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Title: Keri: the shocking true story of a child abused
Author: Kat Ward
Number of pages: 745
Genre: memoir, non-fiction
Book Number/Goal: 24/52
My Rating: 3/5
Review:
Young Keri was considered a problem child and a pathological liar, but in fact, she was systematically abused by her psychotic, hateful mother and violent step-father, by bullies and even by social workers. No one believed her (at least no one who could make any difference). This is the first book in the series, it covers Keri's life from birth to the age of 15.
The book delivers exactly what is advertised - it's shocking and realistic. Obviously the author can't be blamed for not having exciting magical adventures, never encountering any celebrities, or lacking the gift of turning pain into poetry. If many pages of depressing details of an ordinary child's life in a disfunctional family is your thing, you might enjoy it.
The weird part is that the author provides extensive descriptions of many events, scenes and long conversations no normal person would be able to remember so precisely, being so little. Most likely she is embellishing the memories to make them more vivid and real for the readers; but then the question is, how much of it is indeed true?
The story has no obvious "moral". Perhaps it's calling for a change in the structure of child-caring institutions, as many more children may be suffering under similar circumstances. For me, it reinforces the idea that children are a burden, and no one should be allowed to breed unless they want a child more than anything else in their life; and forcing a person to keep a child they do not want can ruin many lives.
Author: Kat Ward
Number of pages: 745
Genre: memoir, non-fiction
Book Number/Goal: 24/52
My Rating: 3/5
Review:
Young Keri was considered a problem child and a pathological liar, but in fact, she was systematically abused by her psychotic, hateful mother and violent step-father, by bullies and even by social workers. No one believed her (at least no one who could make any difference). This is the first book in the series, it covers Keri's life from birth to the age of 15.
The book delivers exactly what is advertised - it's shocking and realistic. Obviously the author can't be blamed for not having exciting magical adventures, never encountering any celebrities, or lacking the gift of turning pain into poetry. If many pages of depressing details of an ordinary child's life in a disfunctional family is your thing, you might enjoy it.
The weird part is that the author provides extensive descriptions of many events, scenes and long conversations no normal person would be able to remember so precisely, being so little. Most likely she is embellishing the memories to make them more vivid and real for the readers; but then the question is, how much of it is indeed true?
The story has no obvious "moral". Perhaps it's calling for a change in the structure of child-caring institutions, as many more children may be suffering under similar circumstances. For me, it reinforces the idea that children are a burden, and no one should be allowed to breed unless they want a child more than anything else in their life; and forcing a person to keep a child they do not want can ruin many lives.
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