In a nutshell: This is a deeply emotional story about a child and her sister as they have to grow up really fast on account of their alcoholic and abusive parents. As their mother moves from one slum after another, the children try and survive and meet many interesting characters along their journey. In the middle of all this poverty, abuse and sadness is a poignant balance of childhood love, hope and forgiveness-particularly when an interesting black woman named Miss Zora comes into the children's lives.
My Take: Sometimes this story made me so angry I wanted to crawl into the book and shake the main character's mother silly. My book club agreed the writing in this was really beautiful. The passion and emotions in this book came through in a touching and soft way. The story, touching and incredibly sad at times, is at times also uplifting. The story is an emotional roller coaster. Miss Zora's character adds a much needed levity to the story.
