Tag: foster families

REVIEW: What I Carry by Jennifer Longo

REVIEW: What I Carry by Jennifer Longo

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Muiriel is 17. One more year and she ages out of the foster care system. She’s learned to pack light – to LIVE light – with the goal of getting to 18, beating the odds, and living healthy and free on her own.

Her social worker begs her to settle in for this final year of high school. Her eyes are on college for Muiriel, and she knows a strong senior year is important. Joellen has always been there for her, and her request seems simple enough for Muir to agree.

Muir’s new home across the Sound from Seattle seems too perfect. Too many signs of the few things she anchors her life to – her namesake John Muir, the wilderness, and independence. But it’s also all wrong. She’s the only placement in the house, so she can’t hide in the chaos of other kids. Her foster mom, Francine, lives on five acres of land out in the middle of nowhere, so there’s no city noise but tons of quiet. And Joellen is a ferry-ride away, so she can’t call for a quick escape. Even if she did, there were no other placements that would take her.

But maybe this last placement will give Muir something she’s refused to let herself hope for – a sense of home.

Review

“Not being perfect is for people who have families; you can screw up and they still keep you.”

This book was amazing! Excellent! Stupendous! I don’t know that I have an adjective for how much I loved this book. I’ve always had a soft spot for foster care stories, but this is so much more than that!

Muir is one of the best characters I’ve read in awhile. There’s a thread of her “packing light” philosophy that runs through the whole book and is brilliant. Her gradual shift from living out of her suitcase to setting things ON the dresser before putting something IN the dresser was a glorious way to SHOW how she’s feeling about her placement. The trinkets she carries from foster home to foster home illustrate her experiences and show why she has built these protective walls around herself.

The other characters are just as amazing. And there are fantastic tidbits about John Muir, as well as a sweet romance, and a skewering commentary about racism woven into this bigger story that is fantastic.

When I step back from the story I loved and think about how the author built it – her understanding of the out-of-home care system, her excellence in conveying Muir’s thoughts and feelings, the layers to the story itself and the characters – I appreciate the book even more. Do not miss this AMAZING story! (Language, off-page sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥+++

REVIEW: Pavi Sharma's Guide to Going Home by Bridget Farr

REVIEW: Pavi Sharma’s Guide to Going Home by Bridget Farr

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Pavi Sharma has become something of an expert on foster care. In fact, she has a little business helping other foster kids in transition. She’s paid in Sharpies and Hot Cheetos. She teaches kids things like The Front Door Face, the expression to use at a new home to garner the right balance of sympathy and security so a foster family feels you will be a good placement. Pavi also uses her network of foster kids to get the real scoop on a new school or foster family to help a kid feel comfortable with a new placement.

But when Pavi hears that the new girl, Meridee, is going to the Nickersons, she doesn’t need to do any research. She knows from personal experience that no kid should go there. And she’s going to do whatever it takes to keep Meridee safe and far away from the Nickersons.

Review

I love a good, moving story about foster care like Touch Blue (middle grade) or A List of Cages (YA). And this definitely fits in that category. While I expected a bigger punch at the climax when everything comes out, this story is just right for a middle grade audience.

Pavi was a delight. My favorite part of the whole book was how she took on the role of mentor and guide for other foster kids – even the ones older than she is. The shelter folks seem to know something is going on, and they walk the line between confidentiality and filling Pavi in on some details. But they don’t seem to take her seriously in this mentor role. But the reader sees how important it is. And she’s doing it not to help kids scam the system or the foster parents but really to help the kids have a successful start at a new placement.

At the same time, Pavi does show some of the negatives that can happen with kids in the system – self-protective secrets (which shouldn’t be secret), easy lying, using her status as a foster kid to deflect some scrutiny, etc.. In this case she uses all those things not really for herself but ultimately to help Meridee. It’s handled well in the story.

Pavi’s relationship with her foster brother, Hamilton, is lovely. She trusts him, and he is eager to back her up in her work. He’s a nice contrast to Piper who bickers with Pavi because they both want Hamilton’s attention and time. Also, Pavi bristles at Piper’s seemingly perfect life and “first world problems” compared to what she feels she needs to do to protect Meridee.

The characters in this book are EVERYTHING. Don’t miss them. Be sure to check this one out.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Loser's Bracket by Chris Crutcher

REVIEW: Loser’s Bracket by Chris Crutcher

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Annie’s almost a senior in high school, but she’s experienced a lot in 17 years. She bounced from home to foster care multiple times before her mother’s rights were terminated. Annie knows her family is toxic, but she’s tied to them too tightly to turn her back on them. Her foster father would like nothing more than for Annie to cut all ties to her biological family once and for all. But she can’t bring herself to do it. Most of the times she sees her mother or her older sister, the meet up ends in disappointment for Annie. But they are still family.

When Annie’s biological family shows up for her last swim meet of the season, her mother picks a fight with Annie’s book club friends over a misunderstanding. In the ensuing chaos, Annie’s nephew disappears. Her family may be a hot mess, but they are her hot mess. Annie will do whatever it takes to find her nephew.

Review

The characters in this are outstanding! I loved Annie from the beginning. Even though her biological family is trapped in horrible cycles of abuse and drug use, Annie sees the dysfunctions and can keep some distance from them. After Annie, her foster brother, her best friend, and her book club are my other favorites from the story. In a different book, the book club would have made an excellent story all on their own, with each character telling his or her own story.

While Annie’s foster family is safer and more healthy than her biological family, it’s not perfect. And in the story we get to watch Annie negotiate the various dysfunctions and find her own path through them. The revelations she experiences as the foster family situation is more out in the open were fascinating.

I loved everything about this. I would read more stories with these characters in a hot minute. And the author’s style and insight really clicked for me. I’d read more of his work and will be checking out his other stories.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½