Jennings Michael Burch

I absolutely loved this book. The story of Jennings Michael Burch is both heart-wrenching and uplifting. The book vividly captures that sadness and anxiety that envelop a young boy who is shuffled between orphanages and foster homes. I found the narrative to be remarkably authentic. I know some reviewers have wondered aloud if the author embellished his experiences to make them even more harrowing than they were. Others have aptly noted that the writing is far from perfect. But the fact that show more Burch doesn't come off as a Faulkner, Hemingway or Steinbeck makes the book even more authentic. True, the emotional roller coaster ride readers experience as Jennings is bounced back and forth from his home to various facilities is draining. But that's the whole point. I can't recommend this book highly enough. show less

(sigh) This is the third book in a week or something that I'm reading for the first time since I was a tween, and discovering that I didn't like it as an adult. Why I was assigned this in Advanced English in seventh grade, I don't know. This is the memoir of a kid who had a terrible few years in childhood of cycling in between abusive nuns in Catholic-sponsored group homes, with brief stays in abusive foster homes in between. I'm not sure what literary devices I gleaned from it at twelve. I show more don't even remember writing papers on it, but I do remember the teacher discussing it. The writing was both vivid and simplistic. It was written blandly as well, especially for a memoir. Somehow it's all three. There's a ton of stuff left out. Sibling relationships were described briefly, the mom's sickness was never explained, and Sal just kind of appears. The transitions in this book are nonexistent. Everything is bunched together or wrenched apart because the author doesn't know how to change settings or timelines smoothly. People are hardly described. The vivid writing is of emotions, food, and the violence Burch suffers from nuns who hate children, and schoolyard bullies. The epilogue wraps things up a little too neatly. Perhaps the weirdest thing was, I read this in paperback in seventh grade. It was a much slimmer volume. While I remembered nearly all of it, I'm wondering what was cut out from the school version and why, if anything. A lot of the abuse by the nuns was kept in. Maybe the typeset was just changed. show less

It was good, but not exactly what I expected from the blurbs on the front and back covers. I was glad for the author that it wasn't a situation where he was in an institution or foster home constantly, but yet, each time he got to go home and then had to go back into the system, it was heart-breaking to read. I was glad the story had a somewhat happy ending--and also glad to see that Doggie stayed even into adulthood.

On the front cover of this book is the quote "Heart-wrenching." from Booklist, and that really is an accurate description. You really feel connected with Jennings as he's struggling to find a safe haven and a steady home while going from one institutional setting to another. He forms an attachment to a toy dog that helps carry him through as all of his attachments to the adults who care for him fall to pieces. This is a nice reminder about the power of transitional animals and the roles they show more can play in providing stability in the otherwise turbulent lives of children, but it also reminds us that they are clung to as a sign that something else is needed. Most children are fortunately able to find that thing, and move into the position where a special animal becomes a special reminder of the past- something cherished, but not something that provides the only stability in that child's life. Though numerous adults at one time or another care for Jennings, none are able to give him the continuing love and support that everyone needs. He eventually does get a steady adult in his life, much to our relief, and is able to grow into an adult who can support his own adopted daughter. "Doggie" is still by his side, reminding him about how he made it through all the challenges he faced. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the issues faced by institutional settings for children (such as orphanages). show less