The Imposter's Daughter by Laurie Sandell - Review and *GIVEAWAY*

Drawing has been held! This post is now closed and winners will be notified.

The Imposter's Daughter by Laurie Sandell
Copyright 2009
Little Brown - Memoir in the form of a graphic novel
247 pages

I have to be really quick about this review because we're about to get socked by another thunderstorm (the forecast for this entire week is storms, storms, storms, so you might not hear much from me).

The Imposter's Daughter is the memoir of a Laurie Sandell, a woman whose father told some whopper stories when she was young and continued to stand behind his lies as she grew up and began to question him. During the years after Laurie Sandell left home, she began to investigate his past, eventually hiring a private detective. She wanted to find out the truth about her father, his angry outbursts and inability to relate to his family. The rest of the family -- her mother and two sisters -- had no interest in digging up the truth.

When Laurie wrote and published an article about her father, she hoped it would lay her discomfort to rest. Instead, she ended up estranged from her father and even more determined to find out the whole truth. Had he attended college at all? How did he become so well-educated if he didn't? Why did he have such a burning hatred for his half sister in Argentina?

As she investigated her father and began to unearth the reality of his past, she also carried on a long-distance affair with a man she met on the Internet, became an Ambien addict, and grew a fascinating career interviewing celebrities.

I'm not going to tell you what Laurie discovered or what became of her affair and her addiction because the book is really pretty fascinating and I'd hate to give anything away. I will tell you, however, that if the illustrations were photographs, the book would be "R" rated. It's not a pleasant story and there are lots of naked cartoon characters having sex (gasp!!!). Basically, it's just not a book you hand to the kids, although I did show my son my favorite part, which is toward the end of the book and has to do with Jesus. It's hilarious.

3.5/5 - Interesting story, love the graphic format as it makes for a nice break from everyday reading. The story is told well through the combination of words and pictures. Points off for sharing info about her sex life because, honestly . . . I so don't care about anyone's sex life. Some things really ought to be kept private. I absolutely loved the ending/resolution.

Because the story sounded a little . . . well, graphic . . . I asked Anna at Hatchette Books if it was okay to read the book and approve it before offering it in a giveaway and she was fine with that. Now that I've read the book, I can tell you that it's not one I'd hand to the kids, but I still think it's a great story and I'd love to share the fun.

So, giveaway time! This time around, I'm going to base the number of books given away on the number of entries.

Up to 20 entries - 1 winner
20 to 40 entries - 2 winners
40 and up - 5 winners

It's to your advantage to pass the word on. I don't give extra entries for tweeting or blogging, however, because it gets just a wee bit too complex, in my humble opinion, adding extra entries for some people and not others.

Here are the rules:

1. Leave a valid email address. No email address, no entry, period. If I can't get in touch with you, your name will be crossed off the list. I've had some people ask me, "Isn't my email address visible at your end?" No, it's not. I think that's a Wordpress thing; you have to leave your address, here -- use spaces or brackets to protect yourself from spammers.

2. If you've read any graphic novels, share your favorite title with me.

3. Drawing will be held Wednesday, August 12.

This drawing is open to U.S. and Canada residents only - no P.O. Boxes. Books will be shipped directly by the publisher.

That's it! Best of luck!