February 05, 2011

Courage In Patience by Beth Fehlbaum


After six years of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse from her stepfather, 14-year-old Ashley finally finds the courage to reveal the painful details of her experiences with her mother, who refuses to acknowledge the problem and turns her back on her daughter. After confiding in her teacher?the only adult whom Ashley can trust?she is removed from her home and sent to live with her father and his second wife, Beverly, an English teacher. Nurtured by Beverly, an extraordinarily positive influence in her life, Ashley and a summer school class of troubled teens learn to face their fears and discover who they really are.
Courage In Patience is a very touching book about a child going through sexual abuse and just wanting to get away from the abuse.
Ashley the main character is a strong but weak character, she is strong enough to go through the pain of abuse but weak that she cannot endure the pain after all the abuse is done. The other character like her mom and stepdad are just selfish people who really shouldn't be parents. The characters were from a wide range of personalties but made the story complex.
The plot interesting and touching, It got a little confusing when random characters started narrating but mostly it was good. Ashley tells her teacher about the sexual abuse from her stepdad Charlie, and is placed to live with her dad who she has never seen. I didn't really get the plot but could understand the plot and the main message that sexual abuse is dangerous and really messes with you.
Overall the characters are weird but good and the plot is interesting and tells a good story.
3 out of 5