Like a shorter, African-American One for the Murphys -- good story of a foster child who endures abandonment, abuse, separation from her brother, but finds a foster family that lifts her up. A lot of Christian religious feeling in the book, which didn't speak to me, but also a note in the back about a foster family the author was part of, so you can't get much more own voices than that. ( )

After the first few chapters, this story became dull to me. And the ending, which is pretty open and fairly abrupt, fell flat.

But I liked the little "God in your pocket" theme, and I plan on reading more by this author. ( )

Paris and her brother run away from an abusive foster family. They arrive at their grandmother's house who calls for a caseworker who separates them. Paris goes to live with her new foster family, and she is timid at first but becomes very fond of them. She makes a new friend, and after their friendship ends, she makes another. In the end, Paris's mother calls her and tells her she has gotten her life together. After contemplation, Paris decides to move back in with her mother and brother. I think this would be a good book for children to read, so they can learn about what it's like to be a foster child. I enjoyed reading the book from Paris's point of view, and it was easy to feel the emotions she was feeling throughout the book.

This is a decent book for kids who want to read more about foster care, but I found it to be on the flat side. Paris is biracial. She's never known her white father. Her mother can't get her act together and chooses men over her kids. In the opening, Paris and her older brother Malcom are running away from an abusive foster family. They run to their grandmother, but she is unable to keep them and calls social services. She and Malcolm are separated for the first time and Paris is devastated. On the good side, Paris ends up with a new foster family who treats her like one of their own. For the first time in her life, she is happy. When her mom is ready for Paris and Malcolm to come home, Paris has a choice to make. ( )

Paris and her brother Malcolm run away from an abusive foster home situation but end up separated by child services. Paris ends up in Ossining, NY, with Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln and their three other foster children. Bruised by her previous foster experience and the instability of growing up with her birth mother, Paris is unsure of her place in the Lincoln home. But the Lincolns are loving, consistent and patient and over the course of the year, Paris develops an inner strength from their love and her participation in the church choir. When her birth mother wants her and Malcolm to live with her again, Paris has to make a tough decision.