The saddest girl in the world – Third post

I have now read to page 245 in the book "the saddest girl in the world" by Cathy Glass. When I read this week I was looking on the environment and how that is described. I think the environment is described well in the book; it's not too much and not too little.

The environment in Danna's real home is described very well, and I think it's because you shall understand how awful it is. For example, the author is describing how dirty clothes and dishes everywhere and how the floor is full of newspapers to cover the dirt and feces from the animals. The author are describing very well that the house is very dirty and not okay at all to live in. I think it's very good that the environment in Donnas "real" house is described so good, because of that I could get a picture of how awful environment she lived in and it is making the impression stronger.

The environment around Cathy, Donna's foster carer, is also described very well. Not as much as Donnas real home, but so much that you can understand how the environment around her is. The environment around Cathy is nice and comfortable and the environment in her house is described very organized. There are rules you have to follow, for example the children aren't allowed in the kitchen because it's not safe there for the foster children. During the book I got more and more impression that Cathy's home is very safe and organized.

Like I said in the beginning the environment is not described too much and not too little. I think its perfect described and if it would bee more it would be nagging and just get annoying. The author has put a perfect focus on the environment!

// Anonymous

The saddest girl in the world – second post

I have now reached page 170 in my book "The saddest girl in the world" now. This week I'm going to write about the mood the author wants to create and how it's done. I think the meaning of this book was to make people think about all the horrible things that can happen to people, especially children because they are in a liable position.

The mood in this book is very sad and when I read the book I really feel the pain that Donna has. The author describes how the person acts so you really can feel the pain. For example, you can read in the book when Cathy, Donna's carer, sees Donna for de first time: "she looked so dreadfully, dreadfully sad. Her big brown eyes were downcast and her shoulders were slumped forward as though she carried the weight of the world on them. Whiteout doubts she was the saddest-looking child I had ever seen." In the book everything is described with details and also very well, so you really can understand what Donnas has been through and why she acts like she does.

When I read one chapter named "Dirt" the author really made me feel how evil Donnas mum was. In the chapter Donna stands and washes and scrubs her hands for a long time. Cathy tries to make her stop and Donna said: "mum says I have to wash all the dirt off, but it won't come off. I keep trying". Donna's hands are very clean and Cathy doesn't understand until later. Donna was trying to wash away her skin color because Donna's mother had said to her that she was dirty and that was why her skin was dark. One other time Donna wants so buy bleach so she can make her skin white, because her mother had told her to do it.

The author wants to convey a feeling about how exposed children live their lives. The author also wants so convey how important it is for children to have a parent around that really cares for you, loves you and can take care of you in a good way. For almost every child it's naturally that the parent loves you, and you can't imagine how it would be if you parents didn't love or want you. I think the author really want to convey how awful situations children can be in and how a careless parent can destroy or leave a mark on a child for the rest of their lives.

// Anonymous

The saddest girl in the world – first post

I have read to page 82 in the book "The saddest girl in the world" by Cathy Glass. The book is about a 10 years old girl named Donna who comes to foster care. Donna's mother is an alcoholic. Donna has been through a lot and during the book you get to know more and more about what has happened to her.

The main character in this book is Donna but you're following Cathy's thoughts and she is the one who is telling the story. Cathy is Donna's carer and she has two children of her own. Cathy is a person who cares about everyone else and she has a big patience. She is also good at understanding people and deal with difficult situations.

Donna is a very quiet girl. In the beginning of the book Donna doesn't speak at all, she only answers by nodding or shaking her head. She always goes with her head down and looks very sad. When she has been in care for a while, she starts to talk. She doesn't talk much and she doesn't have any movement in her voice. She always talk with the same tone in her voice, when she is happy she doesn't sound happy and when she is telling something horrible she doesn't show any feelings in her voice. You can understand that Donna has been through a lot of horrible things in the past by the way she is acting. She is always very afraid and she thinks everyone is going to hurt her if she does something wrong. Donna has no confidence and doesn't think she can do anything.

Donna is also very obsessed to do everything right, just because she had to do that when she lived with her biologic family. She is also very obsessed to help and clean. Donna didn't have any childhood and you can really see that she doesn't know how to play or have fun. She never plays with Cathy's children she just watches them instead.

Edna is also a very big part of the story. Edna is Donna's social worker and she has been looked over Donna's family for 3 years and tried to make her mother stop drinking. When Donnas mother didn't do anything about her problems Edna had to take the children away from her. Before Donna came to Cathy she was in one other foster care together with her brothers. It didn't work for Donna and her brothers to live together so Edna took her to Cathy instead. If Donna does or tells Cathy anything Cathy has to report to Edna what Donna has done or said - especially if it is something important. In the book there are often dialogs between Edna and Cathy, because of that Edna becomes a big part of the story.

Rita, who is Donnas mum, has a big impact on the story. She is very careless and seems rude in my eyes. In the book she says the most awful things to Donna when they meet at school. She is also an alcoholic and she beats her children, mostly Donna. I am sure you will find out more about Rita during the story and find out more awful things that she has done to her kids.

I don't think the characters in the book are described very well, but I also think that is good. When the characters don't get described so much you can create your own picture of the person. In the book you get to know their personalities more and more by the way they are and act. It's always happening something new and unexpected in the book and I think that makes the book so interesting.

// Anonymous