Customer Reviews

Death from Child Abuse... and No One Heard

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just received this book in the mail today and could not stop reading it until I was done. I cried from the beginning til the end. This beautiful little girl,Ursula was beaten to death. I pictured all the abuse Ursula went through as I looked at her face on the back cover from time to time as I read. I was crying so hard for the pain that Ursula was going through my husband came into the room. The severity of the abuse Ursula suffered, no little girl should have to endure. The most heart-breaking part of the book is the comments and cries out for help to Ursula's mother in her weakened little voice. This book is definitely not for young readers. What these people did to this sweet loving little girl and no one saw the signs. No one helped her. Why didn't the teacher, neighbors, co-workers or friends see her malnourished, beaten and slumped over body? She cried out for help and no one heard her cries or they did and ignored them. That's all Ursula wanted was to be loved and taken care of by her mother. Instead every day she left Ursula with a monster and did nothing to stop him when she came home. Eventually she even joins in at the instruction of her boyfriend. When Ursula died they threw her away and erased all traces of her like she never existed. I shed more tears in the time it took me to read Ursula's story than her mother did when she died. She had every chance to help that little girl and sat idly by. I recommend this book to everyone with a child. I recommend this book to everyone without a child. Recognize the signs and get involved. Save these kinds of children from going through this pain. I will hug my kids a little more and a little tighter after having read this tragic story of a little girl named Ursula Sunshine Assaid.

A horrific tale of abuse of a child in Florida. It is hard to beleive that parents can be this cruel, and can consciously choose an abusive relationship over the love of a child. I wonder what happened to the biological Father of Ursula, who named his child so that she would have USA for initials, and why the Mother couldn't have just sent Ursula to live with him. The Mother and the boyfriend were not punished enough.
Pictures would have really added to the story.

How tragic that it takes an event like this to draw attention to child abuse victims. There are definite signs of child abuse, and not all of them are physical. Sadly, the people most likely to see them usually ignore them: so-and-so has been my friend for years, I know she'd never do something like this OR yes, the father/boyfriend might be capable of abuse but I know (the mom) would never tolerate it, OR that could never happen - these people aren't "that kind of family." It can happen to anyone, and sadly, it does.

This book is the true story of a woman who allowed a live in boyfriend to abuse her child - to death. It shows also how many people the child tried to reach out to (next door neighbors) and how many people witnessed her suffering (doctors, teachers) and did not do anything. It is a horrifying account of a man's desire to control a child's behavior through evil and dehumanizing tactics. Children need to be understood. It is wrong to expect behaviors from children beyond their years, comprehension, abilities. This little girl was a normal child with normal behaviors, and unfortunately her mom chose someone to be with that was unable and unwilling to cope with having a little girl around. It is tragic. Please read it.

I lived down the street from ursula,when i was young,i used to walk down the street every day.....after reading this book,a part of me felt guilty,thinking why i didn't pay attention to a lone little girl tied to a tree....i wonder did i ever see her outside and if so why i never saw she was in pain....i know i was only 12 but, maybe if i had noticed,maybe she would be alive today...what he did to her and the neighbor,she confided in and the teachers not noticing i'll never understand why adults just look the other way...Sorry Ursula...we should have noticed your pain and saved you.

I grew up and still live in Central Florida and when this book came out, it was required reading in high school. I will never forget how the book made me feel. It's a very hard book to read and has many emotions all wrapped up into such a small package. I highly recommend this book. It's basically the authors recreating the last days of this little girls life.

As I read the other reviews, I can't see a child reading this book..let alone a teacher to a class of children.
I read this book and it was a heart-breaking story. This little girl lived a life of hell and her caregivers got away with it for way too long. I wish someone saw the abuse and saved this child before it was too late.
It was a short book, but with a lasting impression. I recommend it.

Like many of the other reviews I just read, I first heard of this story in the 5th grade. My teacher actually would read the book to the class. And like some of the other reviews, the horrible abuse that Ursula went through and her name has stuck with me for the last 17 years. This book, though detailed, is very important in educating people on child abuse and the fact that it is a reality.

I think that this was a god book its very sad though I feel so bad and horrible about what happened to that little girl when I read the book I just cried it hurt me just to read the first chapter but this is a very good book and I think everyone should read what this little girl has to say thank you

I read this book and it took me about a week!! Why??? Because everytime I started to read it the tears just started flowing! It is unthinkable what this poor child went through. I cannot even imagine what the mother was thinking or should I say "monster" because she is by NO means a mother! I can just feel for this little girl, she was so wanting to please her monster to no avail. Right up to the end thats all she wanted to do. HOW can people do THIS??? There is barely a day when I don't think about Ursula and wish SOMEONE had done SOMETHING to stop this! To me it's ridiculous how people can just ignore it or not see it. This world just gets worse day by day. For you URSULA I say the world is cruel. I love you!