OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Away from Home" by Joanne Clairmont.]

Away from Home by Joanne Clairmont is a compilation of short poems that express the spectrum of emotions experienced by both a foster child and parent. They are all written by the author but she changes point of view from the parent to the child.

I do not have much experience with poetry but it was easy to understand the messages conveyed in these short poems. Clairmont divided this 52 page book into six sections: The Runaway Teenager, The Unaccompanied Teenager, The Unsettled Teenager, The Settled Teenager, The Challenging Teenager, and The Independent Teenager. Each section depicted the various challenges and uncertainties both foster parents and children may feel when placed in a new situation. The tone and emotion in each section is a little bit different.

I did not know how believable these poems would be considering both perspectives were written by the same author however, I was pleasantly surprised. Clairmont was writing from her ten years of experience as a foster parent and her understanding is evident. I was concerned that I would not enjoy that the poems were written in free verse because I like my poetry to rhyme and have a constant meter but I felt that the lack of rhyming and meter was consistent with the sometimes uncomfortable emotions of the fostering system for both the parent and child.

Despite the heavy emotions and often rebellious actions, I felt myself empathizing with the foster child. It is clear they come from a difficult background and, in this case, the foster parent is just trying to give them a better life. I did feel that the tone got considerably lighter toward the end of the book.

I give Away from Home by Joanne Clairmont 3 out of 4 stars. The poetry was heartfelt and riveting. Even though I have never experienced anything within the foster system I can identify with the trials based on the author’s depiction. I did notice a few grammatical errors but it did not take away from the reality of the situation at hand. I feel that anyone involved in the foster system would get a lot out of this book. A future foster parent may find these poems hard to deal with but it may help them better identify with the struggles of a foster child. I recognize that the foster system is difficult to traverse but I feel that these poems may help facilitate a little more understanding between a foster parent and child.

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Away from Home
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This is an interesting review which is capable of attracting somebody like me who is quite light on poetry. Besides, the foster parenting angle is a plus for me since it touches on the area of my academic inquiry. I hope I would make out time to have a reading of this poetry book.

Wow nice one. Having devoted the time to journey through the books is a nice one, to the extent of outlining the six divisions of the book. But the greatest of it is that he made a comment that, there are alot of grammatical errors therein, hence the need for the author to wake up, and never to forget that grammatical review is a paramount in writing a book. Once more great job

Even though you do not have much experience in poetry, you presented a clear explanation of what the reader can find in the poems. I'm glad the verses are relatable, so the emotions can be conveyed more easily. Thanks for the review!

Great work ..i like it

in my opinion, whenever a writer writes from personal experience, it serves to give a more personal touch to the story thus establishing connection with the reader. Thanks for the review

Sounds like a good book especially for those who are foster parents or even parents in general. Thanks for the good review.

I think this is interesting,..I haven't read many poetry books but I love poems and the fact that this one is centered around such a sensitive issue as teenagers and foster care, arouses my curiosity. Nice review!!

A book written out of empathy would be worth it. Thanks for the review, k2rugman.

Thanks for your review. I can relate for once I experienced to live away from home in my college days. You will handle all the stressful world of being yourself. You did a very nice review.

This novel seems heart touching .. Thank you for such a nice review