Heart-breaking and Real

Holding on to Zoe is a great book.  It is short and meaningful and complex but simple and really, really good and painful.  I was so into the characters that I really wanted to scream at the mother.  What a ridiculous woman.  But a real woman.  First of all she is an unthinking, selfish moron.  She should be a foster parent.  She is the next best thing though, a social worker.  First she ain't too bright.  Here's how serious moronic she is:  she was a secretary, when the husband leaves she decides she needs to make more money and so she goes to college to be a social worker.

Because going into social work should be about the money.

Because social workers make a lot of money.

What a moron.

But I know people like this.  So I found her character to be very realistic.  She makes fun of the people she is supposed to be helping.  She has no compassion at all.  And she was dumb enough to go into it because she didn't have money!  You go into a job like that to help people!  Knowing that you WON'T make any money.  Could this woman be anymore ridiculous?  Could she be anymore life-like?  Great character, albeit a truly evil one.  She is so cruel to her daughter.  And she has psychological problems of her own but did she get help for them?  No!  Instead she chose to help others.  What a buffoon. So real.  

Don't get me wrong, I am sure there are good social workers out there.  I just don't hold much stock in the whole deal.  You go into social work for selfless reasons, not to feel good about yourself or make money.  Also you have to be totally mentally capable.  Too many people who and social workers actually NEED social workers.
Enough with the rant.  I don't want to give too much away, but Jules is a girl with a horrible, selfish mother who gets pregnant and the baby means everything to her.  And wow...just read it!