Hope's Boy by Andrew Bridge

Andrew loves his mother, although she was really unable to care for him past the age of seven. She hears voices and goes a little crazy sometimes. But, she always told him that she would be there for him.

Andrew is placed into a foster home (really a corrections facility that needed a use by the state), and is fostered out to the Leonard family. Mrs. Leonard lived through the camps in Germany and is a very uptight individual with many strange rules. 

Andrew is always hoping that his mother will come and get him, but he grows up and remains with the Leonard family, while other foster children come and go. Andrew learns to stay to himself and always hope that Mom will come get him.

The beginning of this book really pulled at my heart, as Andrew is a grown man working to rectify the foster care system in California. He goes into a room in the basement of the facility where he started and there is a young boy, about 11, named Jeffrey, who is on a mattress with one blanket and an ever-beaming light. He is huddled into a ball and barely speaking to anyone.

Andrew grows in his foster home and becomes an attorney. His constant need to be with his mom is ever prevalent in the book. I hope that Andrew Bridge can make a difference in the lives of children who may not necessarily have to be placed in foster care and really should be with their parents. Let's hope his voice lends some weight to the problem.

The book was written well and kept me compelled. Just such a heart-break that there are so many children who are separated from their parents when they really don't need to be.