Well! What can I say about A Prayer For The Broken?! It is written by Mark Tilbury and is added to his superb collection of other books he has masterminded. A story that will tear you apart emotionally but you just cannot stop reading.
This is the story of John McCormack, an eleven-year-old boy, who is placed in the care system after he discovers his mother’s dead body in their flat. He was happy in his temporary foster care placement, well as happy as an eleven-year-old who is alone in the world can be. Immediately my heart went out to John, this little boy, so defenceless at the mercy of the Social care in England, I already knew this was going to go even worse as the story unfolded.
John finds himself being moved to a more permanent placement. This family holds high standing in the community they live and they have previously taken boys into their home, so social services are very content with taking John to them. They tell him he will be safe, well, maybe not! This family have their own ways of dealing with foster children and it isn’t normal in any way, more like hell on earth for John to deal with.
This storyline broke me in every way possible. As a mother, I just wanted to save him and sweep him up in my arms making him feel safe and wanted. As an adult, I wanted to make the other adults involved pay in a way they would never, ever forget. I found A Prayer For The Broken the most disturbing and horrifying book I have read in I don’t know how long. Being a mother of three, knowing the horrors that are possible involving children, and my personal history this book definitely had me.
I couldn’t stop turning the pages, willing John to get out, run, escape! Hoping against hope the people responsible would be discovered and justice meted out as it should be.
An exquisitely crafted book as I feel every book that Mark writes is. He has the knack of drawing you in to the point of you feel that you are actually part of the story, his writing is always realistic and so clear you can imagine it happening in your mind’s eye. He always brings the twists and turns which ramps up the tension one thousand per cent, I get to a point where I think, yes, this is it and find the story takes a truly different turn, leaving me right back where I started.
Another totally stellar read from Mark ‘Twisted’ Tilbury and one I cannot recommend highly enough.
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