Review - The Extraordinary Hope of Dawn Brightside by Jessica Ryn

Title: The Extraordinary Hope of Dawn Brightside
Author: Jessica Ryn
Pages: 400
Release Date: November 26^th 2020
Format: Hardback
Buy it: Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

Synopsis: She’s always looking on the bright side...
Dawn Elisabeth Brightside has been running from her past for twenty-two years and two months, precisely.
So when she is offered a bed in St Jude’s Hostel for the Homeless, it means so much more than just a roof over her head.
But with St Jude’s threatened with closure, Dawn worries that everything is about to crumble around her all over again.
Perhaps, with a little help from her new friends, she can find a way to save this light in the darkness?
And maybe, just maybe, Dawn will finally have a place to call home….
 
My Review: This story follows two women who are very different. Grace is the manager of St. Jude’s Hostel and Dawn is running away from her past and is given a room in the hostel.
 
Grace starts to fall for one of the residents even though it’s forbidden and she has to try and keep her feelings hidden while she tries to keep St. Jude’s open.
 
Dawn has been through a terrible time and has been living on the streets for the last 20 years until she is given a room at St. Jude’s, she loves to help people even breaking the hostel rules by allowing a young lad to stay in her room with her and coming up with fundraising ideas to keep St. Jude’s open.
 
I enjoyed the story but I thought the ending was a bit rushed and lacking, I think there could have been another chapter or two on both Dawn and Grace.
 
Currently Reading: 
Read in 2022: /40

Review - News of the World by Paulette Jiles

Title: News of the World
Author: Paulette Jiles
Pages: 209
Release Date: 
Format: Paperback
Buy it: Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

Synopsis: In the aftermath of the Civil War, an aging itinerant news reader agrees to transport a young captive of the Kiowa back to her people in this exquisitely rendered, morally complex, multilayered novel of historical fiction from the author of Enemy Women that explores the boundaries of family, responsibility, honor, and trust.
 
In the wake of the Civil War, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd travels through northern Texas, giving live readings from newspapers to paying audiences hungry for news of the world. An elderly widower who has lived through three wars and fought in two of them, the captain enjoys his rootless, solitary existence.
 
In Wichita Falls, he is offered a $50 gold piece to deliver a young orphan to her relatives in San Antonio. Four years earlier, a band of Kiowa raiders killed Johanna’s parents and sister; sparing the little girl, they raised her as one of their own. Recently rescued by the U.S. army, the ten-year-old has once again been torn away from the only home she knows.
 
Their 400-mile journey south through unsettled territory and unforgiving terrain proves difficult and at times dangerous. Johanna has forgotten the English language, tries to escape at every opportunity, throws away her shoes, and refuses to act “civilized.” Yet as the miles pass, the two lonely survivors tentatively begin to trust each other, forming a bond that marks the difference between life and death in this treacherous land.
 
Arriving in San Antonio, the reunion is neither happy nor welcome. The captain must hand Johanna over to an aunt and uncle she does not remember—strangers who regard her as an unwanted burden. A respectable man, Captain Kidd is faced with a terrible choice: abandon the girl to her fate or become—in the eyes of the law—a kidnapper himself.
 
 
My Review: This was a nice quick historical fiction read about an old army captain named Jefferson Kyle Kidd who travels around Texas reading the news of the world from his newspapers.
 
He is offered a $50 gold piece to transport a 10 year old girl Johanna who was kidnapped by the Kiowas at the age of 6 back to her aunt and uncle.
 
During their 400 mile journey from Wichita Falls to San Antoni they encounter various issues along the way from Johanna trying to escape and go back to the Kiowa’s to an evil man wanting to buy her.
 
This book isn’t something that I would normally read but I enjoyed the story and the ending was fantastic. If you are looking for a quick historical fiction book to read I would recommend giving this a try.
 
Currently Reading: 
Read in 2022: /40

Saturday Review - Isabella: The Warrior Queen by Kirstin Downey

 

Title: Isabella: The Warrior Queen

Author:  Kirstin Downey

Narrator: Kimberly Farr

Release Date: October 28^th 2014

Format: Audiobook

Buy it: Amazon

Add it: Goodreads

 

Synopsis: An engrossing and revolutionary biography of Isabella of Castile, the controversial Queen of Spain who sponsored Christopher Columbus's journey to the New World, established the Spanish Inquisition, and became one of the most influential female rulers in history

Born at a time when Christianity was dying out and the Ottoman Empire was aggressively expanding, Isabella was inspired in her youth by tales of Joan of Arc, a devout young woman who unified her people and led them to victory against foreign invaders. In 1474, when most women were almost powerless, twenty-three-year-old Isabella defied a hostile brother and mercurial husband to seize control of Castile and León. Her subsequent feats were legendary. She ended a twenty-four-generation struggle between Muslims and Christians, forcing Moorish invaders back over the Mediterranean Sea. She laid the foundation for a unified Spain. She sponsored Columbus's trip to the Indies and negotiated Spanish control over much of the New World with the help of Rodrigo Borgia, the infamous Pope Alexander VI. She also annihilated all who stood against her by establishing a bloody religious Inquisition that would darken Spain's reputation for centuries. Whether saintly or satanic, no female leader has done more to shape our modern world, where millions of people in two hemispheres speak Spanish and practice Catholicism. Yet history has all but forgotten Isabella's influence, due to hundreds of years of misreporting that often attributed her accomplishments to Ferdinand, the bold and philandering husband she adored. Using new scholarship, Downey's luminous biography tells the story of this brilliant, fervent, forgotten woman, the faith that propelled her through life, and the land of ancient conflicts and intrigue she brought under her command.

 

My Review: This audiobook was recommended by a true crime YouTuber that I like to watch and I am glad that I was able to listen to it.

 

This audiobook tells the story of Queen Isabella, Catharine of Aragon’s mother. It tells of her struggles in life and how she became a warrior of a queen. Isabella snuck away and married someone she wanted to marry and not someone she was forced to marry for political reasons even though she knew there would be backlash which shows just how strong minded she was.

 

The story tells of how Isabella was able to unite Spain and England and help Christopher Columbus's expeditions.

 

I love this period of time so I was quite happy to sit and listen to the story while I was playing video games and walking to and from various places and while in the car.

 

Currently Reading: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V E Schwab
Read in 2022: 23/40

 

Review - Eden's Story by Louise Allen

 

Title: Eden’s Story

Author: Louise Allen

Series: Thrown Away Children #3

Pages: 276

Release Date: January 14^th 2021

Format: Paperback

Buy it: Amazon

Add it: Goodreads

 

Synopsis: Ashley is a young single mum raising her daughter, Eden, and working hard to do the very best job she can—until, one night, she can't find a babysitter and makes the decision to leave Eden home alone for a couple of hours, asleep inside a wardrobe. It is an action that begins a terrible downward spiral for both of them.

When Eden arrives at experienced foster carer Louise Allen's home, she has entered the care system, because her mother is in prison. Eden is five years old and will not speak to any human. She begins exhibiting some other disturbing behaviours alongside the mutism, too, including torturing the family pets she loves. This eventually leads Louise to discover the pain and tragic reality behind Eden's Story.

 

My Review: Five year old Eden comes to Louise after her mother Ashley makes a bunch of wrong decisions and ends up in prison; she leaves Eden at home alone as a baby while she goes out partying after her friend refuses to keep babysitting for her.

 

While out partying Ashley meets a guy who supplies her with drugs and after a while he meets Eden who is only a baby still and he eventually moves into Ashley’s home this guy is a creep.

 

When Eden finally goes to Louise she won’t talk no matter how much Louise and her family tries to get her to. In true Louise fashion she does all she can to help this poor child.

 

Louise tells us about the troubles she has with the social services while looking after Eden as well as the trouble she has looking after Eden who has her own issues, I am glad that Eden got to go and live with her dad and have a happy life.

 

Currently Reading: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V E Schwab
Read in 2022: 23/40

 

Review - Jacobs Story by Louise Allen

 

Title: Jacob’s Story

Author: Louise Allen

Series: Thrown Away Children #4

Pages: 288

Release Date: August 19^th 2021

Format: Paperback

Buy it: Amazon

Add it: Goodreads

 

Synopsis: Officers from the RSPCA investigate reports of animal cruelty and neglect on a farm, only to discover a 5-year-old boy curled up asleep in a dog bed, amidst filth and squalor.

He has severe physical and cognitive impairments, and no one outside the family seems to know of the existence of little Jacob.

When he arrives in the Allen household, a terrified Louise wonders how on earth she will cope looking after a child with his level of physical and emotional damage. With the support of veteran social worker, Mary, the fight begins to get Jacob the support he needs – as medical investigations begin to reveal more shocking details about Jacob’s story.

 

My Review: Poor Jacob was found curled up like a dog in a dog bed under the kitchen table by Anna an RSPCA officer who went to his home because of reports about the farm animals being mistreated.

 

5 year old Jacob is not able to walk or talk and is swiftly taken into care, we get to read about Jacob with his first foster family who seemed to be more in it for the money and having parties than actually looking after a child with sever learning difficulties, they just leave him lying on the floor with baby toys.

 

Louise is not shy about telling the reader how she really feels about the social care system which in this case I can understand why she was annoyed at them too.

 

Louise is backed up by her social worker Dara and Jacob’s social worker Mary to get everything they need to help Jacob to give him the life he deserves despite the obstacles that the social serves put in the way. Louise manages to do this while looking after her two biological children and her long term foster child Lily who is also struggling with her own issues from her childhood.

 

This was the first book by this author that I read and it’s safe to say I’ve now read all of her book and become friends with Louise.

 

Currently Reading: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V E Schwab
Read in 2022: 23/40

 

Review - The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

 

Title: A Bad Beginning

Author: Lemony Snicket

Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events #1

Pages: 162

Release Date: May 12^th 2003

Format: Paperback

Buy it: Amazon

Add it: Goodreads

 

Synopsis: Dear Reader, I'm sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe.

 

My Review: In the first story in the series we meet the Baudelaire children Violet the eldest, Clause the middle child and Sunny the youngest.

 

While they are enjoying a nice day at the beach Mr Poe a banker arrives and informs the children that there has been a fire at their family home which has killed their parents and they are now going into foster care.

 

The Baudelaire’s go to live with Mr Poe and his family for a few days while he sorts out for them to go and live with their ‘uncle’ Count Olaf.

 

Count Olaf turns out to be a horrible man who makes the children do a very many chores and the only relief that they get is when they visit his neighbour Justice Straus.

 

Count Olaf only wants the children for their inheritance and he conjures up a plan to marry Violet to get at the money but the children manage to thwart him and he gets arrested and the children are taken back to the Poe’s but that is not the end of the story.

 

I’m enjoying this series and cheering the children each time they are able to put a slight hitch in Count Olaf’s plans.

 

Currently Reading: To Haunt or Be Lost by B L Allen

Read in 2022: 22/40

 

Review - Keeper of the Peace by Jennifer Malone Wright

 

Title: Keeper of the Peace

Author: Jennifer Malone Wright

Series: Graveyard Guardians #2

Pages: 287

Release Date: March 25^th 2015

Format: Kindle

Buy it: Amazon

Add it: Goodreads

 

Synopsis: The love of her life left her long ago, shattering her heart into a million pieces. It’s taken Hannah almost twelve years to push away the hurt and move on with life. That is, until the death of a Reaper brings Detective David Foster back to town and their paths cross once again.

With more and more of the soul-eating Reapers passing through town in search of the Chosen One, who happens to be her sister Lucy, the Estmond family has been busy enough. Now, they rally together in hopes of keeping Hannah out of prison.

With all the trouble lately, being a Keeper, a protector of souls, has never been more difficult for Hannah. Will she forgive David and rekindle their relationship? More importantly, will he find out she is the one responsible for the murder he is investigating?

Sparks fly in more ways than one in the second installment of the Graveyard Guardians.

 

My Review: This instalment of the Graveyard Guardians follows Lucy’s sister Hannah and a police detective David who happen to be former lovers.

 

Hannah is working in the morgue on a dead body that is there because he was a Reaper and Lucy had to kill him and David is there working on the case to discover who the murderer is.

 

Hannah doesn’t want him around especially as her sister would be the one to get arrested for murder and David wants to put the case behind him and go back home however when David finds out who the Estmonds are the two of them end up working together to help cover up the murder so Lucy doesn’t get into trouble and then they end up getting together again.

 

I was looking forward to reading the second book in this series but I was very disappointed and I’m not sure if I will finish this series.

 

Currently Reading: A Terrible Secret by Cathy Glass

Read in 2022: 22/40

 

Saturday Review - The Saddest Girl in the World by Cathy Glass

 

Title: The Saddest Girl in the World

Author: Cathy Glass

Pages: 326

Release Date: April 1^st 2009

Format: Paperback

Buy it: Amazon

Add it: Goodreads

 

Synopsis: The Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of Damaged tells the true story of Donna, who came into foster care aged ten, having been abused, victimised and rejected by her family.

 

Donna had been in foster care with her two young brothers for three weeks when she is abruptly moved to Cathy’s. When Donna arrives she is silent, withdrawn and walks with her shoulders hunched forward and her head down. Donna is clearly a very haunted child and refuses to interact with Cathy’s children Adrian and Paula.

 

After patience and encouragement from Cathy, Donna slowly starts to talk and tells Cathy that she blames herself for her and her brothers being placed in care. The social services were aware that Donna and her brothers had been neglected by their alcoholic mother, but no one realised the extent of the abuse they were forced to suffer. The truth of the physical torment she was put through slowly emerges, and as Donna grows to trust Cathy she tells her how her mother used to make her wash herself with wire wool so that she could get rid of her skin colour as her mother was so ashamed that Donna was mixed race.

 

The psychological wounds caused by the bullying she received also start to resurface when Donna starts reenacting the ways she was treated at home by hitting and bullying Paula, so much so that Cathy can’t let Donna out of her sight.

 

As the pressure begins to mount on Cathy to help this child, things start to get worse and Donna begins behaving in erratic ways, trashing her bedroom and being regularly abusive towards Cathy’s children. Cathy begins to wonder if she can find a way to help this child or if Donna’s scars run too deep.

 

My Review: Donna is Cathy’s latest foster child, she is placed into Cathy’s care after being removed from another foster family where she went with her brothers when they were all taken into care.

 

Donna is quiet and withdrawn when she arrives with Cathy and does not want to get involved with Cathy’s children, but after a while Donna confides in Cathy blaming herself for being placed into care even though Donna’s mum was an alcoholic who neglected her children, however no one knows the full extent to her abuse.

 

Donna’s mum hates her because she is mixed race and she and her son’s abuse Donna, beating her and forcing her to do all the housework and even makes Donna scrub her skin to try and get rid of her darker skin. At contact Donna’s mum ignored her and spent the whole time talking and playing with Donna’s brothers.

 

This story was horrible and Donna’s mother was evil but I am glad that Donna was able to be given the chance to work through her issues.

Currently Reading: A Terrible Secret by Cathy Glass

Read in 2022: 22/40

 

Review - Daddy's Little Princess by Cathy Glass

 

Title: Daddy’s Little Princess

Author: Cathy Glass

Pages: 315

Release Date: March 27^th 2014

Format: Paperback

Buy it: Amazon

Add it: Goodreads

 

Synopsis: The latest title from the internationally bestselling author and foster carer Cathy Glass.

Beth is a sweet-natured child who appears to have been well looked after. But it isn’t long before Cathy begins to have concerns that the relationship between Beth and her father is not as it should be.

Little Beth, aged 7, has been brought up by her father Derek after her mother left when she was a toddler. When Derek is suddenly admitted to hospital with psychiatric problems Beth is taken into care and arrives at Cathy’s.

Beth and her father clearly love each other very much and Derek spoils his daughter, treating her like a princess, but there is something bothering Cathy, something she can’t quite put her finger on.

Meanwhile Cathy’s husband is working away a lot and coming home less at weekends. Then, suddenly, everything changes. Events take a dramatic turn for both Beth and Cathy and her family; as Cathy strives to pick up the pieces all their lives are changed forever.

 

My Review: Beth goes to stay with Cathy because her dad who is a single parent is admitted to hospital. You can tell that Beth loves her dad but Cathy fears that her dad may have been abusing her due to him treating her like a princess.

 

Beth seems to dress up for her dad when she’s going to visit him in the hospital, she wears heels, make-up and a provocative dress (well provocative to an 8 year old), Cathy finds out that Beth has ran her dads girlfriend away so that she can have her dad to herself.

 

When Cathy relays her suspicions to the social worker they launch an investigation into their relationship which eventually turns out to be nothing other than a father showing his daughter love and not setting boundaries about what is right and wrong for a father-daughter relationship, he gets the help he needs and starts seeing his girlfriend again and he has to get Beth to accept the new rules and way that they are going to live their life from then on.

 

I think that Cathy did a great job with Beth and her father given the things that were going on in her own life, she does seem to make a difference for those that she looks after.

 

Currently Reading: Stella's Story by Louise Allen

Read in 2022: 21/40

 

Review - Another Forgotten Child by Cathy Glass

Title: Another Forgotten Child
Author: Cathy Glass
Pages: 304
Release Date: September 2012
Format: Paperback
Buy it: Amazon
Add it: Goodreads
 
Synopsis: A new memoir from Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author Cathy Glass.
Eight-year-old Aimee was on the child protection register at birth. Her five older siblings were taken into care many years ago. So no one can understand why she was left at home to suffer for so long. It seems Aimee was forgotten.
The social services are looking for a very experienced foster carer to look after Aimee and, when she reads the referral, Cathy understands why. Despite her reservations, Cathy agrees to Aimee on – there is something about her that reminds Cathy of Jodie (the subject of ‘Damaged’ and the most disturbed child Cathy has cared for), and reading the report instantly tugs at her heart strings.
When she arrives, Aimee is angry. And she has every right to be. She has spent the first eight years of her life living with her drug-dependent mother in a flat that the social worker described as ‘not fit for human habitation’. Aimee is so grateful as she snuggles into her bed at Cathy’s house on the first night that it brings Cathy to tears.
Aimee’s aggressive mother is constantly causing trouble at contact, and makes sweeping allegations against Cathy and her family in front of her daughter as well. It is a trying time for Cathy, and it makes it difficult for Aimee to settle. But as Aimee begins to trust Cathy, she starts to open up. And the more Cathy learns about Aimee’s life before she came into care, the more horrified she becomes.
It’s clear that Aimee should have been rescued much sooner and as her journey seems to be coming to a happy end, Cathy can’t help but reflect on all the other ‘forgotten children’ that are still suffering…
 
My Review: Eight year old Aimee has suffered for years with a mother who is so dependent on drugs that all her other children were taken from her a long time ago, Aimee is living in a filthy house and is subjected to mental and physical abuse.
 
No one know why Aimee was overlooked when her five other siblings were put into the care system years earlier, this makes Cathy just as angry as Aimee is.
 
When Aimee arrives all she seems to eat is biscuits for every meal, she has fingerprint marks all over her body from where her mums boyfriend has sat pinching her constantly, her clothes are filthy and she has a head full of lice. Aimee is not able to bathe or get herself dressed and she does not know how to tell the time or read, she has suffered some serious neglect and is traumatized by the inappropriate movies she was watching with her mum and mums boyfriend.
 
Aimee gets a happy end when she is placed with her half-brother and his family who can give her the childhood she so rightly deserves and needs.
 

Currently Reading: Stella's Story by Louise Allen

Read in 2022: 21/40

Review - Disney Villains: City of Villains by Estelle Laure

 

Title: City of Villains

Author: Estelle Laure

Pages: 272

Release Date: April 8^th 2021

Format: Paperback

Buy it: Amazon

Add it: Goodreads

 

Synopsis: Mary Elizabeth Heart is a high school student by day and an intern at the Monarch City police department by night. Desperate to prove herself, Mary is thrilled to get the chance to work on a real case when the daughter of a powerful businessman goes missing.

However, what begins as a missing person's report soon escalates, leading to a girl with horns, a boyfriend with secrets and a monster in a poisonous lake. As the mystery starts to circle closer to home, Mary finds herself caught in the fight between those who once had magic, and those who will do anything to bring it back.

 

My Review: I love Disney and their good guys and bad guys but this story really didn’t have anything to do with Disney Villains, you could tell which villain that the characters were meant to be but it did not actually have the villains in it.

 

Magic disappeared many years ago and one day one of Mary’s class mates goes missing and now working as an intern with the police Mary is teamed up with an officer to help find her, however the missing girl is a loner and most people believe she's just run away. While searching for the missing girl Mary’s best friend also goes missing so now Mary believes that they have been taken and have to search for two missing teens as well as her boyfriend keeping secrets from her.

 

Again I was expecting this book to be about the Disney Villains but it was not so I was disappointed, the only upside to this story and why it got 2 stars and not 1 is because you do get a small glimpse at the villains and how they may have become the Disney Villains we know and love.

 

Currently Reading: Stella's Story by Louise Allen

Read in 2022: 21/40

Review - Will You Love Me? Lucy's Story by Cathy Glass

 

Title: Will You Love Me? Lucy’s Story

Author: Cathy Glass

Pages: 312

Release Date: September 12^th 2013

Format: Paperback

Buy it: Amazon

Add it: Goodreads

 

Synopsis: The eleventh memoir and latest title from the internationally bestselling author and foster carer Cathy Glass. This book tells the true story of Cathy’s adopted daughter Lucy.

Lucy was born to a single mother who had been abused and neglected for most of her own childhood. Right from the beginning Lucy’s mother couldn’t cope, but it wasn’t until Lucy reached eight years old that she was finally taken into permanent foster care.

By the time Lucy is brought to live with Cathy she is eleven years old and severely distressed after being moved from one foster home to another. Withdrawn, refusing to eat and three years behind in her schooling, it is thought that the damage Lucy has suffered is irreversible.

But Cathy and her two children bond with Lucy quickly, and break through to Lucy in a way no-one else has been able to, finally showing her the loving home she never believed existed. Cathy and Lucy believe they were always destined to be mother and daughter it just took them a little while to find each other.

 

My Review: This is the story of Lucy, Cathy’s adopted daughter whose mother Bonnie wasn’t the best due to things that happened to her during her own childhood. Bonnie couldn’t cope with looking after Lucy and left her on her own all the time.

 

At 8 years old Lucy finally goes into care and it took so long because Bonnie was good at avoiding the social services by constantly moving around and by the time she arrives with Cathy at the age of 12 Lucy is very skinny, she has isolated herself and is very far behind at school.

 

While living with Cathy Lucy starts to bond with Cathy and her two children Adrien and Paula and she starts to come out of her shell and do better at school.

 

When it comes to finding Lucy a ‘forever family’ Cathy and her family are so close to Lucy that she decides she needs to adopt her and give her the stability she needs however Lucy’s social worker wants to place Lucy in a home where the family can meet her cultural need as Lucy is half Asian but she does not know anything about that side of her family and it takes a very long time for the social workers to finally let Cathy adopt Lucy.

 

This is a wonderful story and I enjoyed learning about Lucy as you read about her in most of Cathy’s other stories about the other children she fostered and I’m glad that Lucy was finally given a ‘forever family’ just like all the other children in Cathy’s stories get.

 

Currently Reading: Abby's Story by Louise Allen

Read in 2022: 20/40

 

Review - Damaged by Cathy Glass

Title: Damaged
Author: Cathy Glass
Pages: 339
Release Date: January 1^st 2007
Format: Paperback
Buy it: Amazon
Add it: Goodreads
 
Synopsis: Although Jodie is only eight years old, she is violent, aggressive, and has already been through numerous foster families. Her last hope is Cathy Glass. At the Social Services office, Cathy (an experienced foster carer) is pressured into taking Jodie as a new placement. Jodie's challenging behaviour has seen off five carers in four months. Despite her reservations, Cathy decides to accept Jodie to protect her from being placed in an institution. Jodie arrives, and her first act is to soil herself, and then wipe it on her face, grinning wickedly. Jodie meets Cathy's teenage children, and greets them with a sharp kick to the shins. That night, Cathy finds Jodie covered in blood, having cut her own wrist, and smeared the blood over her face. As Jodie begins to trust Cathy her behaviour improves. Over time, with childish honesty, she reveals details of her abuse at the hands of her parents and others. It becomes clear that Jodie's parents were involved in a sickening paedophile ring, with neighbours and Social Services not seeing what should have been obvious signs. Unfortunately Jodie becomes increasingly withdrawn, and it's clear she needs psychiatric therapy. Cathy urges the Social Services to provide funding, but instead they decide to take Jodie away from her, and place her in a residential unit. Although the paedophile ring is investigated and brought to justice, Jodie's future is still up in the air. Cathy promises that she will stand by her no matter what -- her love for the abandoned Jodie is unbreakable
 
My Review: Jodie’s has been suffering from abuse at the hands of her family for years and the social services did nothing for a long time because they were scared of the family.
 
When she comes to Cathy she has already had 5 foster carers in the 4 months had been in care. Jodie is nasty and a total nightmare but Cathy is determined to help this child who so many have given up on in the past but Jodie is too damaged for even a profession like Cathy to help.
 
This story is one that made me feel angry and sad at the same time; angry that this child was left for so long that the repercussions of it left the child so badly damaged that there didn’t seem to be anything that could be done to help her and sad for her at the same time because if she was given the help sooner or cared for by her parents like she should have been then this would not have happened.
 
Currently Reading: Abby's Story by Louise Allen
Read in 2022: 20/40

Review - Hidden by Cathy Glass

Title: Hidden
Author: Cathy Glass
Pages: 368
Release Date: March 3^rd 2008
Format: Paperback
Buy it: Amazon
Add it: Goodreads
 
Synopsis: From the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author comes the poignant and shocking memoir of Cathy’s recent relationship with Tayo, a young boy she fosters whose good behaviour and polite manners hide a terrible past.
Tayo arrives at Cathy’s with only the clothes he stands up in. He has been brought to her by the police, but he is calm, polite, and very well spoken, and not at all like the children she normally fosters. The social worker gives Cathy the forms which should contain Tayo’s history, but apart from his name and age, it is blank. Tayo has no past.
Tayo is an 'invisible' child, kidnapped from his loving father in Nigeria and brought illegally to the UK by his drink and drugs dependent prostitute mother, where he is put to work in a sweat shop in Central London. When he sustains an injury and is no longer earning, he is cast out.
When Cathy takes Tayo to school he points out a dozen different addresses where he has stayed in the last six months, often being left alone. Tayo lies, and manipulates situations to his own advantage and Cathy has to be continually on guard. Tayo’s social worker searches all computer databases but there is no record of Tayo – he has only attended school for 3 terms and has never seen a doctor. He and his mother have been evading the authorities by living ‘underground’.
With his mother recently released from prison, Tayo is desperate to live with his father in Nigeria, but no one can track him down or even prove that he exists.
 
My Review: Ten year old Tayo is placed with Cathy because his mother was abusive. She took Tayo from him happy home in Nigeria to live in the UK, Tayo’s mum used to use people just so she could leave Tayo with them for weeks at a time.
 
He insists that his dad will come and get him and take him back home and look after him but the thing is no one can trace his dad and his mum isn’t telling anyone where he is.
 
Will Tayo find his dad with the help of Cathy and the Social Services and Will he get his much deserved happily ever after?
 
Currently Reading: Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin
Read in 2022: 19/40