Rosie MaloneyBesprekingen

A giveaway from librarything in 2016 and forgot to record it. I'd read Etched in Sand and this is a continuation of the family disfunction that went on throughout Regina and Rose's life. Hard to read.

Grades 3 - 5

I have no words. Rosie's life story is unimaginable. Her perseverance and resilience is inspiring. The truth of this story will haunt you forever!

I found this book somewhat slow moving and lost interest in it at first. Had to wait awhile and go back to it to finish. Storyline didn't keep my intrigue. I would probably recommend this book to someone else.Overall, the writing was good.

Llong book but a great read. Many hardships in this book.

I checked out "Etched in Sand" from the library when I found out that LibraryThing was going to be sending me this book. It's so profoundly disturbing that it's hard to right about it. Rosie is quite a survivor and I hope her book will open people's eyes to the plight of children who are abused.

Girl Unbroken is a sequel of sorts to Etched in Sand, co written by Regina Calcaterra, who wrote the first book, and her sister Rosie Maloney. It is a true and harrowing story of Rosie's life after she is separated from her three sisters, as she and her next oldest brother Norm go into foster care, but soon thereafter are kidnapped by their mother, Cookie and taken to Idaho. Cookie is a serious alcoholic and abuses Rosie physically and emotionally and eventually lives with a man who abuses Rosie sexually. Rosie and Norm are forced to perform extreme labor on the farm and live in a house which is filthy and disgusting. Somehow Norm does seem to avoid the brunt of the abuse, while Rosie is the scapegoat for almost all of it. Although hard to read from the perspective of all the abuse, the story is riveting and compelling. Somehow with a few good folks in Rosie's life, she survives and eventually thrives.

The family circumstances didn't surprise me, but what did is the failure of so many people and agencies that did not help Rosie. The foster home was extremely abusive, but somehow was licensed and allowed to operate. Having worked in child welfare for over 35 years, I found this appalling. Then once Rosie and her brother were in Cookie's care, not school personnel, not medical personnel, not friends, not neighbors, not even the sheriff to whom abuse was reported, came to the children's aid or assistance. These children were failed again and again, over a period of about eight years. Very hard to believe.

Girl Unbroken by Regina Calcaterra and Rosie Maloney is a true story written about what it is like to grow up being abused physically and sexually. Parent Advisory highly needed as the author uses explicit language throughout the entire book. It also involves living with a mother addicted to drugs, alcohol, and sex. This book states that it is a story about survival on the streets to the farms. In my opinion, these sisters accomplished what they set out to tell. These sisters are bringing awareness to the physical and sexual abuse that is going on today. The starvation that comes with alcohol and substance abuse. They are bringing to life the view point of the victim and the mental and physiological abuse that comes with the physical abuse.
These authors are qualified to write on this topic, because they were the victims themselves. They are not trying to tell you what they think would happen, they are telling you exactly what happened during these times. The story is told in first person point of view, so you know exactly how the victim is feeling.

There were a few spots that you wanted the author to go into more detail and then there a few spots that you wanted the author to move on. Overall I feel the story was compelling and I had a hard time putting it down.

I think I read this entire book with my heart in my throat. I was waiting for something horrible to happen, I was hoping for something wonderful to happen--and it did. I have the utmost admiration for Rosie finding the will to survive, the strength to forgive, the hope to keep going, and people who make her happy. I can't even imagine the feelings one must have after telling a story like this and then setting it free in the world.

Girl Unbroken, by Regina Calcaterra and Rosie Maloney, is the sequel to Etched in Sand by Regina Calcaterra which tells the story of five siblings who had endured horrific childhoods. Rosie is the youngest of the children and Girl Unbroken is her story. Clearly and candidly, she details the unspeakable abuses she suffered and how she was able to survive. I found this to be a compelling memoir.

I received this book through LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

An honest and brutal look at abuse, neglect, and the frailty, sturdiness and resiliency of the human soul. It being a true story makes it strike the heart like a dagger. (I received a review copy from LibraryThing.)

Girl Unbroken, while sad and disturbing in it's truthfulness, is a book that everyone should read. Rosie's childhood was deplorable and the fact that the foster care system failed her is equally disturbing. Deficiencies in the government agencies that are suppose to help children in need should not be tolerated. My hope is that as more people become aware, more step up and offer help.

This was one of the best books I've gotten through LibraryThing. Having read the older sister's initial memoir a few years ago, I was primed for more about this family, and indeed the younger sister had a quite different experience. The story is (as the tile says) harrowing, but compelling throughout, one that fits the definition of "hard to put down."

I received this book in an Early Reviewer giveaway. I am so thankful I was able to read this book! This is the horrible true story a child's abusive childhood. Rosie was verbally and physically abused by her alcoholic mother Cookie her whole childhood. And when she was finally taken away and put into foster care the abuse continued there until Cookie kidnapped her and forced her to move from place to place as her mother went through men. The abuse that Rosie endured was heartbreaking and it was hard to fathom a mother treating her child the way she was treated. Through the love of her sisters and a few others she persevered. This book was an eye opener to the fact that the foster care system and child protective services doesn't always protect the way their supposed to. I couldn't put it down!!