Follow one boy's fight for survival through the vile foster care system. Now, share Steven's story in his own words through his personal journal.
Steven Moyer was your typical, average teenager until an untimely car accident caused by a drunk driver claimed the lives of both his parents. When his immediate family refused to take Steven into their homes and care for him, a naive Steven was forced into the vile foster care system.
Steven has been carted from one foster home to the next; over a dozen times in the last two years, and he has had a difficult time making friends and fitting into a new family unit.
Now in his teens, Steven is abruptly placed with Mr. and Mrs. Jones, and even though he is immediately made to feel welcome, once the caseworker leaves, the Jones reveal their true colors. Steven begins to experience slight signs of child abuse, but it doesn't end there. Over time the abuse escalates from pushing and shoving to full blown beatings.
Now, with no other choice, Steven is forced to make the hardest decision of his life; escape or continue to experience the abuse that could cost him his life.
This powerful story takes you through the daily drama of Steven's life through his own personal memories. Experience Steven's pain firsthand as you read through his journal entries during this horrific time in his life.
Excerpt
Wasting My Time:
It's late and I'm freezing.
I was given this sorry excuse for a blanket and expected to keep warm.
What are they thinking?
The blanket has more holes in it than a block of Swiss cheese.
I was told to cope with my new surroundings, but who can live, let alone cope, in this situation. Even the cockroaches have moved out.
I don't know why I'm wasting my time writing to you in this stupid journal. You don't know my feelings or what I'm going through. You're like everyone else in my life; clueless. I'm writing my deepest, darkest thoughts and you just lay there and do nothing. You never help me.
This journal was a stupid idea. Who cares about you anyways? Do I really think your going to help change my life or get me out of this situation?
No! Yet I continue to confide in you anyways.
This journal has been nothing, but trouble for me. Do you hear me? Trouble! I should just throw you in the trash where you belong. Why are you trouble, you ask? Writing these stupid words will never set me free. It won't let me escape my past, let alone these four walls. I'm caged like a wild animal. There is no escape. No matter how much I tell you or complain, words won't get me out of here. Words won't fix what's broken. Words won't give me my life back. You may think you're helping me, but the truth is you're not helping me solve anything. You suck--just like everything else in my life.
Professional Reviews
Well Done
Choral Anne:
This is a very well written story... I read it last night. When Steven begins wondering to himself "What's wrong with me?" (that they are treating him so horribly) it's a sad reminder that most abused children probably begin feeling that way very early on. Self-doubt to the very core of their being, a GIANT DISTORTED LIE that can take a lifetime to finally squelch. Yet even before Steven had healed from his own injuries, he was already thinking of ways to help other kids...
The chapters after the story are very educational and the list of resources to get Help are an added bonus to the book. Well done
Ash wishes he has a tough big brother to fight his battles for him, until his wish comes true.
Who is Big Brother and why is he so keen to help Ash? Does Big Brother have an agenda of his own?
In a vertical city divided between those above the mist and those below it, four strangers are drawn together as failing systems threaten everyone. To save Halidom, they'll have to cross boundaries, uncover forgotten technology, and repair more than
Samantha is a unique artist only using red ink in her drawings. She comes across a red feather pen enchanted never to run out of ink but she soon discovers that the drawings created from the pen come to life.