It is ironic, as Rhodes-Courter observes, that the state would pay a substantial sum over the years to have Rhodes-Courter cared for by neglectful and abusive foster parents who clearly didn't care for her, yet the state did not provide financial support to her mother. While Rhodes-Courter's mother was clearly negligent, she did seem to care for her and Rhodes-Courter wanted for years to be reunited with her mother. The Mosses take the ones nobody else wants. As Rhodes-Courter reports another foster child said, "Nobody wants me because of my temper. The only possible explanation I can think of for this - which is FAR from an excuse - is that the Mosses did not turn children away, regardless of how "difficult" previous foster parents had found a child. These foster parents, Charles and Marjorie Moss, were allegedly model foster parents who even taught foster parenting classes and were allowed to adopt several children. (In fact, she had so many placements that when I picked the book up again after a break in reading, I had trouble remembering where she was.) She also uses dialog extensively, which keeps the read lively.Ī good portion of the book is focused on the abusive foster home in which she lived for 8 months (and returned for an overnight respite visit at a later time!) Multiple maltreatment reports to CPS from teachers and interviews with the children themselves either were not investigated or not taken seriously. The simple facts of her numerous placements, the maltreatment in some of her placements, and the negligence of some of the child protective services (CPS) authorities alone are enough to make a reader understand how angry and desolate she must have felt, and why it took a long time for her to trust her adoptive parents. Rhodes-Courter tells her story in a direct way, using a "show me, don't tell me" approach. Given that this is the first book of a very young author, I was impressed at how good the writing was.
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