Blackbird - Jennifer Lauck

Advantages: Powerful, thought provoking
Disadvantages: none

I bought “Blackbird – A Childhood Lost” as at the time I was in major memoir mode, having read “Angela’s Ashes” and “’Tis” by Frank McCourt, then “A Boy Called It” by Dave Pelzer. Before reading all of the above, I was a little cynical about stories such as these – why relive the pain of a tragic childhood, marred by grief and brutality. Why not let it go? I now think that writing ...
...to rid themselves of the ghosts of their pasts, and also, to a certain extent, stick two fingers up to their tormentors. After all, there are now, in the most part, extremely successful adults. Jennifer Lauck is one of these success stories. After giving up a lucrative career in news journalism, and perhaps feeling there was a ‘gap’ in her life, she decided to tell her own tale, and maybe rid herself of some of her own demons in the process. ... Read review

Advantages: teaches a good lesson about getting through life
Disadvantages: pulls on your heartstrings

Nearing the end of the summer holidays and a search for 5 minutes peace and quiet, I decided to go buy a book to read whilst I took the kids to the indoor soft play centre called the family tree, I thought to myself, that will be just perfect I can sit and read for ages while they play, so I went off into town and bought the first book I came across really but it was stacked on top of another by the same author so I read the covers and noticed that ...
...myself this will do I like non fictions books where people have written about their childhood. So off I went to this place where I thought I might get some peace and quiet!! How wrong I was to have thought this – I think that must have been the thought on every ones minds at the family tree as it was packed so I waited and didn’t read my book there, as I feared I would be ignoring the children. Well when I got to read this book I couldn’t put it ... Read review

Advantages: Captivating, Mood Swinging
Disadvantages: Language Use

This has got to be one of my favorite books. My mood was constantly changing throught the book from happy to sad, thrilled to sorrowfull. There are so many different events that occurr in the book that you just cannot predict what is going to happen next (except the innevitable death of the girls mother). You become very attatched to the little girl whilst reading, as she undergoes so much neglection, upset, and confusion. You get so many different ...
...how they are coping with the situations that you cannot judge the families. Although the choice of language used sometimes seems a bit simple, the feel is that the book does not need complex language, and as the girl who is the main character is only young, it suits the style of the book. A very very worthwhile book to read, I must say it changed my views on things dramatically. ... Read review