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izziebianchi's review
5.0
reading this while training to be a social worker was quite intense, a reminder of the real lives we are touching and changing and the responsibility of this - everyone should read this
nika_97's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Body horror, Abandonment, Racism, Alcohol, Addiction, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Self harm, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Bullying, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Eating disorder
amysreading_nook's review
4.0
TW: child neglect, alcohol and drug abuse, sex work, children's homes, social work, foster care, references of child sexual abuse but nothing explicit
God this was a really difficult read and I can't even imagine the strength that Hope had as a child of 9 years old to take her younger brothers and demand a better life for them all. Hope is only 9 years old when she decides that enough is enough and that she has to be the one to seek change for her family. What follows is a horrendous tale about how Hope is let down and abandoned again and again; just as she gets settled she has the world pulled from under her feet. What comes across so clearly in this book is Hope's desire to just know why - why is she being moved, why have her workers changed and left her, why can she not be fostered. You can really feel the pain and frustration coming out throughout this book and I cannot blame Hope.
Social work has come a long way since when Hope was a child there are so many things evident throughout this book that still are not perfect. Hope and her brothers were let down systematically by every professional they were in contact with before Hope, the child, took action herself. Police officers knew they were left home alone and so did social workers. And after they're taken into care there is still a real lack of stability and consistency for Hope. She's a young girl who has had to fight her whole life for herself and her brothers and was just utterly failed by those who should have helped her. Yet Hope continues to fight on; not just for herself but for other children in care so that they don't have the same experiences she had.
A difficult but inspiring read.
God this was a really difficult read and I can't even imagine the strength that Hope had as a child of 9 years old to take her younger brothers and demand a better life for them all. Hope is only 9 years old when she decides that enough is enough and that she has to be the one to seek change for her family. What follows is a horrendous tale about how Hope is let down and abandoned again and again; just as she gets settled she has the world pulled from under her feet. What comes across so clearly in this book is Hope's desire to just know why - why is she being moved, why have her workers changed and left her, why can she not be fostered. You can really feel the pain and frustration coming out throughout this book and I cannot blame Hope.
Social work has come a long way since when Hope was a child there are so many things evident throughout this book that still are not perfect. Hope and her brothers were let down systematically by every professional they were in contact with before Hope, the child, took action herself. Police officers knew they were left home alone and so did social workers. And after they're taken into care there is still a real lack of stability and consistency for Hope. She's a young girl who has had to fight her whole life for herself and her brothers and was just utterly failed by those who should have helped her. Yet Hope continues to fight on; not just for herself but for other children in care so that they don't have the same experiences she had.
A difficult but inspiring read.
mahri's review
5.0
This was a great book. Not easy to read at times because of the horrible neglect Hope and her siblings suffered through. It felt like an important read though and an insight into extreme poverty and how it can damage the children living through it.
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