If Loving You Is Wrong

By: Gregg Olsen

Narrated by: Kathleen Godwin

Length: 12 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Within hours of giving birth to her sixth child, Mary Kay Letourneau had her baby daughter whisked from her arms. She was then shackled and returned to her jail cell. Just years before, the pretty, personable Seattle schoolteacher was living a life many would envy - she had a handsome husband, four beautiful children, and a beloved following of students. Then she was accused of raping one of her students, and her whole world turned upside down.

Was she a rapist or a victim? How did a 34-year-old married teacher fall in love with one of her sixth grade students? Was it a complete lapse of judgment, or - as she contends - the meeting of two soul mates? Were the two planning on running away together, before police caught them in a parked car? Did the couple have illicit sex in every room of the Letourneau house, as the teenager told the tabloids?

Listen and learn about the case that shocked the world and rocked the headlines - about the lonely life of Mary Kay Letourneau and the young object of her obsession, the boy who fathered two of her children. You may think you know the story of Mary Kay Letourneau - but you don't know the whole story until you've heard If Loving You is Wrong.

Includes interviews with Mary Kay Letourneau.

©1999 Gregg Olsen (P)2013 Gregg Olsen

Put me out of my misery!

Would you try another book from Gregg Olsen and/or Kathleen Godwin?

Yes, I would read another Gregg Olsen book even though he tends to write too much, repeat, and generally tell the temperature of the puddles out front. He really needs to scale down his books. Being paid, like a lawyer, for each word?

Never, ever Kathleen Godwin. She reads with such speed and never-changing monotone, hat I kept adjusting to"slow speed." The pace was then much better the words got slurred. Never again.

Is there someone out there with the job of screening narrators?

What was most disappointing about Gregg Olsen’s story?

Too lengthy. Lots of useless details before the actual story starts. I gave up and erased the annoying "noise."

Would you be willing to try another one of Kathleen Godwin’s performances?

Never.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from If Loving You Is Wrong?

Probably the first third of the book. It was unnecessary and boring. I knew the basic story and kept wondering if I had the wrong book. I'd go back and read the description and had to convince myself that I had the right story.

Any additional comments?

Nope. Don't recommend.

Love Everlasting? I think not.

With the recent announcement of the breakdown of Mary Kay and Vili's marriage I decided to read Gregg Olsen's version of the original story. Out of all the crime writers I do feel that Gregg Olsen does give us the facts with less bias. And let us not get wrapped up with the fact that it was a CRIME and not some sweet romance.

Gregg Olsen gives us the story from day one. I found it a little convoluted however as his timeline skips from one decade then goes into a retrospective and back again. Can get a little confusing but that is what your fast forward and rewind is for I suppose.

Must admit that I did enjoy this book and Kathleen Godwin gave a great performance. Her gentle voice did, however lull me into feeling sorry for Mary Kay in so much that on a couple of occasions I had to tell myself to 'get a grip' and remind myself that Mary Kay was the perpetrator of a major crime!

An enjoyable read regardless of it's minor faults.

If loving you is wrong

I read this book years ago and could not wait to listen to it (again) when it became available on audio! This is such a fascinating and crazy story, I just loved it and would highly recommend to anyone interested.

Worst book I have read

The narrator was fine, however thr story never peaked.
Truly a waste of time and money.
I have read books from this author before and enjoyed them, but this was disappointing.

101 excuses for a pedophile!

The author was extremely sympathetic toward the pedophile subject/protaganist. He hould have done more "follow up" to update the book. Copyright is 1999; one update in 2004. Current audio production copyright 2013.

Seriously Disappointing

What disappointed you about If Loving You Is Wrong?

I've never written a review of a book I did not love before. It is my position that on the whole, I can't play football, so I don't judge the players. I can't write a good story, so the same rule applies. This being said, from the title and the description it could be supposed that this book would give perhaps an insight into the minds of the two individuals most involved. At very least interviews of the players, something. This book reads like the most boring fiction novel I have ever encountered. I'm 7.5 hours in and I expect I will only be listening until this review is completed. At 7.5 hours we have not yet heard anything more than Mary Kay is a disorganized, lousy house keeper, her children loved her, and her husband may have been, but might not have been abusive. I think it took me a full 45 seconds to summarize that here. Why it took Olsen 7.5 hours to say I can't begin to guess.

What was most disappointing about Gregg Olsen’s story?

My biggest reason for indulging in true crime novels is to get insight into the psychology involved in atypical behaviors. This was not to be found here. I would have probably found more reading the news clippings of the offense.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I can hardly blame the narrator. She sounds disinterested, but then, the material didn't help.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

None. I had no reaction to any of the characters. Olsen turns them into nameless, faceless individuals with no relatable characteristics.

Any additional comments?

This is my second Gregg Olsen book. The first one I purchased was Abandoned Prayers. When I finish this review I believe I will go remove other's of his from my wish list.

redundant

struggled to finish this book. Too many chapters made the story redundant. Skipping timeline made it hard to keep up. Ending was cut super short and awkward.

Love Gregg Olsen but not the narrator

I'm a huge fan of Gregg Olsen..that said, the voice and performance of the narrator can ruin it for me : (

Amazing Story

highly recommended lots of life lessons.....
well researched....
interesting to see how everything unfolded and where everyone wanted up at

WHO AM I TO JUDGE?

Would you consider the audio edition of If Loving You Is Wrong to be better than the print version?

YES. YEARS AGO I RED THE PRINT VERSION. AUDIO IS ALWAYS BETTER FOR ME ANYWAY.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I FOUND NONE OF THEM THAT LIKEABLE. I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THIS CAN POSSIBLY BE. BUT I GUESS LOVE HAS NO BOUNDARIES.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

THE READER WAS CLEAR BUT I FELT THE READING HAD SOMETHING MISSING. LIKE THE READER WAS THINKING ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE WHEN SHE WAS READING THIS BOOK.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

TIDBIT? I REALLY WOULDN'T KNOW. ALL I KNOW IT IS SOME STORY.

Any additional comments?

I UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ARE NOW MARRIED A YEAR AND A HALF. AMAZING. WHO WOULD EVER HAVE THOUGHT IT WOULD EVER COME TO PASS.