one child by torey hayden

Title: One Child
Author: Torey Hayden
Pages: 324
Rating: 4.5/5

Summary (Amazon):

This beautiful and deeply moving tale recounts educational psychologist Torey Hayden's battle to unlock the emotions of a troubled and sexually abused child who, with the help of Hayden, was finally able to overcome her dark past and realise her full potential. Six-year-old Sheila was abandoned by her mother on a highway when she was four. A survivor of horrific abuse, she never spoke, never cried, and was placed in a class for severely retarded children after committing an atrocious act of violence against another child. Everyone thought Sheila was beyond salvation, except her teacher, Torey Hayden. With patience, skill, and abiding love, she fought long and hard to release a haunted little girl from her secret nightmare and nurture the spark of genius she recognized trapped within Sheila's silence. This is the remarkable story of their journey together, an odyssey of hope, courage, and inspiring devotion that opened the heart and mind of one lost child to a new world of discovery and joy.

My Opinion:

I read this a few weeks back and kind of forgot to write a review about it. *LOL*. So caught up with works (when the heck will this end though, right?). I'll make this one short though =)

Personally, this is the heart-wretching book ever this year (to date) to me! I was so absorbed by this book and can't put it down. Torey Hayden is such a great story teller. And such a great person too. I love how she handled the situation of this 'one child'. She gave me another perspective too as any child with a problem, abused, health problem shouldn't be call whatever I just mentioned but 'special' instead. In every horrible circumstances, a person is still a person no matter if she or he is just a small kid; that we are always (normally) think that they know nothing. Turns out, they can be stronger than we the grown-ups. Yes, I'm not married, and I don't have kid. But, to treat a child in a very harsh way is not a way of a good parental. I cried when I read how bad she's being treated and neglected. And being so mad too.

Sheila was a wonderful kid and very bright. However, she went through a hard life that it made me hurt just to think about what she'd been through. But I was really glad Sheila found a great teacher to share and learn how to be a better person. Even though this is an emotional story, but I found it exciting with a few funny parts in it. Kids, how can they be not funny? Part of me really grateful that I have lovely parents and I feel bad when I think of how naughty I am when I was at Sheila's age.

I was really touched reading the book. I'm thinking of finding her other books as well because this is my first time I read something from Torey Hayden and I'm loving it! Do you have any particular good book from her? Love to share and hear your opinion too. I would recommend this to anyone who's looking for a quite heavy read, anyone who loves Jodi Picoult as well as anyone who wants to give a try.