Forgotten

I check out her room to see that (1) It's a mess and (2) she has packed up most of her stuff like she really plans to be gone awhile. I feel a cross between anger and hurt. But there's another part of me that's not terribly surprised. Kind of like I'd been waiting for something like this to happen. 

Book: Forgotten: Seventeen And Homeless by Melody Carlson, NavPress, 2010

 

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Target Audience: Girls 15-19

Subjects: Relationships with parents, friendships, Homelessness

Summary: AWOL. That's her mom. So now she's on her own. She has a job thankfully, and a van, but that's it. Pretty soon the apartment manager comes looking for the overdue rent. The previous boss comes looking for the payback on the loan. The cell phone company shuts off her service due to unpaid bills. And her friends get more and more suspicious about her "sick" mom. She's not the only homeless girl at school, just the only one keeping it a secret. So she knows full well how people would respond if they knew the truth. Therefore she must keep up the charade for as long as possible. It's necessary.

Notes: Once again, Melody Carlson wakes us up to the real world and throws it in our faces and forces us to think about it. There's no hiding in our nice safe comfortable homes when we pick up one of her books. The world is ugly and teen girls have to know how to respond to this ugliness. Melody Carlson takes them to the Bible, to Christians, to Christ, and shows them how. In this book, the character has to learn that Someone out there truly does care about her, and hurt for her. He's not ready to ditch her because her home life or lack thereof is a mess.On the other hand, it's not the most powerful at communicating the message of that love. She did a good job, but she's done better. This is the first in a new series: Secrets.

Recommendation Scale: 4

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Thank you to NavPress for giving me a free copy of this to review!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."