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Summary: TOTALLY CAPTIVATING STORY
Review: This memoir by Jennifer Lauck is absolutely incredible. I could not put the book down. Her story breaks you heart. Jennifer speaks from the child's viewpoint, and yet she expresses the child's thoughts, not her voice, so there is no "baby talk". It is like no other book I've ever read!
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Summary: A Amazing story with a twist
Review: Blackbird, written by Jenifer Lauck, is a very good book. It tells about her life and all the tough times she had. If you as a reader like to read stories with lots of twists, this would be the book for you. A significant event in Jenifer's life is that her mother is sick all the time, and she has to go to a "special place." Kids are not allowed there. so Jenifer does not see her mother much until she dies. Nine months later her dad has a heart attack and dies, and she is left with her step-mom. Her step-mom makes Jenifer do everything on her own, but there's a twist. I think this book is interesting because it has a lot of twists, and it is easy to follow. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read.
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Summary: Could Not Put It Down!!!
Review: Jennifer Lauck is an extraordinary author!!! Her books are so well written that you feel like she is sitting right next to you with a cup of coffee sharing her life story with you. I have read both Blackbird and Still Waters and I could not put them down. There were times when I was laughing out loud and then I would literally have stop reading because I could not see through my tears. These books will make you laugh and cry, but most of all they will make you proud of Jennifer and all that she has overcome in her life. You will become her cheerleader supporting her page after page as each adult in her life fails her. Jennifer is such a wonderful writer that I hope we haven't heard the last of her!!!
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Summary: Lost childhood, yes, but "found"?
Review: _Blackbird_ ended like a t.v. series that has its last show of the season end with a real kicker but doesn't tell you how it's resolved until the next t.v. season. I found parts of the book unbelievable, literally. I doubt that some of what is described, such as when an 8-year-old puts together a whole bedroom set all by herself or when a 10-year-old moves a whole bedroom set by herself, really happened exactly the way she said they did. I also am doubtful that she could have gone to school without someone in authority knowing of her predicament, especially when she skipped school when she lived in the "big house" in L.A. And she never explained how it was possible for a little kid to live completely on her own without *someone* questioning it. She makes L.A. sound like a big, strange place, which I'm sure it was for her because even I think it is. (I live 2 hours from there.) But L.A. is still America, and they have to follow the same rules that everyone else does, such as no skipping school and abiding by the child labor laws. I think I read somewhere that the sequel to this book is more doom and gloom about her terrible life with an aunt and uncle. I hope it also describes how she got her life out of the mess and doesn't just end with misery. I could write a book of misery, too. Lots and lots of miserable things have happened to me since my car accident 20 years ago, which left me handicapped. But I could also write a book about those same years that's uplifting and happy because lots and lots of good things happened then, too, which I didn't appreciate at the time but can now see. That author should be fair and write about what led to a good life. I'll see if she does soon. And I hope very badly that her stepmother and stepsisters are still alive and read this book.
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Summary: life through the eyes of a child
Review: Unbelievable look at life through a child's eyes. The hardest thing to believe after reading this phenomenal book is that the writer could have constructed this memoir from only childhood memories...and very fragmented disturbing memories at that! This is one of those books that is hard to read because of the empathy you have for Jenny...I found myself wanting to jump into the book and help this little girl that was dealt hand after hand of tough blows. That said, it is also a book where you learn from reading it. It is a child's perspective on an adult world; you learn from reading how much adults impact children...and how much better we can make the lives of the children in our own world.
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Summary: Okay to pick up if its on sale
Review: Are there really parents like this in the world? Although it was a troubling tale, Blackbird was asn easy read with a followable plot...so much so that I bought the sequal.
Rating:
Summary: Blackbird
Review: Was hard to get into but after a while was hard to put down. Could hardly wait to get the sequal, "Still Waters" Almost finished it with it now. So amazing just how strong the will to survive is. Very hard to understand the way some adults treat children. I really admire the author. Made me appreciate my life.
Rating:
Summary: I could not put this book down
Review: Rarely have I ever been so affected by a book like I have with "Blackbird". This book is beautifully written and it left me nothing short of breathless. I cannot wait to grab a copy of "Still Waters" and read more about Jennifer's painful yet amazing life thus far.
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Summary: This was a HUGE boost.
Review: Never have I related to another person more.
Thank you, Jennifer.
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Summary: a child's acceptance
Review: Jennifer Lauck had a heavy load of responsibilities at a very early age, caring for an invalid parent. Her beautiful mother, doomed to die from cancer, forged a bond of love and intimacy and even at times, light-hearted fun, with little Jennifer. But the day to day, hour to hour care devolved upon the girl, as her father spent long days working and her brother insisted upon his freedom to be a boy. Reading the account of her early days, one notes first of all the striking role reversal of the small child caring for the mother's needs both physical and emotional. Few children would be able to cope as well as Jennifer did.
After her mother's death, her father moved the family in with his girlfriend, and before much time elapsed, her father died also. Jennifer and her brother were left to the devices of the not-quite-sane Deb and her toxic form of New Age/fundamentalist religion. Through many trials, they proved to be survivors, and Jennifer tells her tale in the voice of a resilient, strong woman, not given to self-pity, and remarkably, emotionally healthy in spite of her "off the margins" life.
Her account will dismay, enlighten, and uplift you, all at the same time.
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