Parents Wanted: Applications Are Being Accepted

books:


	• Parents Wanted George Harrar Milkweed Editions, 2001 - 239 pages average customer review:based on 13 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

It is very good to read! Really it is.

I loved this book and I keep reading this over and over I can never get enough of it. I really dont like to read but I picked this book up at a store and just read it over and over til it was time to close, which was about ten. So at the end I bought it because I just wanted to keep reading it. I have read the book at least 32 times. I love it because I wish I had a family like that. I might not have been in foster homes but I dont like where I am so to me this is a book that I wish I was in. I hope whoever reads the book realizes it is a very good book. 5 stars all the way. I am only 15 and I have not read too many books but this book got me into reading so it has to be good. I think I am repeating myself so I am gonna go. Later.

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Great read for adults and kids!!

I am the mother of a fourteen year old boy diagnosed many years ago with ADD. He struggles with every aspect of life - learning disabilities, social issues, behavior issues etc. He, also, does not enjoy reading. Therefore, I am always looking for interesting books for him, in the hopes that perhaps they will entice him to read.

By chance, I stumbled on this book, Parents Wanted, at our local library. The jacket piqued my interest and I began to read the book myself. The book brought tears to my eyes. The author sincerely understands these children, as only a parent of a child with ADD could. How insightful! I appreciated every nuance of this story!

Of course, I insisted that my son read this book. He, too, enjoyed it, and reluctantly admitted he saw much of himself in the book.

I wish there were more novels about children with ADD. (There isn't much fiction written about this topic for children.)

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Andy Fleck/Boy Wonder

PARENTS WANTED was chosen as the young people's ONE BOOK, ONE COMMUNITY title this past summer in North Andover, MA. Once a few of the middle schoolers had read Andy's story the word got around town: "It's a great book, read it." Young people and their parents both read about Andy's sad, but often funny efforts to secure himself a set of parents. The voice of Andy is very believable and the world of foster children is presented in a way that's accessible to both young and old. I am happy to report that as a result of the ONE BOOK, ONE COMMUNITY event PARENTS WANTED is now a popular book club choice for the middle schoolers. As an adult you end up rooting both for Andy and his parents whose own story, "child wanted" ends very happily. Harrar writes beautifully as the voice of Andy and never sounds like an adult trying to sound like a middle schooler. I highly recommend this novel to young and old alike.
Marina Salenikas, Head of Youth Services, Stevens Memorial Library, North Andover, MA

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Parents Wanted: Applications Are Being Accepted

The picture of the boy on the cover of this book is strongly reminiscent of a very young George Harrison, circa 1962. That is what caught my attention.

When Andy Fleck's natural parents declare him a ward of the state, the boy, then 12 is placed in a Boys' Home. The place sounds more like a hospital/institution than any kind of home. The "school" the boys attend is, in Andy's words "a pretend school" where they are not given age appropriate activies nor work commensurate with their ability levels. There is even locked seclusion rooms for out of control moments.

Andy's natural parents drank and fought; Andy even says he remembers them throwing things at each other over his crib. He had the crib until age 5 because "they didn't have money to buy me a real bed until then." Although he voices loyalty to them, each memory he shares about them paints a very bleak life indeed. Andy responds by lying, stealing and truancy. He also has Attention Deficit Disorder and takes two medications.

Once at the Home, Andy goes on trial foster homes, none of which work out. Some of the homes, such as the one with "Dumb Donald and Weird Joan" were abusive. Each time, Andy manages to get returned to the Home. His angel of a social worker, Alison, works tirelessly on his behalf to find him a suitable placement. Andy also, along with the other boys gets to meet prospective adoptive parents. It is during one of these Sunday gatherings that he meets the Sizeracys.

A kind, loving couple, the Sizeracys agree to take Andy for a trial. Andy, despite his man-of-the-world exterior, still is attached to his stuffed toys and loves being read to at night. He appears to thrive at the Sizeracys, although he continues his pattern of lying, stealing and truancy. Each time the Sizeracys go to bat for him and in an especially touching scene, the boy's foster father gives him the benefit of the doubt when Andy is accused of stealing $20.00 from a teacher.

Despite the bumpy road and the predictable ending, it is still an entertaining read. One will be cheering for the Sizeracys.

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Great for Middle School Students

Parents Wanted is an excellent book for middle school students. As a middle school reading teacher I found Parents Wanted to be a great choice for the students. The book provides the inner thoughts of 12 year old Andy Fleck as he is transitioning from sporadic foster care to living with his new adoptive parents, Jeff and Laurie. As Andy has ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and biological parents who do not care for him, he has a large amount of challenges to overcome.

Andy makes many mistakes and is very honest with himself allowing the students to easily relate to his thoughts and actions. The students enjoyed keeping a journal of their reading of the book and also loved illustrating favorite events in the book. The book's Boston area setting additionally appeals to those students living in and around Boston.

Though the book's focus is about an adolescent boy, the story appeals to both boys and girls. Many of the studetns were relieved that Andy expressed thoughts that they too feel. The students connect so well with Andy that it is hard to believe that Andy is fictional.

I highly recommend this book for pleasure reading as well as for part of any middle school reading program.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

When 12-year-old Andy meets Laurie and Jeff at an adoption party, he has already been in eight foster homes. Andy?s alcoholic mother has given him up to the state as ?too hard to handle,? and his father is in jail. Andy longs for a loving home and parents he can trust, but his attention deficit disorder, combined with the legacy of his dysfunctional parents, causes him to constantly challenge authority. He steals, destroys property, gets in trouble at school, tries to make a gunpowder bomb, and accuses Jeff, his soon-to-be father, of touching him inappropriately. To make matters worse, Andy?s real father shows up asking for money. But Andy?s new parents refuse to give up on him, and Andy must fight to save his soon-to-be-father?s reputation and his own chance at having a real family.

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