very thoughtful treatment of a difficult subject

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	• The Kindness of Strangers Katrina Kittle Harper Perennial, 2007 - 400 pages average customer review:based on 34 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

very thoughtful treatment of a difficult subject

This novel deals with child sexual abuse-not by a scary stranger in a trenchcoat, but by the nice lady next door. Bringing the reality of this disturbing issue to the front porch is not easy, but Ms. Kittle does a nice job with the characters and the plot.

The Kindness of Strangers

As a social worker who has worked in the area of child sexual abuse for many years, I was impressed by Katrina Kittle's accuracy and sensitivity to this difficult subject. She has done her research and she covered the protocols and issues of law enforcement and child protection beautifully. She managed to get inside the head of a little boy who was horribly abused and see the world through his eyes---not an easy task. His coping mechanisms, his fears, his loyalty are all uncovered so skillfully; she really got him right. She also approached Sarah and her family in such a real way you feel as though you were living in that house. This is the best book I have read this year!

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Disappointing

I worked with abused children for a number of years, and I was impressed by the research that Kittle did for her book. However, I would have appreciated a more tightly knit story. Throughout the book, I kept wishing that the author would get out of the way of the story, and that the editor had cut out at least 100 pages, if not more. In a well written book, we don't have to be told how someone feels - a good writer knows how to show the characters' emotions through their actions. Maybe that's why I didn't find the characters very believable. Yes, things like this happen in good neighborhoods and in normal-looking families, but it seemed to me that the author just trotted out some stereotypical characters and tried to find motivation for them. For example, it's pretty darn unusual for a neighbor to adopt a child when there are relatives who could take him in, and frankly I don't think that a real-life Sarah would have volunteered to care for Jordan. Her boys were cookie-cutter children, and Mark was a caricature of a pedophile. Courtney was semi-believable until she showed up to snatch Jordan from Sarah's house - that scene was a bit over-the-top. Jordan was the most believable character, but Kittle just used way too much verbiage to describe his emotions. And, really, was it absolutely necessary to give us quite that much detail about what went on in that house? It's one thing to bring a sensitive subject out in the open, and quite another to beat us over the head with it.

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Beautifully written

It's one thing to hear about child abuse in the news...and quite another to learn that your neighbor's 11-year-old son has been molested for years by his own parents. That's exactly what happens to Sarah Laden, a recently widowed caterer struggling with her own grief and two adolescent sons.

After the traumatized young Jordan is hospitalized following a botched suicide attempt, Sarah's son convinces her that it's their duty to become his foster family. Although Sarah feels they have enough of their own problems -- least of all being Jordan's sudden unexplained falling-out with his former best friend, Sarah's younger son Danny -- she also feels a need to figure out what's happened, within her own mind. Since she, a grown woman and an outsider, cannot truly fathom the things that the Kendricks did, both with their own son and other children, it's little wonder that Jordan feels completely violated and without hope.

I think the author did a fine job, combining a fictitious account of a young boy's horrors with factual information, allowing the readers to come away feeling like they've gained some insight on a very real situation that affects all too many innocent children in our society.

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Distrubing Greatness

This book was like nothing else I had ever read. It takes such a disturbing, sinicle topic and make a great touching novel. I feel everyone should read this book to make them think a little.

reviews: 1, 2, page 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

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