The Story
Nine-year-old Mary Jo clearly sees hypocrisy and speaks her truth. As feisty and outspoken as Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, Mary Jo doesn’t sugarcoat anything. Repeatedly squashed by harsh reality in bone-poor Appalachia, she retains an irrepressible optimism and seeks a better life.
Mary Jo endures her dysfunctional and dangerous family until her mother’s cruelty escalates to murder. She runs to a neighbor’s cabin, desperate for food and shelter. In addition, she finds love, comfort, and the first sane adult in her life.
After settling into what she hopes is her forever home, law enforcement and social services intervene. Mary Jo courageously confronts a gauntlet of courtrooms, foster homes, group homes, and juvenile detention, all filled with rampant violence, racism, and classism.
Basis for Story
Built from a composite of stories told by children who have lived in foster care, the fictional story of Mary Jo gives a gritty but sensitive look at the world of children who are trapped within the child welfare system and are at the mercy of the adults–both the mercenary and heartless, and the compassionate and caring.
To be available for purchase soon.
©2020, Kari Mumy, all rights reserved.
