A review by evamadera1
The Name She Gave Me by Betty Culley

challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Reading this book directly after Goth Girl, Queen of the Universe, made this book suffer a little bit in comparison just because of how much I loved Goth Girl. However, Culley does an excellent job with this free verse narrative in delving into the adoption story, beyond the supposed "happily ever after" that so many paint adoptions with. The main character struggles with her relationship with her mother who has never seemed to accept her even as the mother continues to tell the main character that she (the mother) chose her (the main character). She loves her father but grows to see just how often he has ended up choosing his wife over her when he does not call her on how she treats their daughter. When the main character discovers that she has a sister, who after the death of their mother is now in foster care, she longs for a relationship with her but she also desperately does not want her parents to go through the foster to adopt process with her sister because of how toxic it has been for her.  Things dealt with in this book often do not get discussed but they present an all too real reality for so many.