Title: The Saddest Girl in the World
Author:
Cathy Glass
Pages: 326
Release Date: April
1st 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is silent, withdrawn and walks with her shoulders hunched forward and her head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Donna is quiet and withdrawn when she arrives with Cathy and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
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