Review Detail

I read this book when I was in Junior High, it was one of those stories that I remembered vaguely but I knew I had liked at the time. It’s very short and in the format of journals assigned by Tish’s English teacher, Mrs. Dunphrey.

Tish has been forced to grow up much faster than the normal fifteen year old. Some might say she’s even more grown up than her mother who forgets she has children and only pines for the love of her life. The love of her life is less than perfect, in fact, he’s a terrible man who beat his family and then left them for two years. Tish takes care of her younger brother Matt, feeding and clothing both of them with the little money she makes at her part-time, minimum wage job.

This story is sad, a brief look at a broken home. One that I was happy I decided to reread in the end. If nothing else, it made me thankful that my parents were always there for me growing up, even if we didn’t always see eye to eye. If you have people who love and care for you cherish it because not everybody is so lucky.