Lynda Mullaly Hunt
This book tells the story of twelve-year-old Carly Connors' experience in foster care. Carly is a young girl who lives with her mother in Las Vegas, but they move to Connecticut with her mother's abusive boyfriend. After a horrible incident, Carly is removed from her mother's care and placed with the Murphy family.
Through Carly's point of view, the reader expereinces what it is like to be thrown into the home of another family and how quickly a foster child has to learn to adjust and adapt to new circumstances she has no control over. Carly's fear of becoming close to her foster family, and her desire to stay distant from other people, is also realistic. By the end of the book, I loved the bond that slowly grows between Mrs. Murphy and Carly, even if the dialouge at times is a little "sappy" in parts.
Carly is also a fun, easy character to relate to, as she tries to deal with common teen issues, like finding a best friend, and playing basketball, her favorite sport.
Through flashbacks which slowly reveal the incident which gets Carly removed from her mother, the reader learns more about the relationship between Carly and her mother, and how people can learn to mend hurt and love again.
Through Carly's point of view, the reader expereinces what it is like to be thrown into the home of another family and how quickly a foster child has to learn to adjust and adapt to new circumstances she has no control over. Carly's fear of becoming close to her foster family, and her desire to stay distant from other people, is also realistic. By the end of the book, I loved the bond that slowly grows between Mrs. Murphy and Carly, even if the dialouge at times is a little "sappy" in parts.
Carly is also a fun, easy character to relate to, as she tries to deal with common teen issues, like finding a best friend, and playing basketball, her favorite sport.
Through flashbacks which slowly reveal the incident which gets Carly removed from her mother, the reader learns more about the relationship between Carly and her mother, and how people can learn to mend hurt and love again.