Whippoorwill by Joseph Monniger

What does neglect and abuse do to a human boy, to a dog?  Can such hurt be undone or not?  This fast read takes a look at the issue.   Its an ok story that held my attention.

Clair and Danny have lived next door since forever, but were never friends.  They both are in single family homes without mothers.  But Danny lives with an angry and sometimes abusive father while Clair's father is more stable and loving.  The fathers grew up together as well though were never friends.  Recently a dog has been tied to a pole outside, sometimes fed, sometimes kicked, always whining and trying to get away from the pole.  

Clair gets up the nerve to start befriending the dog, Wally, then training him and walking him when Danny's father angrily says to take him he wants to get rid of him. Clair and Danny form a friendship over Wally, training him and caring for him.  Though Danny had been treating the dog badly, he cleaned him up for Clair got a new leash, fed him better.  The possibility of a deeper kind of a relationship might exist for Clair despite warnings about the unstable family.

Then one horrible night everything falls apart, Danny and his father argue, father is injured and has his son charged.  For a while Clair cares for the dog Wally as no one is next door to do so.  But, when Elwood arrives home he demands the dog and injures the dog.  Clair's father and his friends do a great  rescue.

We know the outcome for Wally and it is heartwarming, even might make dog lovers a bit teary but the outcome for Danny is far from certain and I think just as important to the book as the dog story.
jdw10/25/15

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

This novel reminded me of Homecoming by Voigt, Pictures of Hollis Woods by Giff and half dozen stories about young people abandoned or stolen by mentally unstable folks.  Carey has been told for some 10 years that she was taken to the trailer with no running water, no heat, no electricity because her father abused her.  She didn't know any other story so she believed it must be true.  But, mom had a string of scarey men visiting her, mom left her and later her little sister too alone for weeks at a time.  So a man she doesn't know and a woman called a social worker show up at the trailer in the deep woods of Tennessee.  They show her a letter from mom to the social worker saying she cannot take care of the girls and please go take care of them.  Carey and little sister Jessica suddenly find themselves experiencing things Carey can't remember and Jessica has never experienced, things like electricity, bubble baths, pajamas and more.  Jessica has selective mutism.  Jessica seems to be nobody's child except Carey's.  On that basis she stays with the family with whom the girls are placed and cared for and adjusts quite well.  Carey is narrating the story.  She has secrets she both needs to tell and needs to keep.  Slowly over time, her and Jessica's story of horrific deprivation, abuse and more come out.  There is a three legged dog that takes to Jessica and Carey and helps to ease their transition that is quite important to the story.  I want folks to know since it also takes some of the horror for the reader who likes pets.  I've always taken to "rescuing kids from bad situations" stories quickly and this one is no exception.  Recommend.

Reality Boy by A.S. King

If ever a pair of teens deserved do overs, the stars of this book do.  Gerald and Hannah have both had very punishing lives, in some ways abusive.  They are almost finished with high school, the hold jobs at a sports stadium concession stand.   They dream of escaping their lives and starting fresh.  Gerald's family is famously dysfunctional having been subject of a reality show that supposedly aimed to fix their problems.  In fact it helped nothing.  It did give Gerald a crude nickname and a bad history that makes it impossible for him to attend regular classes.  Hannah's family has its own problems, they just aren't public.  The pair are attracted to each other but jittery about dating because of their backgrounds.  When eventually they do connect, they talk about running away.  So, when things fall apart at Gerald's when his psycho older sister throws an out of control party, they run.  This is just the start of their coming to terms with their childhoods and teen years but this is where it ends.  Truly, I want more!  It was tough to get into but once I was hooked, I raced through this title.  Highly recommended.  JDW 11/15/13

A Child Called It by David Pelzer

So I realize I'm probably going to get kicked for this review, but I'm obviously too analytical to just take a book at face value. You mention this book to anyone and the first thing they say is "It's so sad" but what else? What do you walk away from with this book and that's where I think it fell short.

This book is a memoir of a child abuse victim. David's mother began abusing him when he was a child, insisting that he was a "bad boy." Besides physically abusing him and making him her slave, she had him living in a constant state of fear for what her next move would be. Some of her more devious attacks included leaving him in a closed bathroom with an ammonia and bleach mixture that became a gas chamber. She starved him for days, made him sleep in the garage, and at one point even stabbed him. Any attempt he made to get food was often discovered and then punished. His father - a firefighter - was rarely home and when he was, he became another one of the mother's victims, unable to help his son. In the end, after years of abuse, his teachers finally take a stand and save him from his horrible situation.

I don't know where to begin my reaction. I'll completely agree with anyone who says this book is sad because it is terrible what he went through. Do I believe everything? I think that with any biography there are situations that are embellished so I do take things with a grain of salt. I have a hard time accepting that as he went through all of this, no one helped him. For years, no one did ANYTHING to help him - okay, one person called child services, but ONE? That's it? That's hard for me swallow Which is why I think that there needs to be more background about the time period. I work in a school and I know that staff is required to report any sign of child abuse. This kid clearly had signs and no one did anything. I know that this is because of the time period, but I personally would have liked to know more, like when things changed or why no one did anything. Also, this novel is listed as "Self-Help/Psychology/Inspiration." I don't see much self-help going on in this novel. In my eyes, David didn't do much to help his situation. He told himself he could beat her - which he did somethings - and he prayed for her to die or else for her to kill him. How does that ultimately help another child in a similar situation? Ultimately, David survived because others finally came in and helped him. Yes, he grew past his situation and turned the bad into good, but I feel like this book is lacking the words of wisdom to honestly help others in this situation. It is eye opening to the horrors of child abuse but what does it have to say about fighting the system?

In the end, I thought that this book was a sad story and that's about it. It doesn't go much farther than telling the story. I realize I'm probably missing something from this memoir and am probably a cold, cynical person to not be so affected by this book, but I felt like it could have done more for the message.
MMK