A Top Read for January
my name is tookie
Chariss K. Walker
Contemporary/Abuse
A fifteen-years-old survivor shares her memories of unspeakable atrocities and heinous crimes committed by the very system in charge of her protection in this dark fiction tell-all.
The miracle of healing begins!
“my name is tookie” is an intense, first-person coming of age novella about the shocking adversities and inhumane traumas Tookie suffered.
“These are my memories,” Tookie explains. “This is my story—the past, the middle, and now. Sometimes, the line between each section of my life is jumbled up as I try to lay out everything in chronological order. I’ve been told it’s a side effect of the drugs I was force-fed.
Uncaged Review: This book is so emotional it will have you on the edge of you’re seat reading it. This is a little girl called Tookie story. She never really had a good start to life her mother didn’t want her and her dad certainly didn’t want a mix raced baby on his hands.Tookie at first glance had a sort of balanced and normal upbringing, with her grandmother Neiva until Tookie’s mother gets a boyfriend and they leave her grandmother’s home to move into Tookies mum’s boyfriend’s house. Where Tookies new bedroom or safe place to hide is a pile of dirty clothes in a bedroom store cupboard. Her mother gets hooked on drugs and despite a number of complaints being made to child services, Tookie is forced to return home to her mother and her sexual abuser.
I didn’t enjoy this storyline even though I know it plays a big part in so many people’s lives. Thank God this was only a fictional story. Even still, it should be read to clue up on some of the key warnings or signs of any abuse. Sexual or drug related or even drink related. What is going on behind closed doors as it is normally hidden quite well from the public eye and this was a powerful read as it explores one young girls need to find her own identity. Reviewed by Jennifer
5 Stars
