Growing up Adopted

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

The author of Being Adopted , an adoptive parent herself, brings her impressive interviewing talent and psychological insight to a book for older readers, broadening her inquiry to interviews with 14 adoptees, ages eight to 48. In each, whether it is interracial adoption or not, whether the person has searched for birthparents or not, the talk inevitably turns to when and how the information was revealed and what it has meant for that individual over time. For some it has been just a fact, for others it has been an obsession. This is a book of striking emotional force, some of it coming from the reader's gradual realization of how often the actions on both sides--parent as well as child--stem from unnecessary fear of abandonment. Ages 9-up. (Sept.)

School Library Journal

Gr 3-8-- A collection of 14 life stories from adoptees ranging in age from about 8 to 48. These remarkable narratives are not very long, but all are unique and moving. A strong sense of hard-earned self-esteem, family strength, and love runs through them. Whether foreign born, disabled, or from abusive homes, the adoptees often talk about the same things--searching for birth parents (usually birth mothers), struggling to understand why they were placed for adoption, and coming to terms with the way they look (many are racially different from their parents). The issues raised are of special concern to adoptees during middle childhood, from about ages 7 to 11, and the reading level is appropriate for them. However, readers will have to wade through terms such as ``hard to place,'' ``foster family,'' and ``biological child'' on their own, for there is no glossary. A few pages of author's notes and an adoption expert's comments are addressed to adults. The book cries for comparison with Jill Krementz' How It Feels to be Adopted (Knopf, 1982), which it resembles in layout and organization. Rosenberg, however, has chosen not to include photographs of the adoptees in order to encourage their frankness and respect their privacy. This is understandable, but unfortunate since one of the strong desires of adoptees is to recognize others like themselves. About half of these stories are told by adult adoptees, an invaluable point-of-view unique to Rosenberg's book. An excellent book for children and adults who want to know more about this phenomenon from the inside out. --Anna Biagioni Hart, Sherwood Regional Library, Alexandria, VA