New Release: Yes, Daddy by Jonathan Parks-Ramage
My thoughts:
This book was intense and I was emotionally spent after reading. My heart broke for Jonah and the boys while reading this story. Certain characters in this story I absolutely hated and couldn’t wait for karma to get them good. This story is beyond heavy and tackles very important topics in regards to the #MeToo movement, victim blaming, shaming, cancel culture gone wrong and the mob pitchfork mentality. We need more books like this so victims can feel comfortable speaking out and no longer have to suffer in silence. Yes, Daddy is Jonathan Parks-Ramage’s first novel and I can’t wait to see what he writes next. Absolutely outstanding!
About the Book:
A propulsive, scorching modern gothic, Yes, Daddy follows an ambitious young man who is lured by an older, successful playwright into a dizzying world of wealth and an idyllic Hamptons home where things take a nightmarish turn.
Jonah Keller moved to New York City with dreams of becoming a successful playwright, but, for the time being, lives in a rundown sublet in Bushwick, working extra hours at a restaurant only to barely make rent. When he stumbles upon a photo of Richard Shriver—the glamorous Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright and quite possibly the stepping stone to the fame he craves—Jonah orchestrates their meeting. The two begin a hungry, passionate affair.
When summer arrives, Richard invites his young lover for a spell at his sprawling estate in the Hamptons. A tall iron fence surrounds the idyllic compound where Richard and a few of his close artist friends entertain, have lavish dinners, and—Jonah can’t help but notice—employ a waitstaff of young, attractive gay men, many of whom sport ugly bruises. Soon, Jonah is cast out of Richard’s good graces and a sinister underlay begins to emerge. As a series of transgressions lead inexorably to a violent climax, Jonah hurtles toward a decisive revenge that will shape the rest of his life.
Riveting, unpredictable, and compulsively readable, Yes, Daddy is an exploration of class, power dynamics, and the nuances of victimhood and complicity. It burns with weight and clarity—and offers hope that stories may hold the key to our healing.