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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It feels lame to not like this book because it doesn't come across as believable and is too saccharine. But it's true that for those reasons I can't give it higher than 3 stars.
1. Carley doesn't come across as hostile as most teenaged foster children are apt to be. I don't have any real world experience being a foster parent, but it seems like even a typical teen has more of a chip on her shoulder than Carley has, so I imagine a foster child to be even worse. Carley has almost no adjustment problems being taken away from her abusive stepfather and mother and being thrown into a new family. She makes a new friend and, again, is more well-adjusted than a typical teen.
2. I know it was a plot device to get Carley and the reader to adore Mrs. Murphy, but the police officer who interrogated Carley on what she did to cause the abuse was horrendous. Who would interview a victim of abuse, particularly a child, and ask what they did to deserve it?! Completely not believable!
What I found realistic and heartbreaking is that you feel for Carley at the end, and it must be so painful to be a foster parent.
1. Carley doesn't come across as hostile as most teenaged foster children are apt to be. I don't have any real world experience being a foster parent, but it seems like even a typical teen has more of a chip on her shoulder than Carley has, so I imagine a foster child to be even worse. Carley has almost no adjustment problems being taken away from her abusive stepfather and mother and being thrown into a new family. She makes a new friend and, again, is more well-adjusted than a typical teen.
2. I know it was a plot device to get Carley and the reader to adore Mrs. Murphy, but the police officer who interrogated Carley on what she did to cause the abuse was horrendous. Who would interview a victim of abuse, particularly a child, and ask what they did to deserve it?! Completely not believable!
What I found realistic and heartbreaking is that you feel for Carley at the end, and it must be so painful to be a foster parent.
Wonderful read. The student book club as school was reading it and raved about it. It really highlights the power of an adult in a child's life when they most need someone to love them unconditionally.
This made me cry. As a foster momma, it brought me to tears, putting myself in their shoes. A tough, but necessary read.
adventurous
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Absolutely loved the story...hated the ending. I just felt like there was no real solution for Carley, I wanted more.
Review to come
Review to come
Oh, I loved this book!! While the writing lacked some development at times, Lynda Mullaly Hunt gets a thousand gold stars for creating characters I loved. I will be thinking about Carly and the Murphys for a long time.
Readalikes: People of my generation will remember Katherine Paterson's THE GREAT GILLY HOPKINS with fondness and this may appeal to kids who like the complicated relationships that Carly has with her own mother and her foster family. There are no easy answers in either of these books, no matter how much the reader might want them.
I might also suggest ALSO KNOWN AS HARPER by Ann Leal and WAITING FOR NORMAL by Leslie Connor, as both stories feature strong girl narrators who are dealing with unfortunate home situations beyond their control (homelessness in HARPER and absentee parents in NORMAL).
Readalikes: People of my generation will remember Katherine Paterson's THE GREAT GILLY HOPKINS with fondness and this may appeal to kids who like the complicated relationships that Carly has with her own mother and her foster family. There are no easy answers in either of these books, no matter how much the reader might want them.
I might also suggest ALSO KNOWN AS HARPER by Ann Leal and WAITING FOR NORMAL by Leslie Connor, as both stories feature strong girl narrators who are dealing with unfortunate home situations beyond their control (homelessness in HARPER and absentee parents in NORMAL).
Sadly, this is by far the only Rebecca Caudill book that I have not loved.
The idea was good, about a girl who used to be mistreated goes into a loving family. However, there were a lot of grammar things that I hated.
One of them was that about half the sentences started with 'I'. This is also a problem for Twilight and I hate when it's like that.
Another thing that bothered me was that I couldn't figure out how Carley felt to her new family. Such as the mother of the new family, one page she's saying on how she sort of liked the attention, but then in the next page Carley's thinking about how annoying the mother is. In order for there to be change, there has to be some sort of base.
Also, for a girl who's been living it tough at home, she was pretty immature at her first day of school. It felt very fake on how she just happened to meet people that she automatically loathed. It seemed very cliche and fake.
The idea was good, about a girl who used to be mistreated goes into a loving family. However, there were a lot of grammar things that I hated.
One of them was that about half the sentences started with 'I'. This is also a problem for Twilight and I hate when it's like that.
Another thing that bothered me was that I couldn't figure out how Carley felt to her new family. Such as the mother of the new family, one page she's saying on how she sort of liked the attention, but then in the next page Carley's thinking about how annoying the mother is. In order for there to be change, there has to be some sort of base.
Also, for a girl who's been living it tough at home, she was pretty immature at her first day of school. It felt very fake on how she just happened to meet people that she automatically loathed. It seemed very cliche and fake.
I loved this book! It made me cry. I loved that the story was not overly dramatic. Carly's situation was not a good one at the beginning of the book, but the author did not feel the need to dwell on this point or describe it graphically. As the reader, we got the point. I appreciated this, since the audience for this book is elementary students. It is a good introduction to a world they may not have encountered without being frightening. I also liked the characters and how they realized that first impressions are not always accurate. Carly judged Daniel and Rainer. Toni, Rainer and Daniel judged Carly. Through the course of the story they each learned that the others are more than their first impressions. We also see through Carly's eyes, that adults can make mistakes but still love you. Life is messy, but if you look for it you can find happiness. This is the kind of story that stays with you even after you have read the last page.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced