Carley Connors has learned to be tough, growing up in Las Vegas with her fun-loving mother. But after a heartbreaking betrayal, Carley finds herself in foster care. When’s she’s placed with the Murphys, a lively family with three boys, she’s blindsided. Do happy families really exist? Mrs. Murphy makes her feel heard and seen for the first time. Then, just when she’s feeling like she could truly be one of the Murphys, news from her mother shakes her world.

This is one of the most nerve-wracking, mind-bending books I have ever read. It will make you sad, angry, and horrified all at once. I thought ‘How to Speak Dolphin’ was an emotional rollercoaster, but this book is ten times more emotional.

Carley is put into a lovely home with a kind woman, and she doesn’t know how to handle it. She was so used to being around a mother who would get mad at her so often that she doesn’t understand why this woman was so nice to her.

This is yet another story I think all kids should read. People need to know that a parent can love a child like they are their own even when they are not. But they also need to know that some adults should never have children. Not all parents love their children, and that’s pretty much the saddest thing ever.

Carley has more people being mean to her besides her mother. The older Murphy brother and a girl at school give her a hard time. I can understand why the boy is giving her a hard time. He thinks she’s trying to steal his mother. On the other hand, the girl has no reason to be giving Carley a hard time. This girl has her own family issues and takes her anger out on poor Carley. That’s something I found out in a TV show once; you apparently never strike out on the thing you’re really mad at. You just take it out on someone else. So if someone makes fun of you, it’s about their problem, not you.

I’ve never understood how a parent can’t love their child. Mostly because I’m so loved. A parent who purposely hurts their child is the worst kind of human being.

This is one of those books elementary school teachers should have children read. I remember in school how we would read a book and then dissect it, figuring out why the character is doing a particular thing. There are plenty of things worth discussing in this book.