REVIEW: The Kennedy Debutante

The Kennedy Debutante
Author: Kerri Maher

I inwardly cringe every time the Kennedy Family is portrayed as "American royalty.'' No, no, no. Wealthy? Yes. Privileged? Yes. Powerful? Without a doubt. But I hate seeing them put on a pedestal. Digging into the history and behavior of the Kennedy clan can be quite a disturbing experience. One daughter lobotomized to avoid scandal and hidden away for the rest of her life. Another dead in Europe before her time, separated from her family because she defied her father. Two sons shot to death. One son getting away with murder after letting a girl drown in his car at Chappaquiddick. It's not a golden story....but a really dark and sad one. And all for ambition, power and greed. Seems such a waste.

After listening to an audio book about the life and lobotomizing of Rosemary Kennedy earlier this year, I wanted to learn more about her sister, Kathleen "Kick'' Kennedy, so I snapped up this book! Kick grew up in privilege, enjoying Europe in the 1930's when her father was an ambassador and becoming a bright, beautiful debutante. Much was expected of her by her parents. They had ambitions for their family and expected Kick to tow the line. She didn't. She fell in love with an Englishman that her family did not approve of. Kick defied her family, choosing love over duty to her parents' ambitions. Her choices had consequences.

 Although I found the Kick's story disturbing and sad, the book is well-written and filled in some gaps in my knowledge of her life and experiences. This is Kerri Maher's debut novel. I will definitely be looking for more by this new author! This book was informative, obviously well-researched and very interesting.

I think I need to lay off books about the Kennedy family for awhile though. It's just too much......with nothing really hopeful or uplifting coming out of any of it. Sad. No reflection on Maher's book -- the book is excellent! Great debut novel! Just thoughts about the family and all the destruction that came in the wake of extreme ambition. Power corrupts.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**