On survival against some pretty grim odds in the foster care system

Crocodile Mothers Eat Their Young
by Avi Morris

Becoming a parent is a huge responsibility--an frightening commitment to eighteen some odd years of protecting a screaming little bundle of insanity. Protecting it from itself, from the world, and from your own tendency to lose your temper sometimes. It's a lot of work but most people manage to do it fairly well.

And then there's this woman. Failed on all counts and truly made  your skin creep. Luckily the book wasn't about her--it was the hopeful story of the rescue of one of her children. Or--more realistically--how the two older girls managed to rescue themselves and the foster Mom and Dad who helped them.

Parts of the book were told from the Dad's point of view and the parts that he didn't personally witness are just relayed flatly, as a newspaper narrative. Which is only fair--anything more would have felt "made up", or sensational. But I would have enjoyed reading the Mom's story. She's the one who instigated it all--he was just dragged in against his will. In fact, she seems the true hero of the story.