This book was incredibly depressing. This is one year of a teacher's life in her class of children with mental and behavioral issues the first year of the program. It's depressing because those five children were, without a doubt, there mostly because their parents were abusive verbally, mentally, emotionally, physically or not even present. Some of the parents weren't even AWARE of the mental, emotional, etc abuse and some didn't care.

Basically, if those kids had had parents who cared and didn't have issues of their own, the kids would have been fine. The sins of the father indeed. So it is depressing to realize how badly parents can mess up their kids and then the kids pass those issues onto others around them.

The book was also heartening, because the school was implementing a program to help the worst of these kids and this book is the story of the first year of that program. The teacher, principal, guidance counselor and the board all seemed to genuinely care about the kids and wanted what was best for them. So there was hope. And by the end, two of the five were able to be mainstreamed and one seemed to be well on his way. One had to go to a more intensive school, because his home life was working against what the school was trying to do. One just disappeared due to his horrible home life and we don't know if he ever got the help he needed.

Well, the book ends after the one year, so we don't know what happened to any of the kids after it is over, but there is hope for three out of the five. The one who went to the boarding school, well, that school was really harsh and I think it kind of just re-inforced what the poor kid got at home, but I'm not a professional in the field, so that is just my lay-person's thoughts on the matter.

I don't think having a bad childhood excuses someone for poor behavior as a child or an adult, though it does help to explain it, one does not have to give in to the bad around one, but children are vulnerable and this book broke my heart on more than one occasion.

I give the adults at the school credit, those children were a handful. Incredibly violent or manipulative, a lesser person or one without a team of support would have given up. I know I would have. I have nothing but respect for those who choose working with troubled children as their vocation. It is not for the faint of heart.

4, disturbing but hopeful, stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Endeavour Press for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.