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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Books don't often make me cry, but this one did.
Great book, balled my eyes out. Carley is a feisty girl just trying to cope with a new foster family and a mother in the hospital because of Carley's abusive stepfather.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
I didn't love the ending. It was a great story but the ending left me wanting more because I want to know that Carly is actually okay and is not being failed by the foster system. The mom wanting to move back to Vegas at the end was a red flag for me.
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a great book following a teenager placed in the foster care system. Definitely a tricky topic that can be mishandled, but I thought Lynda Mullaly Hunt did a great job with it. We get to see the ups and downs of fostering from all sides - Carley (the foster kid), The Murphys (the foster family), and Carley's mom. While the ending definitely brought on inner conflict for Carley and the waterworks for me, I appreciate that the importance of keeping kids with their biological families if possible was shown.
Really enjoyed this middle grade novel about a girl, Carley, who is suddenly placed in foster care after a fight with her mom and stepdad. The family she's placed with is unbearably perfect and getting adjusted is a struggle - but she manages. In fact, maybe she gets a bit TOO settled?
It was just a coincidence that I read this following Almost Home by Joan Bauer, but many of the themes are the same. Carley's unstable (and dangerous) home life causes her to be put into foster care after her mother is put in the hospital by her latest boyfriend.
Being fostered with three boys is a big change, but Carley is tough and fun and figures out how to fit in. There are lots of adjustments to make, birth order issues, the family's father is not totally onboard and is away a lot, and Carley's mother may or may not be the enemy. All in all, Carley is very conflicted about being included in this family, but the mom and younger boys make her welcome and eventually she finds friends and feels at home. This is where the story gets hard. Carley feels safe and secure for probably the first time in her life, but this is a foster home...
This book really gets at the knot of relationships that make up the foster situation. There is resentment, caring, friction and love. It's a wonderful book.
Being fostered with three boys is a big change, but Carley is tough and fun and figures out how to fit in. There are lots of adjustments to make, birth order issues, the family's father is not totally onboard and is away a lot, and Carley's mother may or may not be the enemy. All in all, Carley is very conflicted about being included in this family, but the mom and younger boys make her welcome and eventually she finds friends and feels at home. This is where the story gets hard. Carley feels safe and secure for probably the first time in her life, but this is a foster home...
This book really gets at the knot of relationships that make up the foster situation. There is resentment, caring, friction and love. It's a wonderful book.
I loved this book, but there are a few major inaccuracies regarding the foster care system. The system as its represented here is very different that the system I've experienced through my volunteer work as a special advocate for kids in foster care.
First, I can't imagine anyone who had gone through the foster care system herself, and who willingly takes in another child, would then refuse to let her foster child call her "mom" if she asked to. Who would really make a big deal about that?
Also, the caseworker doesn't show up until she receives a phone call from our protagonist, Carley, and then makes a big deal about having to make a visit. First, visits would have already been made, multiple times. Second, caseworkers are yes, overworked and overburdened, but are incredibly caring people who make sure that their children are safe and if one of their clients calls, they're not going to complain to the child about having to make a visit. Also, Carley would have some kind of mandatory services in place for her that the Murphys would be taking her to, like counseling, therapy, etc. Kids aren't just dropped off at their placement home and then promptly forgotten.
Otherwise, I think this book has a ton of things that are wonderful. The characters are great (even Mrs. Murphy, besides the unbelievable "no"), the plot is well-paced, it balances numerous characters without making them confusing or unnecessary, in order to make a realistic life for Carley, and I love the cover and the endpapers. I think it is so important to have a book like this out there for kids who experience this in their lives. I really wish there could be a couple tweaks and a second edition to fix what I think are huge errors/plot holes.
First, I can't imagine anyone who had gone through the foster care system herself, and who willingly takes in another child, would then refuse to let her foster child call her "mom" if she asked to. Who would really make a big deal about that?
Also, the caseworker doesn't show up until she receives a phone call from our protagonist, Carley, and then makes a big deal about having to make a visit. First, visits would have already been made, multiple times. Second, caseworkers are yes, overworked and overburdened, but are incredibly caring people who make sure that their children are safe and if one of their clients calls, they're not going to complain to the child about having to make a visit. Also, Carley would have some kind of mandatory services in place for her that the Murphys would be taking her to, like counseling, therapy, etc. Kids aren't just dropped off at their placement home and then promptly forgotten.
Otherwise, I think this book has a ton of things that are wonderful. The characters are great (even Mrs. Murphy, besides the unbelievable "no"), the plot is well-paced, it balances numerous characters without making them confusing or unnecessary, in order to make a realistic life for Carley, and I love the cover and the endpapers. I think it is so important to have a book like this out there for kids who experience this in their lives. I really wish there could be a couple tweaks and a second edition to fix what I think are huge errors/plot holes.