My Abandonment
by
Peter Rock (Goodreads Author),
Tai Sammons
Thirteen-year-old Caroline has been raised and homeschooled by her father in a rigid code of behavior that allows them to survive, homeless, on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon. There they inhabit an elaborate cave shelter, wash in a nearby creek, use a makeshift septic system, and tend a garden. Once a week, they go to the city to buy groceries, attend church, and otherw...more
Audio, 0 pages
Published
March 12th 2009
by Blackstone Audiobooks
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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/1...
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004...
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/1...
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004...
Apr 23, 2013
Oswego Public Library District
added it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
contemporary-literature
This is an adult book of psychological fiction for young adults. The story sheds light on the lifestyles of the homeless. A father kidnapped his daughter out of foster care; they have lived for four years now in the forest, close to civilization and camps of homeless people, yet out of sight. In spite of the rugged setting, Caroline gets a decent education from her father and this section of the story is enchanting and appealing. Once they are discovered, separated, and then reunited by state ag...more
This book really spooked me.
Caroline is a 13 year old girl who has been living in the woods near Portland, Oregon for the past four years with her father. She is well cared for, gets home schooling from her father, and has learned from him survival skills - she truly enjoys her woodland home. But, after a trail-runner spots her, she and her father are brought into town for questioning. After telling their story to the police and counselors, they are given a foster home with a horse farmer. Caro...more
Caroline is a 13 year old girl who has been living in the woods near Portland, Oregon for the past four years with her father. She is well cared for, gets home schooling from her father, and has learned from him survival skills - she truly enjoys her woodland home. But, after a trail-runner spots her, she and her father are brought into town for questioning. After telling their story to the police and counselors, they are given a foster home with a horse farmer. Caro...more
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 would be great f...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 would be great f...more
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.
This is really a 3.5 star book. It's eerie and enchanting and I loved the strange syntax of this off-the-grid, 13-year-old narrator. I read it in a single day, in that wonderful breathless way, and though I loved it at the beginning, it became less vivid as it went on. I think, too, that it's difficult to have a narrator who has been so conditioned to think a certain way that she cannot properly read her surroundings. She in immovable in her perspective, which feels true, but it also frustrated...more
Mar 29, 2009
Jennifer Wardrip
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
trt-posted-reviews
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 careful not to draw attention....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 careful not to draw attention....more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I'm not entirely sure I would have reached for this one on the basis of title alone had I not already been a fan of Peter Rock's work. Please don't let the dire-sounding title scare you off -- My Abandonment is one of the finest books I've read this year. Publisher's Weekly wrote that this is "a bow to Thoreau and a nod to the detective story" and I think that's a fantastic short assessment of the book. Based on a true story, it's the tale of a thirteen year-old girl who secretly lives in Portla...more
I'm ultimately undecided about this book. I picked it up because I remembered the true story the first part of the book is drawn from, and because it was "recommended" at Powell's and I was looking for a few impulse buys. The story is engaging, though the writing is far from masterful. As the story moves beyond its basis in what is known about the family who lived in Forest Park, after their actual disappearance (not that the early part of the story seems like anything but fiction-inspired-by......more
May 22, 2012
Heidi
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-in-2012,
audio-version
Despite its rather unappealing title, the book offers an original and interesting insight into homelessness and mental illness, inspired (in part) by a true story. Narrated in the voice of 13-year old Caroline, the story follows the unconventional life of a man and his young daughter in a cave in Forest Park just outside Portland, Oregon. A Vietnam veteran still in the grips of PTSD, Caroline’s father is constantly on the run from authorities, which is partly due to his paranoia and to a secret...more
This was an interesting and absorbing book and made for a quick read. I was somewhat familiar with one of the real life stories this book is based on, that of the girl and her father living in Forest Park. After reading My Abandonment, I was left with more questions than answers -- there is no obvious line of distinction between reality and fiction here, and in some ways this seems a shame as the real life story is what brought me to this book. I got the impression reading this that it started o...more
Feb 19, 2012
Kim
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
young-adult,
audiobooks-read
Very perplexing. The beginning of the story is based upon news articles of a real father/daughter found living in a state park in Oregon. Apparantly they were found and relocated - a police officer found them a horse farm where they could live free as long as the father worked the farm. They stayed five days, then left and were never seen again. Thus, the rest of the story is Peter Rock's imaginings of what happened to them next.
Knowing that it was half true makes me crazy wondering what the he...more
Knowing that it was half true makes me crazy wondering what the he...more
*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 peer, wh...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 peer, wh...more
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 simply...more
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...more
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 sense of par...more
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...more
Jan 10, 2011
Bev Rockow
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-in-2011,
my-top-reads-of-2011
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 obstacles...more
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 that she is interested in socializing espe...more
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 cave and run a...more
Sep 14, 2010
Shaya
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fans of The Glass Castle
Shelves:
school-year-2010-2011,
realistic-fiction
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
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).
The story...more
The story...more
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 DEAD GIRL, by E...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 DEAD GIRL, by E...more
Apr 28, 2009
sylvie sevigny
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to sylvie by:
I found the subject interesting & the fact hat the novelis based
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Let me start with the following: I am so freaking confused by this book.
When I read the back of the book, I knew it was about a father and his 13 year old kid and they're trucking around all of Portland and living in the woods and all that. That much is true. And before I attempted to really get into the book I did some research on here and found that mostly it was well liked, and the ones that weren't well liked, well, didn't give enough reason for me to be completely turned off.
My issues aren'...more
When I read the back of the book, I knew it was about a father and his 13 year old kid and they're trucking around all of Portland and living in the woods and all that. That much is true. And before I attempted to really get into the book I did some research on here and found that mostly it was well liked, and the ones that weren't well liked, well, didn't give enough reason for me to be completely turned off.
My issues aren'...more
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 they are discovered (e...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 they are discovered (e...more
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...more
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 need – a comfortable shelter, a garden to supply th...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 need – a comfortable shelter, a garden to supply th...more
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 little muddy mo...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 little muddy mo...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I cannot believe I've only had 3 "views" for this book! | 9 | 37 | Sep 19, 2011 05:05am | |
| Questions??? Help!!! | 3 | 27 | Jun 30, 2011 04:19pm |
A Utah-native, Peter Rock attended Deep Springs College in California's High Desert. He earned his BA in English from Yale University and held a Wallace Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University.He has taught fiction at the University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Deep Springs College, and in the MFA program at San Francisco State University. His stories and freelance writing have both appeared widely. H...more
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“It is important to always remember that at any time you think of it there are people being kept in buildings when they want to go outside.”
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