Week 12 Prompt
Week 12 Prompt
Book: Three Little Words by
Ashley Rhodes-Courter
1 . Where is the book on the narrative
continuum?
A mix (combines highly narrative moments with periods of fact-based
prose)
2 . What is the subject of the book?
Subject is about the life of a girl growing up in foster care in Florida and her yearning for a family.
Subject is about the life of a girl growing up in foster care in Florida and her yearning for a family.
3 . What type of book is it?
a. It
is a personalized memoir.
4 . Articulate appeal
a. What is the pacing of the book? The
pacing is leisurely, but engaging.
b. Describe the characters of the book. The
main character is Ashley Rhodes-Courter- the main point of view is from her
perspective. We also meet her younger brother, Luke, their mother, and a series
of foster parents and social workers and other foster children. Towards the
middle and end of the book we meet Ashley’s adoptive parents, Gay and Phil
Courter.
c. How does the story feel? The story
feels heart-breaking, lonely, and loss of hope for a better future.
d. What is the intent of the author? The
author’s intent is to draw attention to the issues within foster care. The author
is also striving to tell her story about how she survived abuse and found
loving parents and a good life waiting for her after all the hurt, heart ache,
and fear she found in foster care.
e. What is the focus of the story? The focus
of the story is about how Ashley and her brother were removed from their mother’s
care, placed in several foster cares throughout their childhood. They bounce
from home to home and sometimes the social worker forgets to check up on them.
Ashley holds onto the hope of returning to her mother’s care and doesn’t
understand why her mother is not there for her. Most of the story focuses on
Ashley’s time in an abusive foster care home and then her work to fight against
them once she is adopted by another family and creates a lawsuit against those
foster parents for their abuse to them and other minors.
f.
Does
the language matter? Yes, the language helps set the overall tone of the
book.
g. Is the setting important and well described?
The setting is somewhat important- that they are real settings and the time
period of Ashley’s life is real. Ashley does not really dwell on the setting
too much until she writes about the lawsuits she participates in on behalf of
foster children in Florida.
h. Are there details and, if so, of what? There
are lots of details on foster care practices: abuse within foster homes, works
of social workers, and group homes (which was a good place).
i.
Are
there sufficient charts and other graphic materials? Are they useful and clear?
None.
j.
Does
the book stress moments of learning, understanding, or experience? Yes, the
book stresses all three. There are moments of learning- Ashley learning how to
survive abusive foster parents, learning that there are people who truly care
for her well-being (her social worker and adoptive parents), and understanding
that she could help make a difference in foster care and help eliminate the bad
seeds by bringing exposure to them. There is also moments of experience where
Ashley learns from her mistakes and the mistakes of those around her.
5 . Why would a reader enjoy this book (rank
appeal)?
a. Learning
and experiencing a child’s life in foster care.
b. Pacing
c. Storyline
& tone
Chelsea,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate that you chose a book that had teachable moments, but still had moments of story and relate able human experiences. To me, this is the perfect balance. Often I stay away from most non-fiction, because I am put off by the straight forward facts with very little narrative. I have often found that the same is true of my patrons, and I watch for this when ordering non-fiction. However, I will have to put this book on my list, as I like that you helped me understand where on the narrative continuum this book was, and how much was fact vs. story telling.
Me too! I have found that I enjoy nonfiction work better when it reads like a story rather than a textbook with facts.
DeleteChelsea,
ReplyDeleteWhat a powerful story! I have not read it, but was interested in learning more, so I looked up a review by a social worker, raving about the value of this book to all social workers, "Three Little Words is excellent reading for any social worker involved in child welfare, foster care, or adoption, and offers great insight into the mind of children in transition. The book serves as a great challenge to an often overwhelmed system. It can also be helpful to clients considering adoption or fostering as they prepare to take in children who may have a hard time with trust or permanence," (http://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/reviews-commentary/Book_Review%3A_Three_Little_Words/).
It sounds like Ashley's voice tells her difficult story well, "Ms. Rhodes-Courter does an excellent job of reporting her experiences in a raw child’s voice, complete with the complexity often missed by the adults around her," (http://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/reviews-commentary/Book_Review%3A_Three_Little_Words/). Wyatt emphasizes the importance of characterization, "Character is a driving element for many nonfiction readers...the author as main character in memoirs...Many readers find these characters to be more interesting than fictional characters because they are real, and that sense of reality adds a fascinating layer to nonfiction works, (Wyatt 12). From your discussion and the review, it appears Ashley's narrative is profound, engaging the reader into her childhood struggles.
It is a very powerful story, especially if you are learning about the foster care experience for the first time and it is so interesting to learn about it from a child's perspective rather than a social workers or even a foster parents. This book is very well written, it probably helped that the author's mother is also a writer and she mentioned throughout the book that she helped write and tweak her story so it was told well.
DeleteSounds like a very important, emotional read. I see so many foster children come through my children's department. Sometimes you wonder what they've been through, especially if you notice something negative about the foster parents.
ReplyDeleteI see a lot of foster children and even just children who I know have parents who are struggling and I often wonder what it going on. I know that a lot of the books written on foster care tend to focus on the abuse and that not all homes or children have that issue, but it makes it more important when you read a book like this and then see a child living through similar experiences that makes you want to reach out and help.
DeleteChelsea, you and I both chose a memoir about someone who overcame an incredibly difficult childhood! Mine was The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I don't know about you, but I am ready for something quite a bit lighter at this point! I thought you did a great job pulling out the story elements and describing the action. It sounds like the tone of this book is much bleaker than the tone of mine, however. Author Walls goes to great lengths to find the humor in even the bleakest situations much like Frank McCourt did, if you ever read Angela's Ashes. I still spent much of my time reading the book wanting to strangle her parents and rescue those poor kids. Believe me, I was grateful for the moments of levity! I am glad for both of our authors that they ultimately found peace and purpose.
ReplyDeleteI have The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls on my list of books to read. Yes, after I read this book I wanted something light and fluffy to help offset the emotions that I felt while reading this book. I haven't read Angela's Ashes, just the reviews about it- and even from the reviews I found myself frustrated with the parents and how they treated those children! I'm glad that there are some authors who have found a relatively happy ending and have found happiness in their lives.
DeleteWonderful job! Full points!
ReplyDelete