'A teenager's longing for family and a place to call home is poignantly portrayed in this heartfelt and ultimately uplifting story of life in the foster-care system.
'Feeling betrayed when her long-term foster placement breaks down, Amy is sent to live with a new family, the Dawsons. Although initially reluctant to trust them, she eventually starts to let down her guard. But just when it seems like she's found her forever family, she hears a telephone call that suggests things aren't going to work out. Will Amy be abandoned again - or does she dare hope that she might finally have found home?'
Barrington Stoke books have never shied away from handling what some people would class as 'heavy' topics for younger readers. These are things that can range from poverty, to depression, the climate emergency, and even bereavement. Whilst some might see these topics as being too 'big' for children, or possibly even too sad to put into children's literature these are things that children are actually living. Whether it be themselves or people they know children today will have to deal with these things, so these issue more than belong in children's books.
Know My Place covers the topic of care and the foster system, and how hard it can be for children who have to move from home to home, trying to find a good fit for themselves. The book follows Amy, a young teen who has been in the foster system for a number of years; ever since her grandmother passed away suddenly. With her grandmother being her sole parental figure and family Amy is placed in the foster system. Sadly, this doesn't work well for her, and she's had trouble finding a home since.
Her last placement came to an end following a confrontation with her foster sister, a girl who had been bullying Amy since she moved in. With her foster mother unable to cope with the situation, partly due to failing health, Amy is moved to live with the Dawson family. At first she's unsure if she should even try to give it a chance, due in large part to expecting it to fail like the last placement; but eventually she begins to find a little happiness with the Dawson's. However, when Amy overhears Mrs Dawson speaking on the phone she begins to suspect that this home isn't right for her either.
Know My Place deals a lot with the themes of identity and loss, an through Amy and her struggles we see that trying to fit in and be yourself can be even harder for teenagers who don't have somewhere where they feel safe. Whilst Amy isn't in any physical or psychological danger with the Dawson's her inability to ever truly let her guard down, to feel comfortable, really has a effect on her mental health.
We see a young girl who desperately wants to feel safe, to have a home and a family, to be able to say 'this is where I belong, and this is where I'm happy', yet is unable to find it. It's not hard to see why, as across the course of the book we see more and more about what happened to her in her previous placement, but it's still kind of sad to see the Dawson's showering her with affection and kindness and it still not being enough for Amy to feel safe.
Sadly, this isn't a story that's completely made up, and there are going to be a lot of young people living through similar situations, dealing with these kinds of issues. Hopefully though they'll be able to read books like this, to see Amy's journey and see that there is hope of a happy ending. This is what makes books like this so much more special, the fact that it's not just a story, but a book that can help young people struggling to find their place in the world hope for something better for themselves.
Eve Ainsworth does a great job of making the book feel incredibly genuine and real. It would have been easy for this kind of topic to slip into melodrama, to have it end up reading like an exaggerated soap opera than the real world, but she brings a lot of honesty and understanding to the story; making it a really sensitive read. Whether you're buying this book for a child who's been through the foster system or not, not only will this book educate them on the struggles faced by those going through it, it'll also show them why empathy and understanding of others is something that's vital to everyone, and how without it a lot of people can end up hurt. An absolute must read for any kids.
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