Review: Please Don't Take My Baby by Cathy Glass

By Autumn - July 02, 2013

I'd never fostered a pregnant teenager before - they were usually looked after by specialist 'mother and baby' carers. However, none was free when Jade (aged seventeen) was thrown out by her mother and made homeless. I agreed to look after Jade for a couple of weeks until a mother and baby carer could be found.

As soon as Jade arrived her behaviour made me very worried. Despite being pregnant she stayed out late at night, drank heavily and smoked. She also got into trouble with the police. I tried talking to her about her behaviour but it did little good. I knew the social services were monitoring her to see if she was capable of looking after her baby, and as I feared they didn't think she was. Proceedings were started to take Jade's baby from her and place her for adoption. Jade and I were devastated. I knew Jade loved her baby but she couldn't look after her and it seemed there was nothing I could do to help.

England has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the developed world and while this is the story of one of those teenagers - Jade - it could also sadly be the story of many.

I received this book from the site Edelweiss above the tree line.

For those that know me, all know that a book like this is out of my normal realm of reading. But when I read the blurb of this book I literally had to read it. It take me a while to finally realize that the place setting was in England. At first I thought some of the words were miss typed or the grammar was funny. It wasn't until midway I picked up the place. I am glad the ending was a happy ending because I would have felt so sad if it wasn't.

Please Don't Take My Baby is from the point of view of the foster-care giver which towards about 70% in the book you will be getting a bit teary-eyed. I know I was.

You have a pregnant teenage mother who is sent to live with Cathy and yet it seems as though Jade doesn't realize just quite yet what it takes to be a mother. She endugles her self with alchole and smoking and no matter what social services and Cathy say to Jade she doesn't seem to listen to well.

What will it take for Jade to take being a mother serious? Having her child taken away? You get a sense of love that Cathy has being a foster-care giver and the love Jade has for her baby.

I never really knew what the foster-care givers had to go through when fostering children so it opened my eyes a bit more to this. And makes me want to open my home to help foster children when mine are older.

I loved this book, and I for sure want to read more by this author. At the end of this book you get a sample of another book and just reading the first few sentences I was hooked into the sample.