Fifteen-year-old Sadie provides a moving depiction of life as a foster child.
After 12 placements, beginning when she was about three, Sadie, always a survivor, is now living in a group home in a small Canadian town. Though the reasons that she’s been shunted from one foster family to another have varied over the years, to Sadie they all spell rejection. Since she has been all but lost in the system, her learning problems have been ignored, and school has become a cycle of failures that parallels the lack of adult affection she’s suffered from. Her edgy, always authentic present-tense voice rings richly true. As she describes it, “Right now, my hope is buried so far underground that I would need a shovel to dig it up.” She’s befriended by Rhiannon, an unpopular but kind girl with a motor-mouth and lots to offer a teen without roots: Loving, warm-hearted parents, a welcoming home and even some homework help. But past experience has taught Sadie too well; if she gets comfortable with her current life, she’ll probably be snatched away from that and placed somewhere else to start over. Strong character development and believable situations provide a robust foundation for her excellent, ultimately hopeful tale.
Sadie’s edgy account of finding a real place for herself in the world will keep readers thoroughly engaged. (Fiction 12 & up)
