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Books : Child C: Surviving a Foster Mother's Reign of Terror
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Rating: 
- Harrowing but not particularly well written
Before people criticise me for not raving about this book I should add that the content was totally horrifying and made me cry on more than one occasion. The reason was simply that the treatment of these children was so appalling, so outrageously cruel and so evil that anyone not moved must have a heart of stone. As a parent myself I found Eunice Spry's behaviour deeply upsetting and hope she is never released from prison.
The problem is the style in which the book is written. It's not good and there are many occasions where phrases are repeated in the same paragraph and it doesn't read well as a whole. I believe the additional writer was Andrew Holmes and his style is poor and clumsy. That's a shame as Christopher's Spry's tale is compelling and thought-provoking. But for a book like this to be a success it needs more than mere content - and one can't just praise a book because of the shocking treatment of the writer and the sympathy one feels for those who suffered at the hands of a monster as 'Mother'.
If you can cope with the child abuse depicted within I recommend you read it. But if you want a skilfully written account you might be disappointed.
Rating:
- Pure Evil !
I read about this case in the newspapers , so when I saw this book being advertised, I knew I had to buy it and see if the foster mother, was as evil as they made out.
And yes she is, my only dissapointment was that she only got 14 years in prison. She should have been hung !!! pity the death sentance is no longer used !
Good Luck to Chris, Karen and Lulu in whatever you do. x
Rating: - Truth hurts
This is a 'must have' book. When JK Rowling wrote the Harry Potters series, you could witness the pain as she battled with depression. At times it was difficult to read those books because the dark side was coming out. In this book, Child C, there is a similarity, which is even more touching as this is not a made up story. Eunice Spry tricked the authorities for years, she persecuted her children and made mockery of the vocation of motherhood. The consequences of her actions will ripple forward in the lives of all those who know and have heard this sorry tale. Christopher (the author) has written his story in an easy to read fashion which makes digesting the difficult material easier at times. It won't put you off your food, but it will open your eyes. Too often we are unaffected by life's turmoils, books like this open up the world to us and hopefully make us all a little bit more aware. I am looking forward to reading his next book which will detail how his life has moved on since Eunice was sent to prison, I am sure that will be an even more heart moving account.
Rating: - How on earth could this have happened???
I feel compelled to write a review of this book. I recieved it yesterday and had read its entirety in just a few hours, couldn't put it down. Page after page just gripped me with horror and sadness at the life this poor young guy was made to live at the hands of this evil, evil woman. Eunice Spry apparently smiled that day as she was led away from the court to start her 14 year sentence to pay for the abuse and trauma she put these 3 innocent children through almost every day up until their 'rescue/escape' Is this what religion can do to some people?? Was she just plain evil? Did it stem from a fateful childhood of her own? We shall never truly know what drove this woman to hurt these kids so viciously as she denies it anyway. To Chris, you are a very VERY brave and strong person for not only enduring the relentless torture, but also for standing up against Eunice in court. It upset me to read that you didn't really feel you should be doing this to her, but she NEEDS to be punished for what she did to you and your foster sisters. I wish you all the very best of luck in coming to terms with your horrendous past and making a happy life for yourself and the people around you.
Personally, I believe prison is too good for people like Eunice Spry. Prison is where she will recieve substantial meals EVERY DAY (No starvation punishments), she will have a clean comfortable bed every night. There will be no bleach or sticks or tcp or excrement being forced into HER mouth...and there will be officers there 99% of the time for her protection from other inmates. Did these 3 children get ANYTHING like that from the person that was left in charge to care for them? She won't have to worry about baked bean cans or tuna cans being thrown at her, or cricket bats whacked against her legs or chair legs beating her feet. She will have NONE of this...they got it all. They were innocent...she was found guilty of horrendous abuse...yet who's being punished?? Social services may have a hard job to do, and i appreciate that, but just reading Chris' book, and also his foster sister's book "Deliver Me From Evil", you can't blame anybody from thinking somebody wasn't doing their job. There were signs that trained people that had contact with the family should have spotted a mile off. And let's not forget how recent this was...this wasn't back in the 60's & 70's when things seemed to be 'acceptable' or just swept under the carpet. Has everybody forgotten about little Ricky Nieve???
Rating: - a brilliant read!
I must disagree with other reviews of this book and say i was hooked from the minute i picked it up.
Christopher told everything exactly how it was, even down to how he still feels about eunice.
Being of the same age as him and living not too far away,
i found myself thinking of what i was doing at times when christopher reflected on his past, and i must say this boy suffered immensely but doesnt seem to have let it spill into his adult life,
i hope where ever eunice spry is, she has read this book and finally felt some remorse.
- Harrowing but not particularly well writtenBefore people criticise me for not raving about this book I should add that the content was totally horrifying and made me cry on more than one occasion. The reason was simply that the treatment of these children was so appalling, so outrageously cruel and so evil that anyone not moved must have a heart of stone. As a parent myself I found Eunice Spry's behaviour deeply upsetting and hope she is never released from prison.
The problem is the style in which the book is written. It's not good and there are many occasions where phrases are repeated in the same paragraph and it doesn't read well as a whole. I believe the additional writer was Andrew Holmes and his style is poor and clumsy. That's a shame as Christopher's Spry's tale is compelling and thought-provoking. But for a book like this to be a success it needs more than mere content - and one can't just praise a book because of the shocking treatment of the writer and the sympathy one feels for those who suffered at the hands of a monster as 'Mother'.
If you can cope with the child abuse depicted within I recommend you read it. But if you want a skilfully written account you might be disappointed.
Rating:
- Pure Evil !I read about this case in the newspapers , so when I saw this book being advertised, I knew I had to buy it and see if the foster mother, was as evil as they made out.
And yes she is, my only dissapointment was that she only got 14 years in prison. She should have been hung !!! pity the death sentance is no longer used !
Good Luck to Chris, Karen and Lulu in whatever you do. x
Rating:
- Truth hurtsThis is a 'must have' book. When JK Rowling wrote the Harry Potters series, you could witness the pain as she battled with depression. At times it was difficult to read those books because the dark side was coming out. In this book, Child C, there is a similarity, which is even more touching as this is not a made up story. Eunice Spry tricked the authorities for years, she persecuted her children and made mockery of the vocation of motherhood. The consequences of her actions will ripple forward in the lives of all those who know and have heard this sorry tale. Christopher (the author) has written his story in an easy to read fashion which makes digesting the difficult material easier at times. It won't put you off your food, but it will open your eyes. Too often we are unaffected by life's turmoils, books like this open up the world to us and hopefully make us all a little bit more aware. I am looking forward to reading his next book which will detail how his life has moved on since Eunice was sent to prison, I am sure that will be an even more heart moving account.
Rating:
- How on earth could this have happened???I feel compelled to write a review of this book. I recieved it yesterday and had read its entirety in just a few hours, couldn't put it down. Page after page just gripped me with horror and sadness at the life this poor young guy was made to live at the hands of this evil, evil woman. Eunice Spry apparently smiled that day as she was led away from the court to start her 14 year sentence to pay for the abuse and trauma she put these 3 innocent children through almost every day up until their 'rescue/escape' Is this what religion can do to some people?? Was she just plain evil? Did it stem from a fateful childhood of her own? We shall never truly know what drove this woman to hurt these kids so viciously as she denies it anyway. To Chris, you are a very VERY brave and strong person for not only enduring the relentless torture, but also for standing up against Eunice in court. It upset me to read that you didn't really feel you should be doing this to her, but she NEEDS to be punished for what she did to you and your foster sisters. I wish you all the very best of luck in coming to terms with your horrendous past and making a happy life for yourself and the people around you.
Personally, I believe prison is too good for people like Eunice Spry. Prison is where she will recieve substantial meals EVERY DAY (No starvation punishments), she will have a clean comfortable bed every night. There will be no bleach or sticks or tcp or excrement being forced into HER mouth...and there will be officers there 99% of the time for her protection from other inmates. Did these 3 children get ANYTHING like that from the person that was left in charge to care for them? She won't have to worry about baked bean cans or tuna cans being thrown at her, or cricket bats whacked against her legs or chair legs beating her feet. She will have NONE of this...they got it all. They were innocent...she was found guilty of horrendous abuse...yet who's being punished?? Social services may have a hard job to do, and i appreciate that, but just reading Chris' book, and also his foster sister's book "Deliver Me From Evil", you can't blame anybody from thinking somebody wasn't doing their job. There were signs that trained people that had contact with the family should have spotted a mile off. And let's not forget how recent this was...this wasn't back in the 60's & 70's when things seemed to be 'acceptable' or just swept under the carpet. Has everybody forgotten about little Ricky Nieve???
Rating:
- a brilliant read!I must disagree with other reviews of this book and say i was hooked from the minute i picked it up.
Christopher told everything exactly how it was, even down to how he still feels about eunice.
Being of the same age as him and living not too far away,
i found myself thinking of what i was doing at times when christopher reflected on his past, and i must say this boy suffered immensely but doesnt seem to have let it spill into his adult life,
i hope where ever eunice spry is, she has read this book and finally felt some remorse.