Release Date: June 24th 2014
Pages: 320
Source: review copy provided by publisher
Ellen Moore is a social worker for many years. She has seen it all: children being abused, parents who neglect their children, everything.
But then comes day when she is called to look up on a family in trouble. The morning at her own house has been busy, it's hot weather and she just dropped all the children of at school. When she is busy working on the family's case, she hears that someone is slamming her car window, maybe a car jacker. But when she comes downstairs and walks up to her car, she sees something else is the matter; her own little daughter is in her car seat, and people around the car tell her she has been in the hot car for hours with the window's closed. Her daugher has lost consciousness and has trouble breathing, and is speeded to the hospital. How could Ellen forget her own child was sitting right behind her when she drove away that morning? Because of this, her integrity as a social worker and her motherhood are all of a sudden in jeopardy.
The story switches between Ellen and Jenny, a 10 year old who is abused by her father. She get's the chance to escape him and his abuse and board a bus on the search for her mother. This search doesn't lead her to her mother in the first place, but to Ellen's mother who takes her in and helps her locate her mom, who is even more abusive as her father. Ellen and Jenny's live get interwoven from that moment on.
I though this book was very gripping and realistic.This author has a magical way of drawing you into the peoples' lives and you become invested in what happens to them, you feel what they feel. One of the hardest parts to read was when Ellen was separated from Avery and not allowed to be near her by court order while she was in the hospital. Her daughter was near death but she couldn't be within 500 feet of her. While we all may say, nothing would separate us from our child, Ellen did not have a choice. And while we knew it was a tragic accident and think it is so wrong, we also know that the police were only doing what they had to do, they have to act in the best interest of the child and can't just assume that her story was true.
The whole situation was humbling for Ellen. How many times had she taken someone's children away, how can people not realize that she isn't like them, not like the neglectful abusive parents she deals with every day. No matter what the outcome, how can she ever again be successful as a social worker, will people always look at her as "that parent who locked her kid in a hot car".
Overall it was a very interesting read, not the kind of book that cheers you up but makes you think about for a lonegr period.
