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Kids only come to Casey Watson's home as a last resort.  As specialist foster carers, she and her husband house the most challenging children in England's system, the kids other foster families can't handle, those who are often one step away from being committed to secure units—the worst of the worst.  Using a time-tested behavioral modification program, the Watsons have been able to make a difference in the lives of many troubled children.  But, it's not an easy process.  Not at all.  Each experience is dramatic and unsettling in its own, unique way, so much so that Casey has written several best-selling books about the special children she feels called to help.

Too Hurt to Stay is her account of 8-year-old Spencer Herrington, a boy who turns himself in to social services.  His parents don't argue with his placement in foster care, claiming the child is a violent, uncontrollable runaway.  They call him "the spawn of Satan" and insist he was just born evil.  The Herringtons refuse to allow their child to return home until he's been "fixed."  Casey's appalled, shocked that parents would label a child evil, then effectively wash their hands of all parental responsibility toward their own flesh and blood.

Determined to help Spencer, the Watsons agree to foster the angel-faced little boy.  He's unlike any other child they've taken in before—he's polite, well-behaved, and obedient.  It's only after Spencer's settled in a bit that the Watsons start to understand why he has such a difficult reputation.  Several unsettling experiences later, Casey begins to wonder if there's something to the Herringtons' complaints about their child.  Can a person really be born bad?  Or, is Spencer simply a product of a family who appears normal on the surface, but harbors deep issues of their own?  In order to best help him, Casey vows to find out the real story of Spencer Herrington (which is not the child's real name, of course).

True accounts of children being mistreated by adults always make me cringe.  It's difficult to imagine people monstrous enough to hurt kids.  But, books by authors like Cathy Glass, Dave Pelzer, Torey Hayden and Casey Watson (a pseudonym, by the way) prove that they're all too common.  What I actually find fascinating about books like these is the psychology behind the abuse.  What makes a person lash out so cruelly at another person?  I believe we all come into the world pure and innocent, so how do some people turn into such heartless savages?  It's an interesting question, one these kinds of books always make me ponder.

As for Too Hurt to Stay, it was a fast, intriguing read.  I found Spencer an interesting and empathetic child, one whose antics surprised me.  Watson writes well enough that I felt engaged by his/her story—I definitely wanted to know how it ended.  Speaking of the finale, it felt rushed and not all that satisfying.  Realistic, but not as tidily wrapped up as I wanted it to be.  The explanations behind Spencer's family's behavior, the part I was most interested in, were summarized too quickly and left me wanting "the rest of the story."  Overall, I found the book to be a compelling eye-opener, I just wanted it to be a little fuller.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other true accounts about abused children, especially those by Cathy Glass, Dave Pelzer, and Torey Hayden)

Grade:  B-

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  R for strong language and violence

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of Too Hurt to Stay from the generous folks at Harper Collins via those at TLC Book Tours.  Thank you!  

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Who are we?  Where did we come from?  What happens after we die?  These are some of the greatest, most important questions human beings have ever asked.  And, yet, they remain the largest mysteries we'll ever encounter.  Because all of us wonder why we're on Earth, how we came to be here and what happens when our lives end, it makes sense that so many people find Near Death Experiences (NDEs) so very fascinating.  Many books, television shows, magazine articles, movies, etc. have been created in order to examine what people claim to have experienced when they "died."  Even to a skeptic like me, these glimpses into the world beyond can be utterly fascinating.  

Considering the religious fervor that existed at the time The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was founded, it is, perhaps, not too surprising that many early Saints had NDEs.  These were carefully recorded in letters, journals and oral histories passed down from generation to generation.  Marlene Bateman Sullivan has collected 50 of these stories in her new book, Gaze Into Heaven: Near Death Experiences in Early Church History.  She presents the accounts in the recipients' own words, using scriptures and quotes by LDS Church leaders to give additional insight into the topics under discussion.  What emerges is an interesting picture of NDEs from a uniquely Mormon perspective.  

Even though I firmly believe in life after death, I have trouble taking NDEs very seriously.  After all, any kind of dream or vision is open to interpretation.  And who knows what outside factors may have been in play during the person's "experience"—after all, during a low blood sugar episode several years ago, I became totally and completely convinced my husband was trying to kidnap me and smuggle me aboard his alien spaceship.  So, why should I believe a stranger's account of his alleged visit to Heaven, especially if the details feel "off" to me?

Given how I feel about NDEs, I really tried to approach Gaze Into Heaven with an open mind.  And, I have to say that, overall, I did find the book interesting.  Not convincing, necessarily, but thought-provoking.  The biggest problem with the book, for me, was Sullivan's subjective presentation of the material—she spoke about all the NDEs as if they were the iron-clad truth.  A more objective approach, one that trusted the reader to come to his own conclusions, would have made the book a much more palatable read for me.  Also, Sullivan never answered the biggest question I have about NDEs among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, both in the early days of the church and now—how do they differ from those experienced by non-members?  I'm still really curious about that ...

So, while I didn't always agree with the conclusions Sullivan drew about NDEs, I did agree with this one, which neatly sums up my feelings on the subject:  "...[NDEs] are not meant to 'prove' that the Church is true.  Rather, they are meant to open our eyes to the fact that life will continue, that our sojourn on earth is momentary, and that we ought to refocus our priorities and spend our time productively, with an eye toward the next life" (220).

My husband, who enjoys reading about and learning from NDEs, thinks I'm a terrible cynic on this point.  How about you?  Do you find them inspiring or ridiculous?  Do you think there's anything to be learned from them?  What's your opinion?  I'd truly love to know.

(Readalikes:  I don't normally read books about NDEs, but my husband recommends What's on the Other Side? by Brent L. Top [an LDS professor's perspective on death]; Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander, M.D. [an atheist neurosurgeon's NDE]; and Embraced By the Light by Betty J. Eadie [one non-LDS woman's NDE])

Grade:  C

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for subject matter most suitable for older middle graders, teens and adults

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of Gaze Into Heaven from the generous Marlene Bateman Sullivan via her publisher, Cedar Fort.  

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"Daniel shuddered.  Orleans was a living city of the dead (163)."

After five years of devastating hurricane after devastating hurricane, the Gulf Coast region has become a half-sunken wasteland.  When Delta Fever breaks out, sweeping through the already ravaged land, the American government has little choice but to contain the epidemic by any means possible.  First comes sealed borders, a quarantine, then, in 2025, a massive wall is erected around the affected areas.  No one is allowed in or out.  It's the only way to protect the uninfected, the only way to survive the deadly Fever.

Decades later, inside the Wall, in a once vibrant city now forgotten by the outside world, teems a turbulent new society, born from tragedy, death and disease.  Gangs, segregated by blood type, rule the moldering streets of Orleans.  Survival is a daily battle.  Fen de la Guerre, a 16-year-old whose O Positive blood means she carries the Fever, but isn't being eaten alive by it, does her best to keep a low profile.  Blood hunters will do anything to get their hands on an OP, who can be sold as a blood slave to the highest bidder.  Fen won't let that be her fate.  She won't.  

When her tribe is attacked one night, Fen loses everything—her home, her best friend, and her (always relative) safety.  She's left with no one, except a newborn baby.  Fen's not sure how she's going to survive, let alone keep a squalling infant safe.  She's better off leaving the child behind.  If only she could, if only she hadn't promised to protect the baby girl.  But she did.  Fen knows the only way to guarantee the baby's safety is by getting her out of Orleans, smuggling her over the Wall into the safer, cleaner Outer States.  The only question is how she's going to travel so far with a baby, few provisions, and a jungle full of enemies thirsty for her blood.  

When Fen meets Daniel Weaver, a scientist from over the Wall, it fills her with new hope—and new fear.  If she helps Daniel, he'll help her.  Or so he says.  But if there's one thing she's learned from living in Orleans, it's that she can only rely on one person: herself.  If Fen can't save the child, no one can.  And if Fen can't save herself, then she—and her two companions— are doomed to a fate much, much worse than death.

I'm a big Sherri L. Smith fan, so when I discovered she had a YA dystopian coming out, I knew I had to read it.  I hoped this very skilled writer would come up with something different than the usual post-apocalyptic fare and guess what?  She did.  While the world she's created has all the grim realities of other dystopias, it's got an even sharper edge to it—the blood trade.  It's a chilling plot element, one I'm not sure I've seen before.  That, along with the whole walled-dystopian-society-inside-the-normal-world and the teen-girl-trying-to-survive-with-a-baby-in-tow thing just made Orleans a much more original story than most of the YA dystopians I've read lately.  Plus, Smith's an all-around good writer.  She's given this story a vivid, haunting setting; a tough, unyielding heroine; and a relentless, pulse-pounding plot.  It's not a perfect book (Daniel's pretty bland; the baby's way more complacent than any I've ever encountered; etc.), but overall, Orleans sucked me right in and blew me clean away.  I loved it.  

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi, as well as other YA dystopians) 

Grade:  B

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG-13 for language (no F-bombs), violence, and references to sex (including rape)

To the FTC, with love:  I received an ARC of Orleans from the generous folks at Penguin Young Readers.  Thank you!