As I was reading this book I thought to myself, "This author must have experienced some of the things she is writing about." Well, I didn't realize until after I was done with the book and reading the Author's Note that it's mostly autobiographical. She was told to change the "ending" because her actual true-life story (at the point the book ended) was too depressing. So there's that.
The author did change the name of some of her family members. The story is narrated by Cotton, starting shortly before her third birthday. Cotton meets Dave, her mother's boyfriend, at the point the story starts. Dave is an integral and significant person in Cotton's life. I was skeptical at first because Dave was a drug dealer - and he made a lot of money doing it. But he seemed to genuinely love Cotton and he certainly took care of her a lot better than her mother! Cotton's mother was an addict and not at all interested in being a mother. Fortunately, the other two positive people in Cotton's life were her grandmother and uncle Stan.
They always say that it only takes one person to positively change the direction of someone's life. This is a true life example of that. It also helped that Cotton (aka the author) was an intelligent and precocious child. There were significant mental health issues and/or addiction issues in Cotton's family. Everyone seemed to be "undiagnosed" as well, which could just be a sign of the times. Both of Cotton's uncles, who lived with their mother (Cotton's grandmother) heard voices. One was dangerous and one was kind, but depressed. No one worked. Dave supported Cotton & her mother (through his illegal drug money transactions). Cotton's uncles & grandmother lived off money they inherited after Cotton's grandfather died.
This is a mostly tragic story that is written with emotion and humor, through the eyes of a child that has no control over her life. I seriously laughed out loud at times and once I openly cried. I positively loved Cotton and how she handled her deeply dysfunctional family and her frighteningly challenging life. The narrative flowed nicely and it's a well-written novel. I completely admire people that can survive, and even thrive, against all odds.
Wendy's Rating: *****
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