Virginia Castleman

Statement of the author, Virginia Castleman: "My friend Paul Eagle, who served in the Peace Corps in Liberia, told me about a mythical figure, Mommi Watta (Mommy Water), whom he'd heard about from local villagers.The story immediately caught my attention. . .[I]t is about a girl struggling to gert ahead in a male dominated world. [I]t is also about temptation. . .[Lastly] it takes place in a nation with unique historical ties to the United States. The illustrator, Theodocia Swecker, wrote, Paul Eagle put me in touch with his friend Fikpee Flomo. . .What a thrill it was to watch Fikpee's dance company perform in traditional Liberian clothing, dancing to native drums, and singing native songs. . ." Source: The book's dust jacket.… (més)

Based on the fantastic opening of this book I thought I would be giving it more than 3 stars. With sloppy character development, 3 stars it is. First, back to that fantastic opening.

"Paper towels might seem like a strange thing to steal. I mean, I could have stolen some candy or crackers or something. But paper towels last longer than food. A roll of paper towels can feed me and my sister, Anna, for a whole week—sometimes more."

This kind of writing has an affect. I found myself very uncomfortable at the thought of kids eating paper towels. I was prepared for this book to have me in knots until the end. Unfortunately, it was strong out of the gate, but quickly tired.

The book opens with Sara and Anna awakened by a police officer and social worker at their door. Their mother took off a couple of years prior and their alcoholic dad stays gone for days at a time. Faced with the prospect of another foster home, they run out the back door and head across town to the Silvermans. The Silvermans are their favorite foster parents, but they only take temporary placements. They are moved to another temporary placement with another set of kind adults until Sara settles into a longterm placement. Anna is placed in a therapeutic facility instead of going with Sara to the long-term foster placement. Sara has a major problem with this at first, but eventually realizes that it's necessary for Anna to get help with her emotional problems. The Chandlers decide to adopt Sara, but Sara's reaction to this feels rushed and forced.

In the end, I did not feel moved by the book because the characters were flat. I did not feel the emotional tension that these girls would have been feeling after all they had been through. I was surprised when Anna ended up going to a residence home. As described, her behaviors did not reach the level of needing special care. It also surprised me that Anna was the older girl, because all along I thought Sara was the older one. Perhaps there were too many characters for the author to manage. In the future I recommend she stick to fewer characters so she can work on developing them better.

An example of a foster care book that fully develops the foster child and foster parent is [b: One for the Murphys|12926804|One for the Murphys|Lynda Mullaly Hunt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320344047s/12926804.jpg|15093617] by Lynda Mullaly Hunt.… (més)