Book Review: Three Little Words by Sarah N. Harvey

Three Little Words by Sarah N. Harvey
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Release Date: October 1, 2012
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

Sixteen-year-old Sid barely remembers his birth mother and has no idea who his father was. Raised on an idyllic island by loving foster parents, Sid would be content to stay there forever, drawing, riding his bike, hanging out with his friend Chloe and helping out with Fariza, a newly arrived foster child. But when a stranger named Phil arrives on the island with disturbing news about his birth family—including a troubled younger brother—Sid leaves all that is familiar to help find the sibling he didn’t know existed.

What he discovers is a family fractured by mental illness, but also united by strong bonds of love and compassion. As Sid searches for his brother, gets to know his grandmother, and worries about meeting his biological mother, he realizes that there will never be a simple answer to the question, Am I my brother’s keeper?

As a foster parent myself, I am always intrigued with books about foster care, both fiction and non-fiction, which was the reason I chose this book. Three Little Words is set in Canada which is great because I know nothing about the Canadian foster care system. I could fully enjoy the book without analyzing whether or not that’s how things are really done like I do when I read an American novel about foster care.

I liked that this book shows the positive side of foster care. Sid has been in foster care since he was two years old and it has definitely been the best place for him. His foster parents, Megan and Caleb, are wonderful, yet not perfect ,like a lot of foster parents I know. At the same time, the grief and loss inherent in foster care is addressed as well. Sid hasn’t forgotten about his biological family and when his parents take in a new placement, Fariza, she definitely has issues adjusting.

I struggled with the beginning of Sid’s journey. Why would his grandma think he could find his brother, Wain, when Sid has never even met him? Sid asks that question as well but I don’t think a realistic motivation for the grandma was offered. I think there could have been a better way to start off Sid’s relationship with his brother. Once I let that go, I liked reading about their evolving relationship and Wain’s personal evolution as well.

This book is intended for young adult readers ages 12 and up. it does have some swearing in it but I didn’t think it was anything that an average teenager hasn’t heard or said themselves. I enjoyed this book and think that it will appeal to both teens and adults.

(I received this book courtesy of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.)