Adoption Books

Black Baby White hands is a great resource for any family considering adopting a child of a different race. Jaiya does an excellant job of leading the reader through the roller coaster of emotions that children experience as they try to establish their own identity in their family. This book does not discourage adoption, however, it provides a spring board for family discussion of sensitive topics. As social worker specializing in infant and child adoptions, I encourage any family who may be considering transracial adoption to read this book.

Honestly, I only made it half way through the book before I could not stand it anymore. Although the author is a very eloquent writer, his pity party over his life was more then I could bare. He was raised by wonderful loving parents who did the best they could to raise him with all the opportunities, guidance, love and affection they could. He had extended family that loved him and treated him with respect (and by his own admittance, some overcame huge prejudicial upbringings to fully love and accept him as their kin). He had friends that accepted him, and loving siblings. He had a better life then I would say the majority of children growing up in America do. He had enough food on the table, family traditions, safe housing, wonderful memories, and most importantly loving family bonds. Although he was adopted by white parents (the author is black), he himself admits that they rescued him from a neglectful foster home. He came home to them so neglected that his head was flat and his muscles weak. His parents nursed him back to health. He waited 9 long months for a family, and because there were no black placements available, he was adopted by a white family. ANY family is better then living in a negectful foster home. FAMILY is the most important thing! Just ask the children that age out of the foster care sytem without one, 50% end up homeless and on drugs. Yet, this author does nothing but complain about how hard it was to be black in a white family. He gives no real evidence of this, no one treated him badly, he did not have major negative experiences within his family, he just was sensitive and felt insecure. Just think how insecure and unloved he would have felt if he were never adopted. Or stayed with his birthmother who was in no condition to raise another child? His parents moved away from their families to raise their black sons in an environment that was not prejudice. They did the best that they could. But all the author felt was sorry for himself. He was insecure and was always convinced that people did not truly love or accept him, despite their actions. He blamed things like having to share the back, cold room (a room his parents made several attempts to heat and make more comfortable) with his brother because he was black. Please, my husband who was the biological son of white parents slept out in the camper when his family got too big for their home, not because he was unfavored but because he was the eldest boy! I think the author needs to get a life! And realize the blessings that he was given. There is a huge orphan crisis in the world. Millions of children are going to bed hungry with no one to kiss them goodnight. Should we allow them to suffer or should we look beyond race or culture and bring them into good homes, in which they will be loved and valued? Which is the bigger sin, to love someone unconditionally who looks different from you or to allow someone to suffer alone because they are different. This author needs to get over his insecurities and look at all the good things that he had in his life, see how others have to live, and thank his lucky stars. I for one, do not feel sorry for him.

As a mother, I believe the messages in this book to be so valuable that I do not want others to miss them. This motivates my following comments. Most of the reviewers here seem to understand the spirit of this book. A few do not. In particular, the two dated prior to my own show a fundamental misunderstanding of what this book is. The author is sharing the journey of emotions and thoughts he went on AS A CHILD. He is not railing at his parents as an adult. He is not complaining, being ungrateful, or feeling sorry for himself. He is doing just the opposite: Trying to show us how a person can take pain and learn how to grow from it, and that even in a "good" family and "good" community adopted children can struggle. This book is humorous and triumphant and loving. His descriptions of his family members are nothing but warm and loving. He is not arguing against transracial adoption but creating a window for better understanding it. I know for a fact that he has worked with thousands of transracially adoptive families in support of their journey. . . . . In the reviews in question, the only bitterness involved is the bitterness of the reviewers. Perhaps they were threatened or made to feel uncomfortable by the rawness and honesty of the book. They were clearly feeling defensive. They seemed to think they were being somehow attacked even though the author seems to go to pains to express his love and gratitude for his family. One of the reviewers admitted she did not even read the second half of the book. If she had, she would have read the part of the story in which John grew to realize that he had turned his struggles into something self-defeating. He realized that he needed to change how he felt about himself and take control of his life, regardless of how others related to him. Hello! It helps to actually read a book if you are going to review it. Not scan through it. Not defensively scour it for offending statements. But open up your mind and heart . . . . . I work with foster and adoptive youth as a social worker. I am a foster mother. I'm not the smartest cookie but I have tried my best to listen to these young people as they share their feelings. I have heard hundreds of them say the same thing over and over again: It is hurtful to be attacked as being ungrateful, complaining, and self-pitying whenever they try to get their parents, social workers, anyone to understand what they are going through. They can't stand it when people say: "Would you rather have stayed in foster care or in that horrible situation with your birth family?" They hear this dismissive comment all the time. We wouldn't say to children raised in their biological family: "Would you rather have not been born?" These children have a right to feel pain, express it, and not be attacked. The reviewers in question spewed out the very same hurtful comments that foster and adoptive youth everywhere have been saying are the worst attitudes we can take with them . . . . . And it does not matter that "any adoptive child" or "any Black child" or "any child in a same-race placement" could feel the same way as John did, as the reviewers snarled. That is not the author's point. His point is this is what HE felt, because of being adopted and being Black in a White environment, and yes, his own nature. His point seems to be that each of these things can leave children more vulnerable and that we need to be aware. He also NEVER claims to be speaking for the experience of other children. I don't know where the reviewers came up with this. It seems to be a result of defensiveness--not wanting to believe anything in the book might apply to their family? This book is a memoir. All it does is tell one child's story . . . . John found the courage to share publicly because he clearly wanted to invite us into a private, poorly understood reality of foster and adopted children so we might LEARN SOMETHING. He wasn't saying anything that I haven't heard many times from other youth separated from their families or who are racially isolated. He was just saying it in a unique and insightful way. A revealing way. So if we would like to dismiss his story as no more than self pity and bitterness, we are doing ourselves a disservice. This is what these children are feeling! Please do not let such reviews discourage you from this or other books. You have to ask yourself about such reviews, are they telling me more about the book or the reviewer? . . . . . I found this book to be very uplifting. It showed me the power of people and families to change and grow. This isn't a cream puff story that treads lightly and delicately on race and culture and family issues. He told his story in a truthful, positive way. He could only have achieved this by being at peace with himself. His story concludes with basically a celebration of how his life has shaped him. Please, find out for yourself. Our attitude as we read a book, and our own sensitivities, can dictate how we experience that book. Try this one with openness.

This is truly an inspirational book which gives a clear demonstration of how a young black boy grew into a mature black man in a positive manner despite the serious emotional and painful struggles that occured due to a lack of required sensitivity around race. Jaiya's message is important for all adults involved in making critical decisions about the future of children. It provides a hightened awareness for birth parents, foster and adoptive parents and social work professionals. Jaiya's ability to share his experiences is a true blessing for others.

Selena M. Simons
Coordinator of Foster Care - BERMUDA

I was excited to read this book, but was very dissapointed and personally feel it is way overrated. The language used is supposedly "poetic", but I just found it pretentious and esoteric. More importantly, however, I feel that the author basically took his own experience as an unhappy, isolated child and searching, hyper-sensitive adult (which seemed to me to be more a function of the author's innate personality than the fact that he was transracially adopted... or at least a combination of the two) and used it to negatively represent/unfairly characterize all trans-racial adoption. It seemed to me that this author's emotional difficulties and struggles growing up would have existed even if he had been raised in a same-race home (not that they weren't exacerbated by his racially-based experiences). The impression given by the author is that he speaks for all trans-racially adopted children, and I do not think this is fair or at all accurate. There are of course some things that will apply to others, but his experience, being an unusually intense, emotional child raised in an isolated all-white environment 30 years ago, is completely different from that of a child raised in a more diverse environment in 2008. It would be fine if he simply presented the book as a personal memoir of his own specific experiences in life and left it at that. But that is certainly not the impression the book leaves... and I think it is being presented in some adoption circles as a universal reflection of the experience of any trans-racially adopted child, much to the detriment of today's trans-racial families and waiting children. I hope potential trans-racial adopters will not be so frightened by this one person's experience that they allow themselves to be discouraged from this path. As long as you are prepared to be culturally sensitive to your child, honor his heritage, and commit to making sure there are plenty of same-race role models in his life, trans-racially adopted children can indeed grow up to be healthy and happy and fully attached to their adoptive family. If you are looking for a more balanced view, two much better choices are "The Color of Water" by James McBride or "In Their Own Voices, Transracial Adoptees Tell Their Stories" by Rita Simon and Rhonda Roorda.

August 1947. Indian independence. At that time, did the freedom from the British rule mean much to Indian people? Maybe yes. Maybe no. Now, I value my freedom very much.

Khushwant Singh tries to bring forth the picture of India and the newly formed Pakistan during the post-Independence months through this book. Britishers not only left India in 1947, they brought a divide between two communities that lived in harmony for centuries.

Independence had an adverse affect on a small, sleepy village in Punjab - Mano Majra. Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims lived in this village since a long time and very peacefully. However, with independence, all the Muslims of the village are asked to leave Mano Majra and go on the other side of the border to Pakistan.

There has been major bloodshed after independence wherein train load of corpses have been sent on both sides. Do the Muslims of Mano Majra face the same fate while leaving for Pakistan? Read on to find out...

This book gives us gripping information about what all these people went through during Partition and how a nation was torn apart. It is an important part of history that few of us knew about.
Now I have found many books and films that tell the story, but this was the first one I read and it's a keeper....very well done.

Khushwant Singh weaves a tapestry linking stories of seemingly ordinary characters caught in a much bigger scheme of events. A masterful novel - A must read indeed.

Much has been written about this classic by Khushwant Singh: the social impact of partition, the moral message behind what happened, the role of religion & class in rural India, politics at the time of independence, etc. However, the most dominant theme and least spoken fact about Train to Pakistan is that it is one of the best examples of romanticism in post-partition and independent India.

Singh spends a majority of his time in the book characterizing all facets of nature that rationalization or objectivity fail to capture yet good works of romanticism transcend. Singh provides intimate descriptions of things that seem irrelevant to the story and yet constitute the story: the village, its seasons, its daily routine, social interactions, folk songs, Sikhism, and most of all detailed characterization of individuals. It is important to know that Singh does not make judgements. Those who try to infer one do so for their own closure.

Just as the French Revolution and Industrial Revolution had deep influences in the movement of romanticism in 18th century western Europe as a revolt against the social, political and economic happenings; it is natural that the events of 1947 that underline the socio-political behavior of India and Pakistan till date would result in a similar reaction in Indian literature.

Singh is a pious Sikh born in Hadali, now Pakistan. Like millions of people like him, the world rocked in the 1940's and was never the same again. The deep influences of those years have poured out with poetic charm, romantic passion, and numbing despondency. Read it ten times and you will learn as much in the tenth read as you would in the first.

Khushwant Singh's Train to Pakistan shall ever be considered one of the most significant chronicles of the horrors that accompanied the partition of India. In this spare and tight narrative, Khushwant Singh selects Mano Majra, a small village near the border, as the place where Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs come to terms with religion based division of a country. To be uprooted from one country, the country that was your home was several hundred years or more, is an extremely painful experience. Khushwant Singh choses to leave the sentimentality to the reader, and just draws a series of sketches of how the events influence his nicely crafted characters.

The characters are closest to the villagers, Policemen and Magistrates I have known in reality. The conversations, the arguments, the brotherhood that extends beyond religion in villages, and the complexity of human nature is all brought out by this pithy masterpiece nicely. Without going into the details of story or characters (which I will let you read and marvel at yourself), I can tell you that the storyline, in spite of the baggage it carries in terms of trains full of dead bodies, forms a reading full of suspense, agony, mystery and things run to a brilliant climax.

Why hasn't Khushwant Singh's novel acquired the reputation it deserves in the world literature? I think there are several reasons which primarily are related to how the novel is written. I believe Khushwant Singh could have spent a little more time and text on the history of Sikhism and Islam in India. What happened in 1947 was perhaps a consequence of accumulated hatred of centuries. What happened against the Jews in Europe wasn't the result of Hitler's personal vendetta alone, what happened in India wasn't a result of Jinnah (or you can blame Indian National Congress, if you like Jinnah) alone. We need to look at these in the light of bloodshed that had preceded these events.

Train to Pakistan presents one of the best studies (in English) of Sikhs and villagers of India. Another novel from the same time Maila Anchal (The Soiled Border) by Phanishwer Nath Renu is a complimentary study of villagers in Bihar, as these villagers witness rise of caste based politics and changes in wake of India's freedom. Since the events during partition involved a million deaths, and uncountable inhuman excesses (rapes, slashed breasts, castrations), the novel provides context for very strong emotions. In the dark dance of death and murders, there are occasional glimpses of romance, friendship and kinship.

I would urge every Indian and Pakistani to read this book. It is part of our painful heritage. The book is perhaps not as descriptive as it should be for the taste of non-Indian, non-Pakistani readers, but I am sure it presents the Indian holocaust in a very delicate, refined and understated fashion.

Ida Mae began life roughly. Her father is murdered, her mother dies and her adoptive parent die by the time she is 17. But Ida Mae had what a lot of folks don't have nowadays---survival skills. She took what life metted out and turned it into something good. But the saddest part to me is, she loved so freely yet died alone...

Ida Mae is worth every penny I spent for it. I loved it!

Ida Mae
Reviewed by: Wanda Starkes, C&B Books

Delores Thornton, author elegantly brings Ida Mae's character to life, a spiritual woman who symbolizes courage, strength, and endurance. Delores writing is very charismatic. Ms. Thornton wonderfully traveled the path of Ida Mae's life. A beautiful, talented, powerful and resilient young woman - a prime example of standing on faith in spite of countless tears and fears. A heart-stopping book from beginning to the end!
Ida Mae, southern rooted from country ham, piping hot homemade biscuits, peach cobbler, to the brutal reality of the Klu Klux Klan!
Ida Mae is a must read for those who really enjoy reading about triumph during an era and in a world filled with difficult obstacles, challenges, with the only way out is to live through it!
Thumbs Up Delores

Ida Mae is a Sunday type book because it is long and you need time and quietness to chill and read. It is a sad and touching story about a woman that went through many trials and tribulations in her life but she survived. Some of the stuff was crazy but she remained strong and got through the obstacles that were put in her way.

Ida Mae is a black female from Georgia who goes through so many experiences such as rape as a teenager and losing her daughter and husband that she remains a strong character who wears many hats like being a mother of two children, a loving wife and granddaughter that has seen many deaths in her family which could have broken her but she kept strong.

Ida Mae helps you to appreciate the good that happens in your life and the people that you care about in your life.

What I appreciated about Ida Mae was how the book covered her life from her very young to an old death. The author made her feel like a relative that you see get older and older. There were no gaps.

There were happy moments in the book to take off some of the sadness that at times is a little overwhelming, but the happy moments made you see Ida Mae for the girl that she was and the woman that she became. Some of those happy moments were when she won the poetry contest, met her extended family and got married.

Ida Mae is a work of art to me but the only thing that I didn't like was the sadness of it all. There were so many deaths that she experienced in her life that every time she turned around someone was dying and she had to deal with it. I think that the author was trying to display her strength through it all, but it got depressing.

I'm not into mushy, but for those who are this book is a must read and for those who aren't the book is still worth reading as a change from your everyday routine. Ida Mae was suspenseful and dramatic like a movie.... Hey, it definitely has a chance as a movie GOOD WORK D. THORNTON!!!

S. Elitou

Ida Mae is truly a masterpiece, that should be placed in every library and studied in every classroom around the world. Often we try to teach our children how to be independent. Ida Mae will show them how. In the face of opposition, she triumphs time and time again, and reach for the stars along the way and actually fulfills her dreams. And teaches her son to aspire and accomplish his too. There is no doubt in my mind that Delores Thornton will one day be considered one of the best writers of all time. A must read!!!

Thank you so much, Delores. I purchased my autographed copy and read "Ida Mae" some time ago and was tremendously blessed. My mom's name was Ida Mae and there were many similarities between her life and your main character's. I appreciate you so much! I want you to know that I COULD NOT put "Ida Mae" down when began reading it! FABULOUS!

I read this book during a recent trip to Cambodia with a Cambodian friend. That fact certainly magnified my reaction, but I would have found this book powerful under any circumstances.

Something that other reviewers have not empahsized is that the Cambodian brother in the story, Soeuth, was just a young child of 7 and is alone during his years in the slave camps. Even if you are familiar with the Pol Pot period you will be deeply moved by the details of day to day life of someone of that age in the camps. The chapters of that period alternate with chapters of the American-born brother at the same age. At first these chapters struck me as mundane - as a bit of a gimmick. They were not. The context proves important because the American-born brother tells the story in a way that Soeuth could not.

In the second half of the book, the two stories converge in America, and after the intense emotion of the killing fields, this too appears mundane - at first. Out of stories of fishing, shop class, and keg parties comes one of the themes of the book; his American years prove as influential on Soeuth, the adult, as his childhood. Not surprisingly, the author is not left unaffected either. The trip to Cambodia made by both brothers bears this out.

This book is truly remarkable! A wonderful, touching read and incredible insight into the life of this young man. Waiting patiently for Mr. Fifield's next book.

I particularly recommend "A Blessing Over Ashes" for anyone interesed in 20th Century Southeast Asian history, as it puts a painfully personal face on the wars in Cambodia. But even for those who know little about this era, I would recommend it as a compelling story of one person's experiences as a member of two very different families. It is a story of personal identity, and it is a story of our common humanity. Are we defined by race? Blood? Experience? Where, in the end, does Soeuth belong? How can he reconcile his divergent experiences as a Cambodian and as an American? Much of this book is tough going. Soeuth and Adam's visits to the ghostly "re-education centers" are almost unbearably sad, and reminded me of some of the observations Philip Gourevitch makes of Rwanda in his work on another place, another genocide, another year, "We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families." "A Blessing Over Ashes," is as honest a book as I have ever read.

Biographies written by journalists often offer rare treats. This one is no exception. Adam Fifield takes the extraordinary circumstances that brought a young Cambodian boy into his family and tells us how they became true brothers. This book will open your heart and your mind and stay with you for a long, wonderful time.

There are dozens upon dozens of books on the killing fields of Cambodia out there...this one is different, because it tells the story of Adam and his Cambodian foster brother, Seouth. I was drawn to this perspective and enjoyed Adam's writing style very much. His descriptions and use of language are effective at getting emotions across without being sentimental and sloppy. At the end of the book, Adam and Seouth travel to Cambodia, and Adam made me feel as though I was there with them, riding a motobike down a dusty road, taking in the sights and sounds of an unfamiliar culture. Many books do not emphasize how poor the people of Cambodia are in a tangible way...Adam does this beautifully. If you are interested in how historical events affect individuals or have brothers or sisters, this book could change how you look at the world and reaffirm your relationships with others. (P.S...you might cry and laugh! I did).

An interesting book that follows the trials and tribulations of a gay man attempting to adopt a "problem" child within the California Adoption System. A Fascinating read and I had actually just finished the book when I noticed that the movie version was playing on "Dish". So I thought I'd give it a look-see. This very enjoyable book has been ruined by the changes made by the producers and I assume the author to the extent that the movie has nothing to do with the book. A cast of "B" actors including (ooooh won't it be cute if we cast a REAL brother and sister John and Joan Cusack PLAYING a brother and sister in the movie---GAG! Too bad they couldn't find a "real" brother and sister who could also act. Well I hope the author made a nice pot of cash and it will make up for the fact that for the rest of his life people will think of the movie rather than the book when they see the title "The Martian Child".

After seeing the movie version of "The Martian Child" I just had to read the book. It did not disappoint although there are some differences between the book and the movie. In the book, the father is a gay man and in the movie he is a widower who vows to follow through on the plan he had with his wife to adopt a child. These are only surface differences because the whole point of both the book and the movie is the relationship between a single dad and his "hard-to-place" adopted son. The young boy, Dennis, is riddled with insecurities which manifest themselves in everything from wild tantrums to his insistence that he is from Mars. The father is unbelievably patient as he alternately enters his son's fantasy world and then coaxes him out of it. This is a touching story of two human beings who learn to trust each other and to be better together.

I ordered this book used and recieved it a day earlier than promised and in better condition than I had even hoped. would use again anytime. Glad that Amazon does such a good job of finding used book suppliers.

The price of the book was cheap, it was in excellent (brand new) condition, and the actually story was even better than the movie.

I watched the film version of this movie first and ran right out the next day to buy the book. The book may not have been as satisfying as the film, but I loved it anyways. I read it in about an hour and I couldn't put it down. It's a quick read and leaves you with such a profound message. However, I would suggest watching the film version after reading the book.

I have ordered several books from Amazon and I have been very pleased with each and everyone of them. I am an avid reader and the library does not have all the Karen Kingsbury books which I enjoy reading. Thanks to Amazon I have been able to purshase all the books that are not available to me and I have donated them back to the library so the next person will be able to enjoy them as well. Thanks AMAZON!

I'm a big fan of Karen Kingsbury. Her Christian fiction is very refreshing and more realistic than most. This book was very moving and I found myself actaully crying at time - something I seldom do while reading fiction.

A friend recommended this series to me and so far I am loving it! I can't wait to finish all the books in it. It is nice to have something to read that doesn't have all the garbage in it so many books do these days. The Christian perspective is a nice change.

I am currently reading this book and it is one that is hard to put down. Took a while to get here though.

Book 3 of the Firstborn series was so touching. My heart did flips while reading it.

I think it's time this series ended. Cate is running out of plot lines. Why couldn't she just let Cal and Selene be dead instead of bringing them back into the story again, the way she did. I realy wish Morgan would just let go of what happened with them earlier on in the series. The whole idea of Morgan having strange dreams has already been used before - remember in "The Calling" with Ciaran and Amyranth? I did however think that what happened with Hunter and the coven leader wasn't too bad but I didn't really see how the spell he and his dad created helped much. Okay, so it stops people from hurting others with their magick, but it also stops them from helping people - slight problem here. Anyone heard the expression "If you can't curse you can't heal"? I also liked the way Hunter and his Dad grew closer - they felt much more like father and son in this book. And finally, Morgan and Hunter actually had sex. And about time too. The sex scene in book 10 was terribly done but I thought it was much better dealt with in this one.

I really want the next one to come out soon!!! This book I read so fast that i read it again! It is filled with so much love that i wished that real life could be that way.
Morgan gets rid of her problems and falls more in love with Hunter. She goes through troubles but it falls together great in the end.
Hunter and Morgan are so great together, better than her and Cal couldve ever been. I think that im going to go read it again. Pick this book up when you are out.

This cannot be the end. We need to see Morgan through her training in Scotland. Let's follow her through graduation. I've heard rumours of a baby. We need a handfasting!

This series has kept me turning pages. I can't wait for more.

This book is amazing, but don't trust the back of it; it misleads you. This is my favorite one in the series and so good, i read it in one sitting. You won't want to put it down!

The final book of the series (although there is the Super Edition). This one alternates between Morgan's and Hunter's viewpoints.

Morgan is having nightmares and everyone thinks she might be the target of a spirit; possibly Cal's. Hunter is called to discreetly investigate a coven leader who might be being tempted by dark magic.

Hunter has resigned from the Council but is still interested in many of its ideals. Now he must juggle those, a sense of right and wrong, and still help Morgan with whatever is plaguing her.

While Morgan is trying to solve her immediate problem, she is awarded a scholarship to a school of magic healing. But in order to go, she will have to have the support of her Catholic family.

In the end, the book is nicely resolved and the series is tied up although there is plenty of room for more stories (i.e. what happens in Scotland?, what about Killian?, what about Alisa?, etc.). Very nicely done.

Reading this book was really an emotional experience for me. This woman's story is incredible - and unfortunately not the only one of it's kind. I'm glad that I read this book before contacting my (birth) mother - as it gave me some much-needed perspective on the conditions surrounding my birth.

I read this book after seeing it mentioned in Margaret Moorman's Waiting to Forget. I found this account oddly unsatisfying and I'm trying to decide why. While it's true Moorman's book is bogged down by her tendency to analyze everything, it is much more compelling for her descriptions of the people around her. They seem real; she seems real. Schaefer is so focused on her feelings that she fails to bring to life anyone around her. The people in her universe are so generic I couldn't keep them straight. Even her boyfriend lacks any identifying description; you never get a feeling for why she loves him. You don't know what he does or likes, or dresses like, looks like or says. I also think Moorman was more successful at remembering what it was like to be young. I think Schaefer imposes some of her adult assertiveness and self-awareness on her teenage self. I didn't feel that I really knew her, either, at least her younger self. In all, Moorman's story had the greater impact on me.

I purchased this book because my family and I are in the process of finalizing an international adoption (we have 2 young biological children) and the title caught my attention. While the story really wasn't relevant to our situation, I found the story incredibly moving nonetheless. To read about the aches and pains of the biological mother, and then see how she was treated within her family and within society and to see that despite ALL of this, she continued to love and want for her child. It brought me to tears to sadness and tears of joy to see that her son could be loved so much by both mothers. It was also refreshing to read something positive about adoption (ie, that the adopted mother was open to the communication). I think this book does a lot for the adoptive community. Thank you for writing it!

This is an incredibly moving book that appeals to all women of all ages. An amazing read!

A highly personal peek into a not-so-long-ago way of handling adoptions. This book provides an amazing amount of insight into the emotional upheaval the birth mother undergoes through pregnancy, adoption and the rest of her life, as well that of her parents, the birth father, siblings and the relationships and family that follow. The "return policy" was certainly an eye opener! An adoptive mother loaned me this book, and even though I am of the same generation as the author, the treatment of the unwed mother was barbaric, insensitive, shocking and the lack of counseling just another way in which society has failed. A "must read" for most adoptees and adoptive parents, but also instructional for anyone who has ever known anyone involved in the adoption process.

That said, the book is also very dated. For more recent adoptees and parents, the experience is very different. Even though published in 1992, much of the information is now more readily accessible thanks to the Internet.

Though I have not read this book, I have heard much about it. The town that Harley lives in is actually a reference to Pompton Lakes NJ, my home town, and her references to a place called "The Pond Hole" are real as well, it is in the bottom of our high school parking lot, and it's where people hang out to smoke ciggerettes and play hacky sack. A few current teachers at the high school are also referenced, just thought that was intresting.

I found this book by a friend that had read it before hand. I was searching by local library and I found this book. And am I glad I did. It is an amazing book with an edge to it.

Anyway, this book is about Harley. She is a girl that lives with her abusive dad and cold-hearted mother with 2 other siblings. When Harley is up in her attic hide-away, to get away from her parents and all of their secrets, she finds a toy clown among the other boxes of stuff, but something is special about the stupid toy. Inside the card it says, "Papa loves you forever and a day" in handwriting that's not her father's. As Harley searches for answers she finds the wrong social crowd, her grades drop, and she ditches her best friend. But Harley knows that her parents aren't really her parents, and if it takes everything to find them, she'll do it. Even as she spirals downward to a point where only her art can comfort her, Harley is sure that if they're is the real truth out there, she will find it.

I really liked the book. It had such a likeable character, Harley, with her search to find her real parents. She has such likeability about her that she makes the book. Not only does she make some mistakes, but she also finds something out all on her own. Which to me, shows that she can do anything, or that we all can.

I had to pick a book for an assignment in L.A.. I didn't know which book to choose. Then, Harley like a person got my attention. I was looking at the cover wondering what it meant. I checked the book out of the library and started to read on my bed. When I opened the book, the first sentence caught my eyes. I'm under the bed. The first chapter didn't seem normal to me.
The setting started off in her house, under the bed, hiding from her parents. She's got a drunken father, yelling mother, and her siblings. Then she gets into all sorts of troubles you can think of. Her first boyfriend was just playing with her, and then the second one was on drugs. She's got the problems that you'll never be able to think of that will happen in your teenage years. Maybe... I hope so... This book has the feelings that teenagers have and the problems that we keep it as secrets. It was like Bauer actually knows what we want!
The conflict happens between Harley and her teachers, friends, and her parents. Even her best friend thinks she's crazy; and later she's failing classes. This might actually happen in life and it's not just a story. There can be problems with your friends and teachers. Her only way of escaping those troubles is to draw. (Me too) I found this in common. She likes to listen to Beatles, unlike normal teenagers do. She's got a heart that no other teenagers might. She's faced difficulties that the teenagers usually don't. Maybe that's why this book is so special. You MIGHT get into one of those.
Everyone might have had this question. "Am I adopted?!" I did. Well, Harley wasn't adopted but she was always thinking she was adopted. Then she finds out that her dad isn't her real dad and she's got the talent from her real dad.
My favorite part of the book is the ending, when and her parents get to understand her. They all sit in a row watching the play and her drawing of Anastasia. That's my favorite part of this book. I haven't actually read her other books yet, but I'm looking forward to it.
It is the best book I have read so far this year. Especially if you're a struggling teenager or a person like me who's getting ready for high school should read this. It has what the teenagers think about what's going on in high school life, and what's the problem that they usually have.

I have been searching for a good book for the past two months and to my disarray have not found a one. I have tried the classics (they were too dull), i have tried the science fiction (they were too weird) and even trashy romances (UGH!). So today i went to the library and got something new, something different. It was titled Harley:Like a Person and I read it in one day, one of the best books I have ever read. So now I am in the same situation again, with no good book to read. ...

If you like books that will draw you into the real life of a girl on the wrong track then this is it. I read it in 2 days. When your parents lie to you your whole life about who your father is you would flip too. Harley is an artist who is in a swirl of lies and doesn't know what to do. Her friend pretty much leaves her to fend for her self and her parents act like they don't care. She meets a boy who takes her to parties and does drugs. That doesn't last long. She soon goes in search of who her real father is.
This is a great book with a twist of an ending.

These are without a doubt heartwarming stories that leave the reader thinking "What if that person hadn't been at that spot at that time", or other mind-bending questions, but all in all, the lack of detail provided in the stories fails to draw the reader into them, leaving a choppy feel to the whole book. This, in turn, fails, to do what the writer hoped to accomplish, which was to show the fantastic chemistry between people and dogs, and demonstrate that dogs are capable of thinking and emotions far more complicated than humans have believed thus far.

I purchased Second Chances last year for my 9 year old son so I knew this book would be just as good. If you want to read very short stories about stray dogs who found loving homes, this is the book. It will make you laugh, cry, and just feel good all over.

Everyone should "adopt" a shelter or stray once in their life. There is is no better feeling...they seem to have a way of "finding you."

I loved this book so much.I recently adopted a dog after many years of only pedigree versions. I will always save a life and adopt from now on! My other 3 dogs with papers aren't so sure of this decision!

As a dog lover and a current owner of 4 dogs (2 of whom were rescues) I applaud each and every pet owner in this book and I thank Elise Lufkin for putting these stories together so that they may be enjoyed by the people who rescue any animal or is thinking about rescuing. The joy and love these pets bring into a home is unbelievable.

As the mama of an adopted stray dog from the ASPCA I am very interested in saved cats and dogs,(I have also taken in a stray cat). To me rescued animals are the best pets. The books that I have read are all happy books, there may be a lot of saddness in them, but for the most part they have a happy ending.
Amazon is full of books on cats and dogs, the selection can't be beat!