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    Age of Consent
    Age of Consent
    Age of Consent
    Audiobook12 hours

    Age of Consent

    Written by Marti Leimbach

    Narrated by Callie Beaulieu

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Thirty years ago, June was a young widow with a crush on Craig Kirtz, a disc jockey at a local rock station. To her surprise, the two struck up a friendship that seemed headed for something more. But it was June's thirteen-year-old daughter, Bobbie, whom Craig had wanted all along. Bobbie thought her secret life—the sex, drugs, and relationship itself—could remain buried in the past. When she discovers Craig had similarly pursued a number of other young girls, Bobbie returns home with one purpose in mind: to bring Craig to trial.

    Her decision is greeted with mixed feelings. She's called a "middle-aged woman with a vendetta." She's accused of waging war against her own family. June remembers things differently from the way Bobbie does. Craig insists he has done nothing wrong. But the past has a way of revealing itself, and some relationships lay dormant through the years, ready to stir to life at the slightest provocation.

    While their traumatic history is relived in the courtroom, Bobbie and June must face the choices they made and try to make sense of the pain they endured while seeking justice at long last.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateJul 26, 2016
    ISBN9781681681870
    Author

    Marti Leimbach

    Marti Leimbach was born in 1963 in Washington, DC. She has written several other novels, one of which, Dying Young, was turned into a major feature film in 1991 staring Julia Roberts. Marti now lives in the UK.

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    Reviews for Age of Consent

    3.5/5

    14 ratings3 reviews

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    • 3/5

      Feb 3, 2020

      Age of Consent by Marti Leimbach is an unflinchingly honest novel about a woman who was sexually abused when she was a teenager who finally tries to get justice thirty years later. The subject matter is dark and disturbing yet the rambling, disjointed narrative does not do the topic justice.

      In the late 70s, Bobbie became the victim of a sexual predator whom her mom later married. In 2008, Bobbie brings charges against him for the long ago crime. What should be a compelling court case in the present becomes muddled by extraneous details and a meandering storyline that flashes back and forth between past and present. The present day narrative is concise yet contains a few troubling coincidences that diminish the impact of the court case. There is evidence that could corroborate key facts in the case, yet somehow the prosecutor fails to see it. The courtroom scenes fall flat and the lack of clear resolution is a bit of a disappointment when taking into consideration the fact that a key witness has an epiphany that could turn the entire case around.

      The flashbacks contain horrifying details of fifteen year old Bobbie's abuse at the hands of twenty-eight year old disc jockey Craig Kirtz yet these details are often lost in tedious passages that do little to explain why Bobbie was drawn to a man with absolutely no charm or redeeming qualities. Bobbie's scenes with Craig are harrowing and her fear and disgust are palpable. The fact she kept the relationship a secret from her mother is easy to understand since teenagers often remain silent in these types of situations. Bobbie's shame later in life is realistic as is her underlying belief she is somehow responsible for what happened to her as a teenager. Bobbie's explanation for the series of event that led up to her involvement with Craig occurs so late in the story that it almost feels like an afterthought.

      However, what is most perplexing is why Bobbie's mother, June, was so thoroughly enthralled with Craig in the first place. Yes, his job as a disc jockey made him a "celebrity" of sorts, but his behavior is so appalling that is impossible to understand what she found so appealing about him. And the fact that June was able to overlook and explain away certain details that should have been major red flags is mindboggling.

      Age of Consent by Marti Leimbach does manage to end on positive note but overall, the novel is a bit of a disappointing read. While some parts of the story are unsatisfying, it is a gritty and realistic portrayal of how sexual predators groom their victims and coerce them into keeping silent about the inappropriate relationship.
    • 2/5

      Oct 30, 2018

      This was just not a great book to me. The subject matter was a horrible reality that is beyond disturbing in itself - but it wasn't the subject matter that caused the two stars....it was just the lack of story. It was just was all over the place and I felt it difficult to understand any of the characters. It was like looking through the windows of a house---you see activity and events - but really don't understand the reasoning behind the actions. Even Barbara - who I guess we know the most about - I didn't have any understanding of her at all. No depth.
      I really expected this to be extraordinary (even if in a painful way) - but it was fell flat for me:-(
    • 5/5

      Apr 27, 2016

      I'll start out by saying that this is a difficult book to read but that as a mother or a daughter or a woman, its a book that you should definitely read. It's a novel about abuse of a child but told in a way that I've never read before and in a way that's really made me think about how evil some people can be to other people.

      First the triangle - June is a young widow - not real attractive but she would love to find someone to love. Bobbie is her 13 year old daughter - she is very cute and extremely smart and plans to go to college someday. She loves her mother deeply and tries to take care of her. Craig Kirtz is a local disc jockey who becomes a friend to the small family. June has a major crush on him but it was Bobbie that he was interested in and Bobbie that he seduced at the young age of 14. June has no idea that there is an on going relationship between Craig and Bobbie until years later when Bobbie brings charges against Craig for sexual abuse.

      The novel alternates between the past and the present. The reader learns how Bobbie felt during her teenage years and how it affected her as an adult and why she decided to come back to her home town and face Craig and her mother again. By facing her past, she had to re-live it all again.

      This is a fantastic novel about a difficult subject. It was so well done that I had trouble putting it down once I started and I was unable to start a new book once I finished it because the character of Bobbie kept resonating in my mind.

      Thanks to Goodreads for a copy of this book for a fair and honest review.