Title: Waiting to Forget
Author: Shelia Kelly Welch
# Of Pages: 170
Publisher: Namelos
Publication Date: October 1, 2011
Level: Middle Grade (Ages 10-15)
Rating: 3 Hearts
Note: Thanks so much to Shelia Kelly Welch for sending me a copy of her book in exchange for an honest review!
Synopsis
(From Amazon.com)
T.J. has always
looked out for his little sister, Angela. When Momma used to go out and leave
them home alone, he'd lock the door so they'd be safe, keep Angela entertained,
and get out the cereal and milk for her. When Momma's boyfriend got angry at
them, he'd try to protect Angela. Later, at their foster homes, T.J. was the
only one who knew how to coax his little sister out of her bad moods. The only
one who understood why she made origami paper cranes and threw them out the
window. But now T.J. is sitting in the waiting room at the hospital, wondering
if Angela, unconscious after a fall, will ever wake up. Wondering, too, if he
will ever feel at home with his and Angela's new parents—Marlene, who insists
on calling him Timothy, and Dan, who seems to want a different son. Going back
and forth between Now and Then, weaving the uncertain present with the painful
past, T.J.'s story unfolds, and with the unfolding comes a new understanding of
how to move forward.
My Verdict
I always have such a hard time rating books that deal with
tough subject matter. I settled on three hearts because it was well written,
the characters well developed, and because the story was one worth telling. The
thing that held it back from a higher rating for me was just how upsetting and
sometimes depressing the storyline was.
The book opens with the main character T.J, sitting in a
hospital waiting room wondering if his little sister Angela is going to
survive. We know she fell but we don’t know how or why.
The book included three main timelines: Now, Then, and
Between Then & Now, with a few additional sections (Between, Almost Now…)
near the end. I found this writing style to be very affective for this story.
T.Js time at the hospital are the “Now” pieces. The author
uses these parts to create tension and suspense as to what happened to Angela
and if she is going to be okay. It’s not until the last few pages that we get
the answers.
In the “Between” sections, T.J. and his sister Angela have
just been adopted by a couple named Marlene & Dan. This is yet another
smaller mystery because in the “Then” the kids are still living with their
birth mother, so the whole-time you’re also wondering what happens to her that
lands the kids in the foster care system.
My biggest issue with this book was that it was upsetting to
read about a mother who cared so little about her own children. The mother
(Celia) is a single mom who can’t hold a job (not because she can’t get one,
but because she always quits), and she goes through many boyfriends (most of
which are bad news). The thing
that upset me most was when one of her boyfriends would treat the kids like
dirt and she just stood there and watched. At one point, I was so angry I
wanted to jump into the book and shake some sense into her! The boyfriend has
just flushed her 7-year-olds head down the toilet repeatedly and she blames the
daughter for misbehaving, not her brute of a boyfriend! (There was practically
steam coming out of my ears at this point.)
In the end, I’m glad I read this book. Despite it’s
upsetting subject matter it was a good story, but I say that as a 21-year-old.
However, this is meant to be a middle grade book for ages 10-15. I guess it all
depends on the person, but this is definitely not the kind of book I was
reading at 10 OR 15. It’s some heavy stuff for a 10 year old to handle in my
opinion. I would recommend if for the oldest end of that and say 15 +.