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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
Amazing Read, Everyone should read this. Really makes you re evaluate how you are to people.
The plot summary of this book interested me and so I picked it up. The inside jacket said that after tragedy strikes Jordan, Sarah a widow and mother of 2, takes him into her home to help him heal (that's a really condensed version). So, I thought that this "tragedy" was going to be a sudden death of his parents, like a car accident. Wow, was I way off.
Sarah is a widow with two sons, Nate and Danny. Nate is an active teeenager, who has been suspended from school for truancy, namely skipping class to sit by his father's grave. Danny is a "straight to the point" child in elementary school who is struggling through his remedial classes and trying to figure out why his best friend hates him. Sarah is a caterer who has managed to keep her family together in the aftermath of her husband's death.
One day, while running errands, Sarah comes upon her young neighbor, and Danny's former best friend, Jordan. He is leaving for school late so she offers him a ride. This ride to school puts the wheels in motion for a very disturbing story. In short: Jordan attempts suicide, Sarah takes him to the hospital, police become involved and it comes out that Jordan is the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of his father and "business associates". The big question everyone has "did Courtney (Jordan's mother) also abuse him or was she completely unaware of the atrocities her husband and 'associates' inflicted upon the young boy?". The answer comes out over halfway through the book.
Child molestation is a topic that is at once horrifying, disgusting, saddening, sickening, heartbreaking and angering. We, as adults (and those who are parents) spend a lot of time telling kids about "Stranger Danger" and the difference between good touch and bad touch. My parents drilled all of that into me when I was a child, and thankfully I never experienced stranger danger or bad touch by an adult. This book takes the horror of pedophilia and puts it into the home of a prominent family in a close-knit neighborhood. The parents in the community are shocked and horrified that these neighbors, Courtney and Mark, would do something so terrible as abuse their son and allow "associates" to also abuse their son and VIDEOTAPE it! This book does a very good job of showing the aftermath of molestation for the victim (Jordan), concerned/confused neighbor (Sarah) and her protective, yet guilt ridden son (Nate).
Katrina Kittle has written a book that is at once engaging and sad. I immediately liked Sarah, and felt for her every time she wished her husband was still around to help her address her sons' various issues, then she opens her home and her heart to this young boy who is badly damaged. Jordan is a good example of an abused child, he fears his father but loves and wants to protect his mother, although both of his parents are guilty of sexual abuse. Nate reminds me quite a bit of my cousins when they were teenagers: parents were a drag, a lot of peer pressure and testing of the boundaries that exist between being a child and being a man. When Nate finds out about the abuse Jordan suffered through he is immediately filled with guilt as Courtney, on several occassions, made passes at him as well as kissed him. He now feels a deep need and desire to protect Jordan from the parents who abused him, as well as work to earn his own mother's trust in him and prove that he will no longer be a disciplinary problem. Danny is a child who is not able to completely comprehend what has happened to Jordan, until he sees photos of the abuse inflicted on Jordan, then all he wants to do is protect Jordan and rebuild their friendship.
As part of my job, I sat in a trial on a child sexual assault case, and was deeply bothered by it. "Bothered" isn't even the right word, I cannot begin to express how it affected me, listening to the victim (a 13 year old girl) tell of the events of her assault as well as the testimony of a co-defendant. I didn't know this young victim, but I kept thinking "if only I could have saved her" and "I hope I can save the next child from experiencing this kind of nightmare" during the trial. Sarah did just that, she rescued Jordan and gave him a home and showed him what parent/child love is (respect, appreciation, discipline, concern...) and what it is not (sex). How do you save a child whose parents do to him/her what only two CONSENTING adults should do, but you don't even know and those parents live right next door to you? It's never too late to rescue just such a child, that's what the books shows.
Sarah is a widow with two sons, Nate and Danny. Nate is an active teeenager, who has been suspended from school for truancy, namely skipping class to sit by his father's grave. Danny is a "straight to the point" child in elementary school who is struggling through his remedial classes and trying to figure out why his best friend hates him. Sarah is a caterer who has managed to keep her family together in the aftermath of her husband's death.
One day, while running errands, Sarah comes upon her young neighbor, and Danny's former best friend, Jordan. He is leaving for school late so she offers him a ride. This ride to school puts the wheels in motion for a very disturbing story. In short: Jordan attempts suicide, Sarah takes him to the hospital, police become involved and it comes out that Jordan is the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of his father and "business associates". The big question everyone has "did Courtney (Jordan's mother) also abuse him or was she completely unaware of the atrocities her husband and 'associates' inflicted upon the young boy?". The answer comes out over halfway through the book.
Child molestation is a topic that is at once horrifying, disgusting, saddening, sickening, heartbreaking and angering. We, as adults (and those who are parents) spend a lot of time telling kids about "Stranger Danger" and the difference between good touch and bad touch. My parents drilled all of that into me when I was a child, and thankfully I never experienced stranger danger or bad touch by an adult. This book takes the horror of pedophilia and puts it into the home of a prominent family in a close-knit neighborhood. The parents in the community are shocked and horrified that these neighbors, Courtney and Mark, would do something so terrible as abuse their son and allow "associates" to also abuse their son and VIDEOTAPE it! This book does a very good job of showing the aftermath of molestation for the victim (Jordan), concerned/confused neighbor (Sarah) and her protective, yet guilt ridden son (Nate).
Katrina Kittle has written a book that is at once engaging and sad. I immediately liked Sarah, and felt for her every time she wished her husband was still around to help her address her sons' various issues, then she opens her home and her heart to this young boy who is badly damaged. Jordan is a good example of an abused child, he fears his father but loves and wants to protect his mother, although both of his parents are guilty of sexual abuse. Nate reminds me quite a bit of my cousins when they were teenagers: parents were a drag, a lot of peer pressure and testing of the boundaries that exist between being a child and being a man. When Nate finds out about the abuse Jordan suffered through he is immediately filled with guilt as Courtney, on several occassions, made passes at him as well as kissed him. He now feels a deep need and desire to protect Jordan from the parents who abused him, as well as work to earn his own mother's trust in him and prove that he will no longer be a disciplinary problem. Danny is a child who is not able to completely comprehend what has happened to Jordan, until he sees photos of the abuse inflicted on Jordan, then all he wants to do is protect Jordan and rebuild their friendship.
As part of my job, I sat in a trial on a child sexual assault case, and was deeply bothered by it. "Bothered" isn't even the right word, I cannot begin to express how it affected me, listening to the victim (a 13 year old girl) tell of the events of her assault as well as the testimony of a co-defendant. I didn't know this young victim, but I kept thinking "if only I could have saved her" and "I hope I can save the next child from experiencing this kind of nightmare" during the trial. Sarah did just that, she rescued Jordan and gave him a home and showed him what parent/child love is (respect, appreciation, discipline, concern...) and what it is not (sex). How do you save a child whose parents do to him/her what only two CONSENTING adults should do, but you don't even know and those parents live right next door to you? It's never too late to rescue just such a child, that's what the books shows.
This was a good read, but a lot of the major action surrounded a very difficult subject, which was disturbing at times.
Dark, serious. Not something I'd recommend picking up to read lightly. The topic was handled sensitively for the most part. I would rather give it 3.5 stars.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Heartbreaking. Just heartbreaking. This was not an easy book to read as the subject matter is child sexual abuse and pornography but I had to see how it ended. I don't think I will ever be able to read this book again, once was enough but I felt that it was an important book to read as things like this really do happen and are hidden behind closed doors.
I do remember that I liked this book but I can't remember why so I am only going to give it three stars!!
This is another book that hurt to read. it deals with a woman who is struggling to raise her two children when a family down the street is torn apart by incest and child pornography. It's awful because we know that this happens in the world. I felt helpless and angry as I read. The characters were amazingly vivid, the feelings raw and ragged. It's a hard book to get through, but it is well worth it and will leave you thinking long after the last page has been read.
I thought this was a totally different book when I picked it up last night and ended up reading it all the way through. It was hard and sweet at the same time. The subject matter is so difficult and thinking about it in this context was a new fresh angle that showed real healing and love.