up and take notice…I truly enjoyed this book and believe it will give many something to think about.
MoonShine Art Spot
We can all learn a thing or two from Danny’s Mom.
GRAB Magazine
From the beginning pages, Elaine Wolf had me weeping into the pages, my heart feeling the exact pain that [the protagonist] felt. Wolf has captured that pain with utmost precision.
Uniquely Moi Books
Wow! Danny’s Mom is a beautiful and heartbreaking story of loss, justice, and redemption. This novel should be read by all.
Mrs. Mommy Booknerd Blog
Hard to put down….A perfect reading choice for parents and students alike.
Spa Week Daily
Discussion Questions
1. Blame and guilt are significant issues in Danny’s Mom. Why does Beth feel the need to blame Joe for Danny’s death? Does blaming Joe serve a purpose for Beth? Why do you think she initially absolves herself of guilt? And what causes Beth to realize that she shares responsibility for the accident?
2. Beth seems to think of Danny as her son only, not as Joe’s son. Why does she feel that way? How, in general, do you think the mother-child relationship differs from the father-child relationship?
3. The characters in Danny’s Mom face many conflicts. Discuss the conflict between Beth and Joe. What causes the tension in their relationship? And what causes the conflict between Joe and Al, Beth’s father? Why does Joe seem at odds with him?
4. Throughout the novel, the tension between Beth and Peter is palpable. In fact, Beth says, "Peter and I were allergic to each other." Discuss the tension in their relationship. Is Peter solely to blame for their antagonism? And is Peter alone to blame for what happens at Meadow Brook High School?
5. When characters are well drawn, readers gain insight into what motivates them. Discuss what motivates Joe. What motivates Beth? What motivates Peter?
6. Discuss the relationship between Beth and her father. Talk about the relationship between Beth and Callie. Contrast Beth and Joe’s relationship with the relationship between Callie and her husband, Tom.
7. In thinking about Joe, Beth recognizes that "Danny had glued [them] together…and now they were peeling apart." Do you think Beth’s realization applies to most marriages that have to incorporate tragedy or hard times? Discuss the difference in how Beth and Joe each respond to grief.
8. Who are the bullies in this novel? How does each one grab power and hold on to it?
9. Although we don’t experience the relationship between Beth and Danny firsthand, we know a lot about it. Do you think Beth was a good mother? Discuss Beth’s thought that "maybe [she] didn’t have enough love for a husband and a child. Or maybe [she] didn’t know how to divide it." Compare Beth as a mother to Liz’s mother, Mary Grant.
10. Many of the characters in the book make poor decisions. Talk about the decisions and/or choices made by Beth, Liz, Bob and Peter, Joe, and Ann Richardson. What, if anything, do you think Beth should have done differently at school and at home? What do you think Liz should have done?
11. Why doesn’t Liz speak out? Why doesn’t Beth speak out sooner?
12. Although Beth makes poor choices as she fights to help Liz, Beth is passionate about trying to do what she feels is best for Liz. Beth’s motivation extends beyond simply being a counselor. Why does Beth feel compelled to rescue Liz?
13. Discuss Kate Stanish. What is her motivation? Talk about the relationship between Beth and Kate. Beth trusted Kate immediately; Beth "embraced Kate’s words like a kind of religion." Why? And why does Beth obsess about Kate? What does that obsession offer Beth?
14. Discuss the symbolism in Beth’s reading To Kill a Mockingbird. Similarly, discuss the black and white clown that Zach Stanish drew.
15. Beth lies a lot. Why? What benefit does lying give her? And what harm does it do?
16. Discuss Beth’s crazy consequence game—the way she lists or counts things and invents consequences. Why does she do that?
17. Beth realizes that, maybe, parents can never fully know their children. And she wonders if parents and children are afraid of each other. What do you think? Can parents fully know their children? And do you agree with Beth that parents and children are afraid of each other?
18. Danny’s Mom has been called a coming-of-age story for adults. How does Beth grow and change and find her voice? What lessons does she learn? What have you learned as a reader, or what thoughts do you have after reading the book?
19. Discuss the cover: the image of a sinking school. Why do you think that picture was chosen?
20. There are two epigraphs at the beginning of the novel. One is attributed to Kiran Desai: "The present changes the past. Looking back you do not find what you left behind." The other is from Anne Morrow Lindbergh: "Woman must come of age by herself. She must find her true center alone." Discuss these quotes as they relate to Danny’s Mom.
(Questions courtesy of the author.)