Helpful Score: 15
I found this very different from "A Child Called It" which included cruel, violent and horrific abuse at the whim of an unstable parent. Jennings' story is more sad than anything. There is some physical abuse though mostly from nuns and caretakers at the children's homes. Jennings' mother loved him and his brothers. His mother tried unsuccessfully to keep her family together but she kept falling apart. Jennings makes and then loses connections with people repeatedly which leaves you feeling disappointed over and over again. The description above indicates that his mother never returns which is not accurate. He leaves and returns to his family several times. Each time his family has disintegrated a bit more. I found this to be a quick read and I enjoyed it.
Helpful Score: 11
This book is a tear jerker. It is the true sory of a little boy at the age of eight who is put into the system. It documents his heartbreak, pain, and finally his triumph. Not to be missed.
I read this way back in highschool, and have remembered it all of these 20 years, very touching and a must read!
Helpful Score: 4
This is 99% from the perspective of a single 11-year-old, which doesn't give a good insight into what the world of orphanages was really like. Also, although it says it is "a story of a child who learned to survive" we don't really see any lessons from what the boy went through. The book stops abruptly and left me wanting more information about what happened to him.
Helpful Score: 3
I loved this book but it made me cry over and over. Well written coming from a childs point of view usually don't like them but Jennings is an amazing writer. I have taken an abused boy six years ago so he would not go into foster care so he could avoid such acts of unkindness.. This story is very graphic to me. I did get lost in how old he was from time to time. What his poor mother seem to go through was amazing to me. Jennings is deffinatly a strong person to have endured what he did. I would read this again. A must read for readers of abuse and or neglect...Enjoy
