Rating: 
Summary: Touching, Compelling and Mature
Review: As I passed the halfway mark, I would stop after every chapter to reflect and absorb the emotion of the author. I found Strawberry Field very touching, compelling and mature. The descriptive choice of words is very vivid and detailed as it draws you into the struggle of life for the girl. She shows a wisdom beyond her years blended with the questioning of a child. Her strength and survival are an inspiration, as she rises from victim in life to victor of life! I recommend this book to all readers.
Rating:
Summary: A must-have for Counselor , Juvenile Officer or Teacher
Review: I have read perhaps hundreds of books, and "Stawberry Field" is one of the best. It brings to life on the page a spirit that simply refused to be broken, and by the end of the book, one understands very well the way this brave little girl saved herself and her essential goodness. You see the many simple choices she made, instinctively and unfailingly, for the postive. It leaves you with a feeling of hope and affirmation.
I particularly liked the way Carolyn's sister was charactertized, how their everyday love and kindness for each other was able to counteract some of the hideousness of their father's degeneracy, and the great gift this was for Carolyn.Another of this book's great strengths is its plain style. In the deftest simplicity of expresson, Ms. Borges depicts the forces that break families over years and generations. One sees all the ways people took their inherited character, and made it better, or worse by their choices. It renders this an excellent book for a teacher or counselor have on hand when one is on the receiving end of a "Nothing is wrong", as Miss Ruillet was. The child protection system in this society is worse than useless, and most abused children must find their own way. This book can be a light in the tunnel for them; as it offers simply stated ways to cope. I hope Ms. Borges write a sequel. I would love to see the journey of Carolyn to being Judge Lowell, of her sisters, and of all the people she meets on the way, for that would be an inspiring story, too. I didn't want "Strawberry Field" to end.
Rating:
Summary: A must-have for Counselor , Juvenile Officer or Teacher
Review: I have read perhaps hundreds of books, and "Stawberry Field" is one of the best. It brings to life on the page a spirit that simply refused to be broken, and by the end of the book, one understands very well the way this brave little girl saved herself and her essential goodness. You see the many simple choices she made, instinctively and unfailingly, for the postive. It leaves you with a feeling of hope and affirmation.
I particularly liked the way Carolyn's sister was charactertized, how their everyday love and kindness for each other was able to counteract some of the hideousness of their father's degeneracy, and the great gift this was for Carolyn. Another of this book's great strengths is its plain style. In the deftest simplicity of expresson, Ms. Borges depicts the forces that break families over years and generations. One sees all the ways people took their inherited character, and made it better, or worse by their choices. It renders this an excellent book for a teacher or counselor have on hand when one is on the receiving end of a "Nothing is wrong", as Miss Ruillet was. The child protection system in this society is worse than useless, and most abused children must find their own way. This book can be a light in the tunnel for them; as it offers simply stated ways to cope. I hope Ms. Borges write a sequel. I would love to see the journey of Carolyn to being Judge Lowell, of her sisters, and of all the people she meets on the way, for that would be an inspiring story, too. I didn't want "Strawberry Field" to end.
Rating:
Summary: Strawberry Field - Excellent
Review: I loved this book. It is a marvelously written novel about one little girl's triumphant victory over the harshest of childhood misfortunes including abuse, abandonment, and poverty. It is told mostly in flashback through the eyes of the family court judge who lived and survived these ordeals, and is now an instrument in the lives of other neglected, abandoned children. It is a compelling and fascinating story, but it is not a downer. It is an uplifting story of optimism and self-reliance, told with such clarity of language, the reader feels every emotion experienced by the characters, so beautifully drawn, they leap off the pages. The spunk and spirit of the main character alone, makes you pull for her every step of the way. I highly recommend this novel.
Rating:
Summary: Survivors Share Universals
Review: I read Strawberry Field while waiting for Hurricane Frances. And I finished it before the hurricane even made landfall! I thought the ending was excellent and the title perfect. I admire Susan Borges for writing this novel, which I believe is autobiographical at least to some degree. If it is not, she has a tremendous imagination. There are some similarities to my own childhood and to my memoir, which will be published in the next few months. This made me identify closely with Carolyn. While Susan Borges is a lawyer, I am a volunteer CASA/GAL child advocate. It was that experience that led me to write my story...to help children going through neglect and abuse now. Susan Borges' novel will help today's children. I applaude her for writing it. And I hope it is available in middle school and high school libraries and read by teachers, counselors, and court officials.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Stop Reading
Review: Strawberry Field starts out a little slow, but don't stop reading because very quickly it will grab you. It is the beautifully told story of how children suffer when families split apart, and one family in particular. It tells how sisterly love, kind people, and an unconquerable spirit help one very young girl survive a childhood of cruelty, poverty and isolation. This book is expertly written, and the story so compelling, you don't want it to end. I do not read many books, but this one was recommended to me, and is one of the best I've read in a very long time. For a relatively short novel, it tells a great big story.
Rating:
Summary: Enlightening
Review: The book clearly explains an observation and corrected an opinion. It explained the mentality of both the abused and abuser. And how their mental state controls their decisions and actions. My earlier opinion was that people in abusive conditions should attack it as agressively as possible or flee the environment at the first opportunity.
However, the book reveals how people in abusive conditions must balance that negative condition with the positive conditions of their life, such as, love for siblings, maintaining friendships, and holding on to their areas of control and freedom. Oh yes, the author showed how a person's history adds to the wisdom of today's decisions.
Rating:
Summary: Strawberry Field - A wonderful book. Take a deep breath !
Review: This is such a moving portrait of the strength of the human spirit. What I found most amazing was not only the child's victorious survival of unspeakable neglect and abuse, but her stubborn refusal, then and now, to be sabotaged by the weight of self-pity. In the same way she recounts her material hardships (shelter, food and clothing that was sporadic and minimal at best), I interpret her acknowledgment of her entire situation as if to say, "Well, this is what I have to work with, so it'll just have to do ... FOR NOW." Her graceful acceptance of what WAS never clouded her expectations of what could and should be. I cannot imagine anyone who will not learn from this book, and be better for having read it.
Rating:
Summary: Strawberry Field - A wonderful book. Take a deep breath !
Review: This is such a moving portrait of the strength of the human spirit. What I found most amazing was not only the child's victorious survival of unspeakable neglect and abuse, but her stubborn refusal, then and now, to be sabotaged by the weight of self-pity. In the same way she recounts her material hardships (shelter, food and clothing that was sporadic and minimal at best), I interpret her acknowledgment of her entire situation as if to say, "Well, this is what I have to work with, so it'll just have to do ... FOR NOW." Her graceful acceptance of what WAS never clouded her expectations of what could and should be. I cannot imagine anyone who will not learn from this book, and be better for having read it.
Rating:
Summary: STRAWBERRY FIELD
Review: This novel is absolutely compelling, and when I started, I could not put it down until finished. It chronicles the thoughts of a family court judge faced with the awesome responsibility of the placement in three child custody disputes. But that is only the first chapter. The judge then flashes back on the lives of her own parents and then of her own life from age four to fifteen. Hers was a life of a total lack of family stability, of abandonment, of neglect, and of sexual abuse. Guided by her faith, the love of an older sister, and some adult interventions, this little girl copes with, finally escapes from, and rises above her horrific childhood. Flashing forward to her judicial duties, she then knows the decisions she must make. I truly feel that this book will be an inspiration and a beacon to child care workers, educators, foster parents, and victims of sexual abuse. It is MUST reading.
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