The Heart Knows Something Different: Teenage Voices from the Foster Care System [Paperback]

Youth Communication (Author), Al Desetta (Editor), Jonathan Kozol (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1996

A New York Public Library "Books for the Teen Age" selection.

There are more than 450,000 children living in foster care. The Heart Knows Something Different collects over three dozen personal narratives by young writers, ages 15 to 20, and provides an insider's account of growing up in "the system." It takes us into a world largely hidden from public view, and attests to the mix of pain and fear, and sometimes hope, and sometimes even happiness that the foster care experience involves.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fiction Reprints
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up?For the teens who contributed to this volume, the journey to adulthood has been particularly arduous, because they are all participants in the foster-care system. The 57 essays are divided into four sections. The first deals with the individual situations responsible for a child's placement in foster care. Next come pieces on living in that system. The third section deals with self-awareness, and the last looks to the future. Some of the stories are told with humor, some with anger, and many with pain, but all resonate with unflinching honesty. Whether the teen is a runaway, an orphan to AIDS or drugs, or a victim of abuse, each has had to work through his or her own situation. What is clearly missing from all of the writings is any trace of self-pity, although many of the young people express regret or even remorse for their past lives. But a strong sense of individual purpose permeates the book and, according to the notes at the end of each essay, the contributors have been successful in turning their lives around. The problems and issues the writers express are universal, and their courage will touch the hearts of all.?Marilyn Makowski, Greenwood High School, SC
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Persea (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892552182
• ISBN-13: 978-0892552184
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #776,941 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I have over 20 years of editorial experience, with outstanding references from publishers, editors, authors, and collaborators. My work has received numerous awards, as well as praise from Jonathan Kozol, Marian Wright Edelman, and Martin Seligman, among others.

As a developmental editor, I help authors conceptualize, shape, rewrite, and correct their manuscripts for submission to publishers. I've worked on book projects for Free Spirit Publishing, McGraw-Hill, Simon and Schuster, Corwin Press, Persea Books, Youth Communication, and National Professional Resources, among others.

I've edited books on a wide range of subjects, including:

* education,
* psychology, mental health, and self-help,
* autobiography and memoir,
* peer and family relations,
* young adult issues,
* sexuality,
* diversity and multiculturalism,
* bereavement, and
* conflict resolution.

Find out more about me at http://aldesetta.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Takes you Inside Foster Care!, May 30, 1999

By 

"snoogycat" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Heart Knows Something Different: Teenage Voices from the Foster Care System (Paperback)

This book takes you inside the world of foster care, a place that, you find out quickly isn't somewhere you want to be. The voices of the children themselves tell the stories in this collection of essays. We see things as they actually are: siblings are split up and sometimes never reunited, children's loyalties between abusive or neglectful parents and the "system" are questioned, kids age out of the system and are left to a world they know nothing about without a family to guide them. It is all here. It is all true. I challenge you to read it and not have it make you think long and hard about the way "the system" works and how it affects the kids.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Perfect Ten, August 11, 2008

By 

LikeItOrNot - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Heart Knows Something Different: Teenage Voices from the Foster Care System (Paperback)

It's way more than I expected it to be. Good read for anybody who is troubled or who has been troubled in their younger years, good for those who interact with foster youth, or for anybody interested. This book paints a candid picture of reality and just that. There's no attempt to persuade the reader's views on the system, although stories directly from foster youth shed light on the pluses and minuses of the system. This one stands out from the others in its class.