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No Child of Mine (The No Child of Mine Trilogy Book 1)

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The writing and flow worked very well. There are just hints of darkness and scares around the corner every time Essie is at home. The book ends almost immediately after the climax, which leaves the delusion that the end hangs in nowhere, but I think it is clearly finished. Is it my imagination or am I the only person who thinks that the United Kingdom has been perhaps the biggest country (along with the US) to make such raw and scary movies? Alex trusts her instincts, and she follows up a phone call about Ottilie Wade and senses that all is not well with the child. The mother is very strange and the father is domineering and seemingly holding down a very respectable job as a deputy head at a local school. The more Alex knows of him the more she suspects. She soon is keeping a close eye on Ottilie, but things move slowly and social workers have to play by the book. This novel is marketed as horror. I don’t necessarily agree with that notion. There were creepy moments sure, but nothing that would keep me up at night. I want gore. I want jump scares. I wanted more!

There were really several pieces to this story. There was Ottilie and what was happening, with Alex desperately trying to uncover what was going on. There was the Mom Erica and her deep illness. And then there was Alex's own past, there are a lot of hidden skeletons in her closet. This book deeply touched me. I've not read a book about child abuse before, and I probably never will again, frankly. It was incredibly difficult reading about Ottilie and what she endured with her parents. Every time I had to read those parts of the book, it literally made my stomach ache. I could not WAIT to be finished with it, as I just couldn't stand listening to how her parents treated her. I have a young daughter who has a favorite stuffed animal like Ottilie, and I couldn't help but think of her in this story and how devastatingly awful it would be if something like that happened to my own child. It literally felt like my heart was breaking in two for this little girl. I saw this film when it had just come out, my whole year at school aged between 16 and 17 watched it as as part of a media class after a girl videoed it off the tv. What can i say, it left me and several of my class mates in tears, i dont think that a word was spoken between us for over an hour. When I started the book, I thought it would be nothing more than a good horror book with few ghosts or demons, a few scary moments, and a sinister setting. This book is so much more than that and at the same time nothing like it. Erica has paranoid schizophrenia and the heroine, a social worker, fails to get her any medical help although she is quite clearly ill. In this case you don't have to wait months to see a psychiatrist in the ordinary way in this instance, but simply ring the consultant's secretary or the doctor him/herself and explain the position.For a Gothic horror, it is light on the elements of the sub-genre. In a lot of ways it felt more like a possessed house, or character possession horror, more than Gothic. The sense of romance between the characters was stronger than any sense of horror. The book felt confused to me. The house did not feel menacing enough. The supernatural/paranormal element was barely noticeable for most of the story. There is macabre imagery, but in dreams only, and the dreams felt very repetitive. I'm not sure about the purpose of the dreams being repetitive and extending that device for so long in the book. I don't think it helped the story move along at all. There is a sense of isolation and madness, but not all for the protagonist, and the isolation didn't drive the Gothic feel in the story. I'm left wondering how to categorise the story. I ended up DNFing this book 25% in. The premise of the book sounded interesting which is why I choose this title. However, the main character (Essie) was not a good person. She was rude (as evidenced in her interaction with the doctor), self centered (when she went out with her husband and “friends” but didn’t care to interact with the female friend), and self righteous (in the interactions during the study group). All this makes her husband look down right saintly compared to her, which is not a good thing. I understand that this is probably setting her up for a change in motherhood but she is simply unlikeable and not someone I want to “interact “ with. The secondary story of the letters was interesting but slow. So this is based on a true story and, like wow. This movie is just depressing. The fact that so many people got away with their abuses. As disturbing evidence mounts and Alex’s superiors seem unwilling to help, Alex knows she will have to risk everything—her job and the life she loves—to save Ottilie. But Alex will also have to wrestle the demons of her own past before she can secure a future for this child in need.

Essie Kaur has defined herself by her ambitions, a fiercely independent woman whose only soft spot is her husband, Sanjay. She never imagined herself as a mother. It was never a part of the plan. But then she finds out she's pregnant. As her difficult pregnancy transforms her body and life into something she barely recognizes, her husband spends the nights pacing in the attic, slowly becoming a stranger, and the house begins to whisper. Told in alternating timelines and points of view, this is just as much the story of Ana and Isabel as it is of Essie and Sanjay. The letters that Ana and Isabel share are poignant, lyrical, and a stark reminder that they must keep their feelings hidden. When something terrible threatens their relationship, a pact is made with something that whispers in the dark, and the repercussions will threaten generations to come. What I did not like was that it was not as spooky as I expected. Yeah, some floors creaked and objects were moved, but there could have been so much more. Also, I’d want Sanjay’s POV. Kerry is then placed into a care home. She is seduced by a pimp (who knows exactly how Kerry feels about living with a stubborn mother and stepfather like hers who don't understand her), and for some time willingly leases herself for profit. A social worker in the childcare home also begins to sexually abuse her. Feeling helpless, Kerry frequently visits her class teacher and tries to move in with him, but he is unable to care for her. He consults his friend and child-support agent to have Kerry placed somewhere safe, but her case cannot be given any more priority than that of any other child. It's unclear initially how these women are connected to Essie and her story, but as their narrative evolves it becomes clear where it is going. This aspect adds the impetus behind some of the darker elements in the present perspective.

And in a way, the babies were right; who were they but pieces of their mother stitched together into a tiny, new body?” As the Reader, we sit inside Essie's head as she struggles with these emotions, her changing body, her changing relationship and her ever changing reality. As a retired child welfare social worker, I don't often read social worker stories, but I'm always interested in child protection practice in other counties, here the UK. It has a potentially interesting plot line, but it's way too long and repetitive. Ms. Lewis could have used a good editor. Essie is hugely independent and stubborn when it comes to how she has planned out her days. She will become a lawyer and be successful in her career. She had to wait while her husband, Sanjay, took steps toward an architecture degree first. So when she learns of her unplanned pregnancy while finally able to step her feet into a classroom, it does not come lighthearted. She’s far behind and feels that she deserves to focus on herself. Her entire life will change and she isn’t sure if she wants that. But in the end, she loves the life she is creating. When she must endure a terrible pregnancy full of pain and isolation, she becomes cognizant of forces that can irrevocably transform her life into one without love. Without Sanjay.

I will start by saying that I liked the writing style a lot - it is really detailed and depicting not just the overall picture, but every element of it that would help the reader to imagine the setting as if the reader were there, as well as to get to know the characters and their story from the very beginning, without it looking out of place and like too much. No Child of Mine is hauntingly powerful, equal parts a ghost story and a tale of what we are prepared to do for love.” — USA Today bestselling author Darcy Coates Oh how I love novels with tons of amazingly mysterious circumstances within them. This novel begins in just that way. At first Alex's life seems deceptively uncomplicated...but that begins to not be the case as the pieces of her life are made clear. She has had a nightmarish circumstance in her childhood and she still pays for it with horrible dreams. There was a creepy element with the house and whispers. To me it felt like that was going to play a larger role in the plot (kind of like rosemarys baby).Initially, I was wondering if there was any connection between Isabel, Anna and Essie. Later on, it is revealed that the three women are connected by a generational curse that sees their husbands stolen from them.

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