Poor editing

The story was appealing enough to finish the book, but due to poor (or lack of) editing, some parts were confusing or made very little sense so I had to assume I was understanding correctly.
It is quite shocking and saddening that the way things are in this book are true and not made up. To think that the foster system was (and quite possibly in some cases still is) this way is horrible.

This is a memoir of a young girl in England growing up in a very dysfunctional family, where she is shipped off numerous times to various children's homes as a ward of the state. It is quite remarkable, after all the abuse, neglect, violence and psychological terror she endured as a child that she is now a happily married mother able to write this memoir for her daughter. It was not pleasant to read about her life, but knowing she survives and is a well-adjusted adult made it easier to read. I didn't realize it was a two-part story, so that was a bit of a disappointment at the end. I think in time I would like to read the sequel to see how her life after 16 continues.

There is a good story here but it was poorly written. I'm not sure if the writer made a choice to write in this manner but it was devoid of emotion with short stilted sentences. It made it hard to feel bad for the main character. It's too bad.

So I was just bored. This book should have packed a punch and it didn't.

In the hands of a much better writer, this would have been an incredible story. Amelia ends up in the UK care system, separated from her siblings, and moved again and again to places utterly grim and desperate. With even her highly substandard schools on the premises she lives at, she never gets to leave except by running away. Her goal is to make it out of the system and on to a life of her own, but even when that happens her troubles are not over. Unfortunately this story was put in the hands of an unskilled writer and even less skilled editor. It was hard to get through, but not because of the content (which I was expecting) but because of the writing.

Very disjointed and repetitive.

Reading this book was Like reading the diary of a whiny teenager whose psychologist made her write her autobiography. Yes, horrible things happened to her, but she brings no adult insight to them. Instead it's a litany of "why does this always happen to me?" Don't waste your time.