A thirteen-year-old girl and her father live in Forest Park, the enormous nature preserve in Portland, Oregon. There they inhabit an elaborate cave...
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May 03, 2009
Lola
rated it: 
Told from the perspective of a 13 year-old girl,
My Abandonment is a truly, truly unsettling tale.
Caroline & her father (known only as Father)
live off the grid: In parks, in abandoned houses,
in caves. They lead simple lives brimming with
simple joys: running barefoot, tracking Bigfoot
& taking showers in the rain. Heavy suspicion
permeates every encounter & Caroline believes
Father knows best until in a pinch he forgoes his
own teachi More...
My Abandonment is a truly, truly unsettling tale.
Caroline & her father (known only as Father)
live off the grid: In parks, in abandoned houses,
in caves. They lead simple lives brimming with
simple joys: running barefoot, tracking Bigfoot
& taking showers in the rain. Heavy suspicion
permeates every encounter & Caroline believes
Father knows best until in a pinch he forgoes his
own teachi More...
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Mar 29, 2009
Nicoal
rated it:
As a Portland resident, it was fun to hear descriptions of the city and Forest Park. I enjoyed the writing style from 13-year-old Caroline's perspective.
After reading some news stories about the true story behind this novel, it's even more intriguing to me!
http://www.infowars.com/articles/us/12_y...
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/06...
After reading some news stories about the true story behind this novel, it's even more intriguing to me!
http://www.infowars.com/articles/us/12_y...
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/06...
5 comments
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Dec 26, 2009
Robin
rated it:
Even though I have alredy sent this, I am updating for my Best of 2009 list, and this review goes along with Jennie Shortridge's WHEN SHE FLEW:
Both of these are based on the true story of the father and pre-teen daughter who lived off the grid in Portland’s Forest Park for four years but each author treats the story a little differently. Rock’s story is told in an almost surreal and disassociated manner and Shortridge delivers more of an emotional punch. Both are interesting and wo More...
Both of these are based on the true story of the father and pre-teen daughter who lived off the grid in Portland’s Forest Park for four years but each author treats the story a little differently. Rock’s story is told in an almost surreal and disassociated manner and Shortridge delivers more of an emotional punch. Both are interesting and wo More...
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Apr 16, 2009
Carol
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I have mixed feelings about this book. It was a fast, thought-provoking read; but it left me with many unanswered questions, particulary since it was based on a true case. The beginning of the book seemed to include many facts that had been published in news articles, but the ending was Peter Rock's fictional version. I found some of this not to fit the characters. The reference to Elizabeth Smart in the Acknowledgments was disturbing to me.
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Mar 05, 2010
In My Abandonment, based on a true story, 13 year old Caroline tells of life with her father, a troubled war veteran. For the last four years, the two have lived a seemingly idyllic life in the middle of a large park in Portland, Oregon. Hiding from "followers" both real and imagined, she and her troubled, loving father live in a small underground cave, moving camp periodically to avoid drawing attention to their solitary life. Caroline learns the ways of the forest well, and moves lik
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Mar 29, 2009
Jennifer
rated it: 
Reviewed by LadyJay for TeensReadToo.com
Caroline and her father live in a forest park just outside Portland, Oregon. Her father has taught Caroline how to survive without technology or man-made things. She does not go to school - instead she learns from reading an old set of encyclopedias. Caroline plants a garden, observes wildlife from the tops of tall trees, and accompanies her father into the city when they run low on supplies.
They are usually ignored, and are carefu More...
Caroline and her father live in a forest park just outside Portland, Oregon. Her father has taught Caroline how to survive without technology or man-made things. She does not go to school - instead she learns from reading an old set of encyclopedias. Caroline plants a garden, observes wildlife from the tops of tall trees, and accompanies her father into the city when they run low on supplies.
They are usually ignored, and are carefu More...
Mar 12, 2009
Betsy
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Feb 12, 2012
Eden
rated it:
*spoiler alert*
I found this retelling of an actual event where a girl was found living with her dad in Forest Park in Portland really compelling until the last 50 pages or so, when the main character, a young girl who was explained with such compassion throughout the first 3/4 of the books, starts acting completely out of character. Throughout the book, we're reminded that she's a self-sufficient, highly intelligent 13 year old. Then there's a scene where she runs into a fellow homeless pe More...
I found this retelling of an actual event where a girl was found living with her dad in Forest Park in Portland really compelling until the last 50 pages or so, when the main character, a young girl who was explained with such compassion throughout the first 3/4 of the books, starts acting completely out of character. Throughout the book, we're reminded that she's a self-sufficient, highly intelligent 13 year old. Then there's a scene where she runs into a fellow homeless pe More...
Dec 17, 2011
Deborah
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I found this book to be intriguing- the story was fascinating, and upon discovering that it was based in truth, I found myself scrounging up every article I could find which detailed the story of the 'forest family.' The first half or so of the book pulled me in entirely, and I really enjoyed it. It was only after the author began to speculate about what might have happened to the family after their ultimate disappearance that I found myself struggling with the way he handled the story. I sim
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Oct 25, 2011
Gayle
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Wish I could give five stars to the first part of this book, because the scenery, dialog, everything--was utterly engaging and compelling. In fact, I'm really torn between a three and a four, and want to give it four for sheer good writing in so many places and the pleasure it gave me to read--the gripes I have about the latter parts really make this a 3.5, so I'll round for Rock (wink). I grabbed this book off the shelf at Powell's during one of my visits to Portland, where I myself often run/h
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Jul 07, 2011
Charleen
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The novel is about a girl who lives in a state park with her father. They live in the wilderness, shying away from society and surviving in nature. The father, who fought at "a war" shows classic signs of post traumatic stress disorder: nightmares of helicopters, paranoia, aversion to society. It is clear that the father is trying to protect Caroline from the outside world, which he views as menacing, never realizing the harm he is causing by keeping her away and inculcating his own se
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Jan 30, 2011
Karen
rated it:
Perplexing, intriguing, quick, good read with many interesting background nuances brought out in the telling of a fiction story developed from a true newspaper report. A ‘father’ kidnaps his daughter from foster parents leaving her ‘sister’ behind. He takes her to live hidden from society in a huge forested nature park with strict rules for her in order to hide from all contact with civilization. Good detailed accounts on surviving living in a man-made cave without amenities or contact. He teach
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Jan 10, 2011
Bev
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Once in a while, I'll read something so compelling, so fascinating, that I find myself consumed by the characters, wanting to know more than what is revealed by the author. I notice that I'm actively reading, rather than passively letting the words slip in and out of my consciousness. My eyebrows are raised, I'm leaning in as if to hear a little better, and even once in a while whispering out loud, as if the characters could hear my sympathetic murmers as they struggle against whatever obstacl
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Dec 08, 2010
Elizabeth
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This novel is about a young woman named Caroline who accompanies a man she calls "Father" in the wilderness (living in a state park). Father teaches Caroline survival skills and the merits of living apart from society. In the story they are both "rescued" and attempts are made to "civilize" them. This doesn't work. Through the course of the story we come to understand that Caroline has been almost fully brainwashed by "Father". Several instances show us th
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Oct 15, 2010
Laura
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Junot Diaz's quote on the front of this book describes it perfectly: "Mesmerizing and disturbing." It's a quick and easy read, and it definitely kept me interested, but I admit that I was tired of it by the end. There is so much in here that feels off... it's like talking to someone who's slipping in and out of a coma -- their reality is so far from your own. The story revolves around a 13 year old girl, Caroline, who lives with her father in Portland's forest park. They live in a
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Sep 14, 2010
Shaya
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Jul 01, 2009
Michaelsean
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My Abandonment by Peter Rock was a very interesting read for me. I was able to identify with the book a great deal as by sheer coincidence, I have lived, ate, and run through the locations he had written about. I lived out on NW Hoge in Portland which backs up to Forest Park (and is right past the St. Johns Bridge) for about a year. Oddly enough, I had never heard of any of the background story that Mr. Rock used to help craft the book (and if you haven't either, don't google it first).
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Jun 19, 2009
Daniel
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May 12, 2009
Hope
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Wow, what a book. I mean seriously, wow. I can not remember the last time a book so thoroughly grabbed and disturbed me that I literally could not get to sleep after finishing it. (And I _HAD_ to finish it, even if I had not had to finish it for my job!)
This suspenseful contemporary novel about a homeless teen and her father living and hiding in a nature preserve in Oregon was published for adults. I think the topic will interest many of the people that liked the YA novels LIVING DE More...
This suspenseful contemporary novel about a homeless teen and her father living and hiding in a nature preserve in Oregon was published for adults. I think the topic will interest many of the people that liked the YA novels LIVING DE More...
Apr 28, 2009
sylvie
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Aug 21, 2011
Erin
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I gave this book 4 stars because I enjoyed the style in which it was written. It was reminiscent of "Room" in the sense that it is written from the point of view of a young narrator who is seeing the world in a way most of us don't.
I feel like I can't say too much about this book without giving important plot twists away, so all I will say is that it is about a girl and her father and they live in a park. They enjoy being homeless, it is the life they prefer to live. When th More...
I feel like I can't say too much about this book without giving important plot twists away, so all I will say is that it is about a girl and her father and they live in a park. They enjoy being homeless, it is the life they prefer to live. When th More...
Jun 09, 2011
Erika
rated it:
The Abandonment is a non-fiction story with lot's of excitment and very adventerous. I love the relationship between Caroline and her father the attentiveness and respect they have for each other. I really like the main charater thirteen year old Caroline. She is a smart girl with curiosity of the life, one she would have beyond the forest. Caroline's father is very protective of her and doesn't want her to get intouch with the outside life. But her father seem's very paranoid; he seem's to be s
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Aug 17, 2011
Elaine
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Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Date: 2008
Number of Pages: 225
Geographical Setting: Portland, Oregon
Time Period: Contemporary
Three Words or Phrases Best Describing this Book: Child/teen narrator, haunting, strong sense of place
Plot Summary: Thirteen-year-old Caroline and her father have spent the last four years living “off the grid” in Forest Park, a nature preserve in Portland. They love their unorthodox lifestyle, and have everything they nee More...
Publication Date: 2008
Number of Pages: 225
Geographical Setting: Portland, Oregon
Time Period: Contemporary
Three Words or Phrases Best Describing this Book: Child/teen narrator, haunting, strong sense of place
Plot Summary: Thirteen-year-old Caroline and her father have spent the last four years living “off the grid” in Forest Park, a nature preserve in Portland. They love their unorthodox lifestyle, and have everything they nee More...
Dec 23, 2010
Jennifer
rated it:
I learned of this book from a list in The Oregonian of the top ten books by Oregon authors at the end of 2009. I quite enjoyed that I could identify the book's geographical locations and found it gave the story more depth for me.
A 13-year-old girl is found living with her dad in the middle of Forest Park, an urban park here in Portland that covers more than 5000 acres and contains more than 40 miles of trails. It's really a hiker-biker-runners paradise if you don't mind getting a littl More...
A 13-year-old girl is found living with her dad in the middle of Forest Park, an urban park here in Portland that covers more than 5000 acres and contains more than 40 miles of trails. It's really a hiker-biker-runners paradise if you don't mind getting a littl More...
Aug 29, 2010
Gabrielle
rated it: 
This book was selected for fall term as the "Chemeketa Reads" pick. Maybe it is because the author is local, and we'll be able to get him on campus easily... too bad, though. I was not impressed with this book. There were elements of it that should have carried it: a compelling story from local news, a concrete sampling of local geography (those parts I did like) but over all it didn't click into place. Two things particularly disappointed: the too frequent sentences where the subj
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Jun 11, 2010
jeremy
rated it:
inspired by the true story of a man and his 12-year-old daughter found living together in portland, oregon's 5,100 acre forest park (after nearly four years), my abandonment is an interesting, however imperfect, work of fiction. while much of the book's first half is faithful to the actual events, the remainder is a work of imagination. the case's nearly unbelievable details certainly make great fodder for a compelling story, and author peter rock deftly tells the tale.
the novel More...
the novel More...
Oct 16, 2009
Jason
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Caroline and her father live a simple, meager existence, shrouded in Forest Park, a nature preserve in Portland, Oregon. Ostensibly homeless, they have built a secluded home in the woods, complete with garden, library, and shower. Caroline reads the encyclopedia and runs barefoot in the forest, exploring the boundaries of her domain. Occasionally, she and her father visit the nearby town for food, the library, his SS check, but mostly stay out of the reach of other people.
Peter More...
Peter More...
May 01, 2009
Scayton
rated it:
While being a thought intriguing book, I felt that it left me with more questions then answers. While occasionally this type of feeling leaves me inspired to learn more, I felt for this novel it was only a 'way out' of the actual story...I've learned from asking many people out of frustration that the father and daughter (Ruthie) are still living in the Portland area, continuing their free-lance lifestyle.. A little different from Peter Rocks fictional ending...
QUESTIONS I STILL HAVE More...
QUESTIONS I STILL HAVE More...
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Jun 19, 2009
Bob
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Set in Portland, this book (by a Portland author) tells the story of a homeless girl and her father, who live in urban parks. Part adventure, part coming-of-age, part social exposé, the story is more than the sum of its parts: with crystalline prose, clearly drawn characters, and a good share of narrative twists, the novel manages both to invoke the true story that inspired it, and articulate some essential questions that make novels worth reading in the first place. What does family mean? Wh
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Mar 05, 2009
Tina DC
rated it:
I read 'My Abandonment' by Peter Rock in two days, since it was a compelling read and I kept finding myself wanting to know what would happen next.
While I enjoyed the read, there were a few issues with it. First, all the run-on sentences. I know it is written in first person from the viewpoint of a 13-year-old, but the lack of punctuation made me constantly have to reread sentences to figure out what was intended. The other problem I had was the unanswered questions that I felt s More...
While I enjoyed the read, there were a few issues with it. First, all the run-on sentences. I know it is written in first person from the viewpoint of a 13-year-old, but the lack of punctuation made me constantly have to reread sentences to figure out what was intended. The other problem I had was the unanswered questions that I felt s More...
