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Forgetting Foster
Foster suddenly recognised the feeling that rolled over him and made him feel sick. It was this: Dad was going away somewhere all on his own. And Foster was already missing him.
Foster Sumner is seven years old. He likes toy soldiers, tadpole hunting, going to school and the beach. Best of all, he likes listening to his dad's stories.
But then Foster's dad starts forgetting things. No one is too worried at first. Foster and Dad giggle about it. But the forgetting gets worse. And suddenly no one is laughing anymore.
A heartbreaking story about what it means to forget and to be forgotten.
Foster Sumner is seven years old. He likes toy soldiers, tadpole hunting, going to school and the beach. Best of all, he likes listening to his dad's stories.
But then Foster's dad starts forgetting things. No one is too worried at first. Foster and Dad giggle about it. But the forgetting gets worse. And suddenly no one is laughing anymore.
A heartbreaking story about what it means to forget and to be forgotten.
240 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2016
1 person is currently reading
179 people want to read
About the author
Dianne Touchell
5 books33 followersDianne Touchell is a middle child who feared Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy — and any other stranger who threatened to break into the house at night.
She has worked, amongst other things, as a nightclub singer, a fish and chip shop counter girl (not with Pauline Hanson) and a bookseller. Dianne would rather talk to her dog than answer the phone.
She has worked, amongst other things, as a nightclub singer, a fish and chip shop counter girl (not with Pauline Hanson) and a bookseller. Dianne would rather talk to her dog than answer the phone.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
February 6, 2017
Foster's Dad starts acting strangely and is becoming confused often. He is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Foster doesn't understand this change in his father and thinks he is going somewhere without him.
This book follows the slow deterioration of Foster's Dad and the affects it has on their family and others around them. Being from the point-of-view from a 7 year old it was funny at times as well as heartbreaking.
It is such a sorrowful subject to read about but at the end it left me feeling really happy, almost teary-eyed happy.
This is the 2nd book I have read by Dianne Touchell and I have enjoyed both. She tackles extremely tough, sad topics. I will be keeping a look out for her next book.
This book follows the slow deterioration of Foster's Dad and the affects it has on their family and others around them. Being from the point-of-view from a 7 year old it was funny at times as well as heartbreaking.
It is such a sorrowful subject to read about but at the end it left me feeling really happy, almost teary-eyed happy.
This is the 2nd book I have read by Dianne Touchell and I have enjoyed both. She tackles extremely tough, sad topics. I will be keeping a look out for her next book.
November 30, 2016
I just can't deal with sad books, especially when there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Dealing with Alzheimers isn't easy, and it will get worse and worse throughout the novel with no positive resolution (which is the truth).
Foster is a 7 year old who has fond memories of spending time with his father, until his father starts becoming confused and disoriented. He is diagnosed with Alzheimers and so sets off a journey to his madness. Foster is old enough to feel the strain on his family and his mum and it was heartbreaking to see the effect on the child. He's struggling to understand the change in his dad and wonders how they can bring him back.
I really felt for Foster's mum, who went from someone light and happy to a strained, irritable and grumpy woman. I appreciated how the novel dealt with not only the life of the sufferer but of the carers as well. Although they have plenty of help, you can see their mental and emotional health deteriorating over time.
Written from the perspective of a 7 year old, the language was also done in a really believable way. While everyone thinks Foster is too young to deal with the issues in his family and that he doesn't know what's going on, there's actually more than meets the eye. What we have here is a child who is forced to grow upon his years as he learns about his father's condition.
Forgetting Foster is a heartbreaking depiction of a family affected by Alzheimers disease and how it impacts a young child, the sufferer and the people that love them. This book was very much a slice of life book, as Foster's father will slowly deteriorate over time. Because of this, I felt like it ended quite abruptly. There is no positive resolution for Alzheimers sufferers and the book confronts us with that fact.
I received the book from the publisher I exchange for an honest review.
Foster is a 7 year old who has fond memories of spending time with his father, until his father starts becoming confused and disoriented. He is diagnosed with Alzheimers and so sets off a journey to his madness. Foster is old enough to feel the strain on his family and his mum and it was heartbreaking to see the effect on the child. He's struggling to understand the change in his dad and wonders how they can bring him back.
I really felt for Foster's mum, who went from someone light and happy to a strained, irritable and grumpy woman. I appreciated how the novel dealt with not only the life of the sufferer but of the carers as well. Although they have plenty of help, you can see their mental and emotional health deteriorating over time.
Written from the perspective of a 7 year old, the language was also done in a really believable way. While everyone thinks Foster is too young to deal with the issues in his family and that he doesn't know what's going on, there's actually more than meets the eye. What we have here is a child who is forced to grow upon his years as he learns about his father's condition.
Forgetting Foster is a heartbreaking depiction of a family affected by Alzheimers disease and how it impacts a young child, the sufferer and the people that love them. This book was very much a slice of life book, as Foster's father will slowly deteriorate over time. Because of this, I felt like it ended quite abruptly. There is no positive resolution for Alzheimers sufferers and the book confronts us with that fact.
I received the book from the publisher I exchange for an honest review.
June 26, 2016
7 yr old Foster's hero is his Dad. He loves the amazing stories Dad tells while he’s sitting in the bath, or on his bed with his toy soldiers in battle among the blankets, or in front of a silent TV with it flickering light over them.
But Dad doesn’t tell Foster stories anymore. Mum’s always tired and telling Foster, ‘It’s nothing for you to worry about.’ But Foster is worried. Dad is changing, almost like he’s going somewhere without them, even though he’s still in the same house.
And as Dad changes, their whole life changes and instead of Dad looking after him, he has to look after Dad. Mum forgets to make Foster’s school lunches or even give him money for the canteen, and she's always arguing with Aunty Linda who comes to help.
Soon Foster feels almost invisible, the adults around him always whispering around him or telling him to go to his room. But he wants to know what's going to happen. Will Dad come back from wherever he's gone?
Written from a seven year old boy’s point of view, this story was wonderfully done, showing how children’s perceptions can be confused and misinterpreted using the small amount of knowledge they have about the world around them.
Forgetting Foster is a sad story - because it's not just a story. This is people’s everyday lives – slowly watching and knowing they are losing someone they love, and dealing with their frustration, anger, and fear as Alzheimer's disease progresses.
But Dad doesn’t tell Foster stories anymore. Mum’s always tired and telling Foster, ‘It’s nothing for you to worry about.’ But Foster is worried. Dad is changing, almost like he’s going somewhere without them, even though he’s still in the same house.
And as Dad changes, their whole life changes and instead of Dad looking after him, he has to look after Dad. Mum forgets to make Foster’s school lunches or even give him money for the canteen, and she's always arguing with Aunty Linda who comes to help.
Soon Foster feels almost invisible, the adults around him always whispering around him or telling him to go to his room. But he wants to know what's going to happen. Will Dad come back from wherever he's gone?
Written from a seven year old boy’s point of view, this story was wonderfully done, showing how children’s perceptions can be confused and misinterpreted using the small amount of knowledge they have about the world around them.
Forgetting Foster is a sad story - because it's not just a story. This is people’s everyday lives – slowly watching and knowing they are losing someone they love, and dealing with their frustration, anger, and fear as Alzheimer's disease progresses.
November 27, 2018
So so so traurig.
April 12, 2018
Auf der einen Seite hasse ich sie, diese Bücher, die Geschichten erzählen, bei denen es so aussieht, als gäbe es kein Licht am Ende des dunklen Tunnels, kein Hoffnungsschimmer mehr. Bücher, die fast nur aus endloser Traurigkeit bestehen. Auf der anderen Seite jedoch liebe ich sie, weil sie echt sind; weil es Geschichten sind, die das wahre Leben erzählt.
Damit möchte ich nicht sagen, dass ich solche ausweglosen Situationen liebe, ganz im Gegenteil. Sie sind schrecklich herzzerreißend, verletzend und traurig; sie werfen uns in ein tiefes Loch, aus dem wir nur ganz schwer wieder herausfinden. Aber unsere Welt ist nicht nur Friede-Freude-Eierkuchen, es gibt sie, diese tragischen, herzzerreißenden Geschichten die eben nicht gut ausgehen, die uns aber stärker machen, die uns wachsen lassen und deshalb empfinde ich eben auch diese Bücher für wichtig und notwendig.
Mir persönlich war dieses Buch wirklich sehr wichtig. Als ich hörte, welches Thema es behandelte, wusste ich, ich musste es lesen. Mein Großvater war selbst sehr schlimm an Alzheimer erkrankt und die Angst vor dem Vergessen begleitet mich seither in meinem Leben. Ein ganz großes Dankeschön daher an den Carlsen bzw. Königskinder Verlag für die Bereitstellung dieses Rezensionsexemplars.
In Foster Vergessen geht es um den sieben Jahre alten Foster, der ein unglaublich gutes Verhältnis zu seinen Eltern, insbesondere zu seinem Vater, pflegt. Er erzählt ihm Geschichten und ermuntert ihn, dies ebenfalls zu tun. Er inspiriert Foster und erweckt seine Kreativität zum Leben. Sie verbringen ihr Leben gemeinsam in einer solch familiären Harmonie, das man schon fast von einer Bilderbuchfamilie sprechen könnte. Doch dann fängt Fosters Vater plötzlich an, Dinge zu vergessen. Zuerst ist es ganz amüsant; immerhin vergisst jeder schon mal etwas, oder nicht? Doch irgendwann beginnt Foster zu realisieren, dass sein Vater all diese Dinge, die er vergisst, vielleicht nie wieder zurückbekommt.
POSITIV
Natürlich hatte ich ein emotionales Buch erwartet, dennoch war ich irgendwie nicht darauf eingestellt, dass es mich so traurig machen würde, und das obwohl sich ein ähnliches Szenario bereits in meinem eigenen Leben abgespielt hat. Dennoch hat es mich getroffen wie ein Schlag mitten ins Gesicht. Ich war überrascht, wie emotionsgeladen diese Geschichte ist, wie sehr sie einen runter zieht und wie unglaublich gut Dianne Touchell all dies, insbesondere aus der Sicht eines sieben jährigen Jungen, dargestellt hat.
Dass für mich schrecklichste an diesem Buch war wohl mitzuerleben, wie Foster bereits in seinen so jungen Jahren mit ansehen muss, wie sein Vater sich von Tag zu Tag in einen völlig anderen Menschen verwandelt; in einen Menschen, der keine Geschichten mehr erzählt, weil er vergessen hat wie es geht. Einen Menschen, der sich nicht mehr an den eigenen Hund erinnert, sich kindischer verhält als Foster mit seinen sieben Jahren und plötzlich aggressiv und bösartig wird. Denn das ist es, was die Alzheimer Krankheit mit einem macht: sie lässt einen nicht nur Erinnerungen verlieren, sondern auch Menschen und Dinge vergessen, die man liebt. Und ohne all das, ohne diese Erinnerungen an das Erlebte; an all die Lebensereignisse, die das eigene Leben einst geprägt haben, kann man unmöglich derselbe Mensch sein. Foster dabei zu erleben, wie er einfach die Hoffnung nicht aufgab, wie er diese Situation versuchte mit einer Mischung aus Unverständnis, Angst, Humor und Verärgerung, zu bewältigen, hat mir das Herz gebrochen und mir mehr als nur einmal ein paar Tränchen entlockt. Es ist grausam, in diesem Alter bereits jemanden zu verlieren, auch wenn er physisch noch anwesend ist, geistig aber so abwesend, dass er sich kaum noch an etwas erinnern, geschweige denn die wunderbaren Erinnerungen an eine einst vergangene Zeit teilen kann. Mit unter ein Grund, weshalb es Foster so schwer fällt, das Ganze zu verstehen ist die Tatsache, dass sowohl seine Mutter, als auch seine Tante ihn im Dunkeln lassen, wahrscheinlich aus Angst; wahrscheinlich glauben sie aber auch einfach bloß, er wäre noch viel zu jung, das alles zu verstehen, dabei hätten sie vielleicht einfach mal mit ihm offen und ehrlich über alles sprechen sollen. Ich bin mir sicher, seine Mutter wollte nur das Beste, doch die Art und Weise wie sich die Beziehung zwischen ihr und Foster (negativ) verändert hat, während er gleichzeitig von Tag zu Tag ein Stückchen mehr seines Vaters, sprich seiner Vergangenheit, verlor, verschlimmerte die Situation nur noch. Auch wenn die Wahrheit schmerzhaft ist, können Lügen manchmal weitaus schmerzlicher sein.
Die Autorin schafft es mit einem solchen Fingerspitzengefühl, die Geschichte aus Sicht des siebenjährigen Jungen zu schreiben, dass es schon fast Gänsehaut verursacht. Es war unglaublich interessant, Fosters Denkweise zu verstehen, seine Entwicklung mitzuerleben und vor allen Dingen ihn dabei zu begleiten, wie er immer wieder versuchte, die Dinge selbst zu verstehen. Es war ein Schrei nach Aufmerksamkeit, den er einfach nicht von seiner Mutter bekam, die einfach zu viel zu tun hatte mit der Krankheit seines Vaters.
Natürlich kann man hier auch sehr gut die Mutter verstehen, allerdings war es absolut traurig und herzzereißend, wie sie ihren kleinen Sohn in dieser schwierigen Zeit ausgeschlossen hat. Ihr war es vielleicht gar nicht bewusst, doch sie hat sein Leben so negativ beeinflusst, dass er wohl noch lange Zeit an diesem Ausschluss aus der Familie leiden wird. Die Beziehung fängt an zu bröckeln, ob sie es nun wollen oder nicht. Das Problem ist, dass die Mutter dies zugelassen hat, den Einsturz ihrer Beziehung zu ihrem Sohn sogar noch unterstützt hat, dabei hätte sie einfach bloß die ihr angebotene Hilfe zulassen müssen – auch wenn es unglaublich schwer fällt, zu akzeptieren, dass es nie wieder so sein wird, wie früher. Akzeptanz ist zwar der schwerste, allerdings auch der erste Schritt in die richtige Richtung.
Die Dinge, die man glaubt seien am besten für die Familie, sind es meist nicht. Man kann seiner Mutter hier womöglich noch nicht einmal einen richtigen Vorwurf machen, spiegeln sie eben echte Entscheidungen einer Geschichte wieder, wie sie genauso im wahren Leben auch passieren könnten. Dennoch hat die Autorin es ausgezeichnet auf den Punkt gebracht und dem Leser gezeigt, wie unbewusst sämtliche Handlungen und Verhaltensweise von Eltern sich auf die Kinder auswirken. Es ist beeindruckend, zugleich aber auch irgendwie angsteinflößend.
Wenngleich diese Geschichte wohl niemals ihr Happy End finden wird, immerhin gibt es gegen diese Krankheit noch immer kein Heilmittel, hat mir das Ende tatsächlich ein Gefühl von Hoffnung geschenkt. Nicht in der Form, als das ich glaube, es würde alles wieder zum Alten zurückkehren, sondern eher dahingehend, dass ich mir ziemlich sicher bin, dass Foster, seine Mutter und seine Tante gemeinsam mit Hilfe von unabhängigen dritten Personen die Sache vielleicht nicht meistern, aber dennoch schaffen werden. Ich bin mir sicher, dass sie einen Weg finden werden, um das Leben, wie es ihnen das Schicksal nun mal geschenkt hat, so zu leben, wie es für alle am besten ist, sowohl für sie, als auch für Fosters Vater.
NEGATIV
Im ersten Moment erschien mir der Schreibstil sehr nüchtern, was man eventuell als negativ auffassen könnte, doch schnell wurde mir bewusst, dass dieses Buch eben genau das braucht. Doch trotz dieser Nüchternheit, steckt das Buch gleichzeitig voll unglaublich viel Gefühl.
So wirklich was negatives konnte ich mithin nicht an dem Buch finden.
LOHNT SICH DAS BUCH?
Foster Vergessen ist eine wunderschöne und herzzerreißende Geschichte über eine Familie, die mit den Konsequenzen einer Alzheimer Erkrankung zu kämpfen hat. Dieses Buch ist perfekt für Leser jeden Alters, es behandelt wichtige Themen wie Krankheiten, Mobbing, Gesundheit, Zusammenhalt und Liebe. Für mich ist dieses Buch etwas wirklich ganz Besonderes und ich kann es wirklich jedem nur ans Herz leben. Denn auch wenn es mal eben nicht das besagte Licht am Ende des Tunnels gibt, bedeutet das nicht, dass sämtliche Hoffnung bereits verloren ist. Es bedeutet vielleicht nicht unbedingt ein Happy End, aber es bedeutet Lebensmut und Lebenswille und dass es irgendwie doch noch besser werden kann.
Originalblogbeitrag: http://ivybooknerd.com/rezension-fost...
Damit möchte ich nicht sagen, dass ich solche ausweglosen Situationen liebe, ganz im Gegenteil. Sie sind schrecklich herzzerreißend, verletzend und traurig; sie werfen uns in ein tiefes Loch, aus dem wir nur ganz schwer wieder herausfinden. Aber unsere Welt ist nicht nur Friede-Freude-Eierkuchen, es gibt sie, diese tragischen, herzzerreißenden Geschichten die eben nicht gut ausgehen, die uns aber stärker machen, die uns wachsen lassen und deshalb empfinde ich eben auch diese Bücher für wichtig und notwendig.
Mir persönlich war dieses Buch wirklich sehr wichtig. Als ich hörte, welches Thema es behandelte, wusste ich, ich musste es lesen. Mein Großvater war selbst sehr schlimm an Alzheimer erkrankt und die Angst vor dem Vergessen begleitet mich seither in meinem Leben. Ein ganz großes Dankeschön daher an den Carlsen bzw. Königskinder Verlag für die Bereitstellung dieses Rezensionsexemplars.
In Foster Vergessen geht es um den sieben Jahre alten Foster, der ein unglaublich gutes Verhältnis zu seinen Eltern, insbesondere zu seinem Vater, pflegt. Er erzählt ihm Geschichten und ermuntert ihn, dies ebenfalls zu tun. Er inspiriert Foster und erweckt seine Kreativität zum Leben. Sie verbringen ihr Leben gemeinsam in einer solch familiären Harmonie, das man schon fast von einer Bilderbuchfamilie sprechen könnte. Doch dann fängt Fosters Vater plötzlich an, Dinge zu vergessen. Zuerst ist es ganz amüsant; immerhin vergisst jeder schon mal etwas, oder nicht? Doch irgendwann beginnt Foster zu realisieren, dass sein Vater all diese Dinge, die er vergisst, vielleicht nie wieder zurückbekommt.
POSITIV
Natürlich hatte ich ein emotionales Buch erwartet, dennoch war ich irgendwie nicht darauf eingestellt, dass es mich so traurig machen würde, und das obwohl sich ein ähnliches Szenario bereits in meinem eigenen Leben abgespielt hat. Dennoch hat es mich getroffen wie ein Schlag mitten ins Gesicht. Ich war überrascht, wie emotionsgeladen diese Geschichte ist, wie sehr sie einen runter zieht und wie unglaublich gut Dianne Touchell all dies, insbesondere aus der Sicht eines sieben jährigen Jungen, dargestellt hat.
Dass für mich schrecklichste an diesem Buch war wohl mitzuerleben, wie Foster bereits in seinen so jungen Jahren mit ansehen muss, wie sein Vater sich von Tag zu Tag in einen völlig anderen Menschen verwandelt; in einen Menschen, der keine Geschichten mehr erzählt, weil er vergessen hat wie es geht. Einen Menschen, der sich nicht mehr an den eigenen Hund erinnert, sich kindischer verhält als Foster mit seinen sieben Jahren und plötzlich aggressiv und bösartig wird. Denn das ist es, was die Alzheimer Krankheit mit einem macht: sie lässt einen nicht nur Erinnerungen verlieren, sondern auch Menschen und Dinge vergessen, die man liebt. Und ohne all das, ohne diese Erinnerungen an das Erlebte; an all die Lebensereignisse, die das eigene Leben einst geprägt haben, kann man unmöglich derselbe Mensch sein. Foster dabei zu erleben, wie er einfach die Hoffnung nicht aufgab, wie er diese Situation versuchte mit einer Mischung aus Unverständnis, Angst, Humor und Verärgerung, zu bewältigen, hat mir das Herz gebrochen und mir mehr als nur einmal ein paar Tränchen entlockt. Es ist grausam, in diesem Alter bereits jemanden zu verlieren, auch wenn er physisch noch anwesend ist, geistig aber so abwesend, dass er sich kaum noch an etwas erinnern, geschweige denn die wunderbaren Erinnerungen an eine einst vergangene Zeit teilen kann. Mit unter ein Grund, weshalb es Foster so schwer fällt, das Ganze zu verstehen ist die Tatsache, dass sowohl seine Mutter, als auch seine Tante ihn im Dunkeln lassen, wahrscheinlich aus Angst; wahrscheinlich glauben sie aber auch einfach bloß, er wäre noch viel zu jung, das alles zu verstehen, dabei hätten sie vielleicht einfach mal mit ihm offen und ehrlich über alles sprechen sollen. Ich bin mir sicher, seine Mutter wollte nur das Beste, doch die Art und Weise wie sich die Beziehung zwischen ihr und Foster (negativ) verändert hat, während er gleichzeitig von Tag zu Tag ein Stückchen mehr seines Vaters, sprich seiner Vergangenheit, verlor, verschlimmerte die Situation nur noch. Auch wenn die Wahrheit schmerzhaft ist, können Lügen manchmal weitaus schmerzlicher sein.
Die Autorin schafft es mit einem solchen Fingerspitzengefühl, die Geschichte aus Sicht des siebenjährigen Jungen zu schreiben, dass es schon fast Gänsehaut verursacht. Es war unglaublich interessant, Fosters Denkweise zu verstehen, seine Entwicklung mitzuerleben und vor allen Dingen ihn dabei zu begleiten, wie er immer wieder versuchte, die Dinge selbst zu verstehen. Es war ein Schrei nach Aufmerksamkeit, den er einfach nicht von seiner Mutter bekam, die einfach zu viel zu tun hatte mit der Krankheit seines Vaters.
Natürlich kann man hier auch sehr gut die Mutter verstehen, allerdings war es absolut traurig und herzzereißend, wie sie ihren kleinen Sohn in dieser schwierigen Zeit ausgeschlossen hat. Ihr war es vielleicht gar nicht bewusst, doch sie hat sein Leben so negativ beeinflusst, dass er wohl noch lange Zeit an diesem Ausschluss aus der Familie leiden wird. Die Beziehung fängt an zu bröckeln, ob sie es nun wollen oder nicht. Das Problem ist, dass die Mutter dies zugelassen hat, den Einsturz ihrer Beziehung zu ihrem Sohn sogar noch unterstützt hat, dabei hätte sie einfach bloß die ihr angebotene Hilfe zulassen müssen – auch wenn es unglaublich schwer fällt, zu akzeptieren, dass es nie wieder so sein wird, wie früher. Akzeptanz ist zwar der schwerste, allerdings auch der erste Schritt in die richtige Richtung.
Die Dinge, die man glaubt seien am besten für die Familie, sind es meist nicht. Man kann seiner Mutter hier womöglich noch nicht einmal einen richtigen Vorwurf machen, spiegeln sie eben echte Entscheidungen einer Geschichte wieder, wie sie genauso im wahren Leben auch passieren könnten. Dennoch hat die Autorin es ausgezeichnet auf den Punkt gebracht und dem Leser gezeigt, wie unbewusst sämtliche Handlungen und Verhaltensweise von Eltern sich auf die Kinder auswirken. Es ist beeindruckend, zugleich aber auch irgendwie angsteinflößend.
Wenngleich diese Geschichte wohl niemals ihr Happy End finden wird, immerhin gibt es gegen diese Krankheit noch immer kein Heilmittel, hat mir das Ende tatsächlich ein Gefühl von Hoffnung geschenkt. Nicht in der Form, als das ich glaube, es würde alles wieder zum Alten zurückkehren, sondern eher dahingehend, dass ich mir ziemlich sicher bin, dass Foster, seine Mutter und seine Tante gemeinsam mit Hilfe von unabhängigen dritten Personen die Sache vielleicht nicht meistern, aber dennoch schaffen werden. Ich bin mir sicher, dass sie einen Weg finden werden, um das Leben, wie es ihnen das Schicksal nun mal geschenkt hat, so zu leben, wie es für alle am besten ist, sowohl für sie, als auch für Fosters Vater.
NEGATIV
Im ersten Moment erschien mir der Schreibstil sehr nüchtern, was man eventuell als negativ auffassen könnte, doch schnell wurde mir bewusst, dass dieses Buch eben genau das braucht. Doch trotz dieser Nüchternheit, steckt das Buch gleichzeitig voll unglaublich viel Gefühl.
So wirklich was negatives konnte ich mithin nicht an dem Buch finden.
LOHNT SICH DAS BUCH?
Foster Vergessen ist eine wunderschöne und herzzerreißende Geschichte über eine Familie, die mit den Konsequenzen einer Alzheimer Erkrankung zu kämpfen hat. Dieses Buch ist perfekt für Leser jeden Alters, es behandelt wichtige Themen wie Krankheiten, Mobbing, Gesundheit, Zusammenhalt und Liebe. Für mich ist dieses Buch etwas wirklich ganz Besonderes und ich kann es wirklich jedem nur ans Herz leben. Denn auch wenn es mal eben nicht das besagte Licht am Ende des Tunnels gibt, bedeutet das nicht, dass sämtliche Hoffnung bereits verloren ist. Es bedeutet vielleicht nicht unbedingt ein Happy End, aber es bedeutet Lebensmut und Lebenswille und dass es irgendwie doch noch besser werden kann.
Originalblogbeitrag: http://ivybooknerd.com/rezension-fost...
April 30, 2018
Der 9-jährige Foster und sein Dad sind ein tolles Team, sie lieben es, sich Spiele und vor allem abenteuerliche Geschichte auszudenken. Doch irgendwann da verändert sich Fosters Dad plötzlich. Er vergisst wichtige Termine oder kann sich nicht daran erinnern das sie einen Hund haben.
Fosters Dad hat Alzheimer und mit jedem Tag der vergeht, vergisst er ein bisschen mehr...
Wer ein Buch von Dianne Touchell liest, der sollte sich von Anfang an bewusst sein, das ihn keinesfalls leichte Kost erwartet, denn die Autorin setzt in ihren Romanen stets auf ernste und teilweise auch recht krasse Themen, die aus dem Leser teilweise sehr heftige emotionale Ausbrüche herauskitzeln.
FOSTER VERGESSEN bildet da keine Ausnahme.
Es ist die berührende Geschichte eines kleinen Jungen, der zusehen muss, wie sein Vater mehr und mehr seiner Erinnerungen verliert und wie sich durch diesen Verlust dessen Wesen verändert. Er hat Alzheimer.
Foster kann gar nicht begreifen, was genau eigentlich passiert und zu allem Überfluss lassen die Erwachsenen ihn in den meisten Situationen komplett außen vor. Er kann gar nicht begreifen, warum sich sein Vater so verändert und auch nicht, warum seine Mutter sich ebenfalls komplett gewandelt hat. Sie kocht nur noch selten, hat mittlerweile zwei Jobs, ist ständig überspannt und resigniert und das Schlimmste: Sie behandelt Foster oft wie Luft.
Besonders das Verhalten der Mutter hat mich in diesem Roman häufig sehr wütend gemacht, denn es wirkt oft als würde sie Foster auf ein Abstellgleis stellen. Zeitgleich hatte ich aber auch enormes Mitleid mit ihr, sie ist hilflos, überarbeitet und vor allem überfordert mit der ganzen Situation, die wir hier ausschließlich aus Sicht von Foster erleben.
Ich fand es unglaublich spannend, wie gut es der Autorin gelungen ist, Fosters Perspektive auf mich als Leserin zu transportieren. Kinder spüren und sehen deutlich mehr als wir Erwachsenen glauben und man sollte sie, gerade in solchen Fällen, wie Krankheit oder Verlust, immer unbedingt in alles mit einbeziehen und versuchen ihnen die Situation zu erklären, statt ihnen ein Lügengeflecht oder einfach gar keine Informationen zu servieren.
"Foster vergessen" ist ein starkes und wichtiges Buch, das viele Emotionen auslöst und nachdenklich stimmt. Das i-Tüpfelchen ist Dianne Touchells brillanter Schreibstil, schnörkellos, aber gewichtig, leicht und trotzdem tief.
Ein ganz großartiges Königskind !
Fosters Dad hat Alzheimer und mit jedem Tag der vergeht, vergisst er ein bisschen mehr...
Wer ein Buch von Dianne Touchell liest, der sollte sich von Anfang an bewusst sein, das ihn keinesfalls leichte Kost erwartet, denn die Autorin setzt in ihren Romanen stets auf ernste und teilweise auch recht krasse Themen, die aus dem Leser teilweise sehr heftige emotionale Ausbrüche herauskitzeln.
FOSTER VERGESSEN bildet da keine Ausnahme.
Es ist die berührende Geschichte eines kleinen Jungen, der zusehen muss, wie sein Vater mehr und mehr seiner Erinnerungen verliert und wie sich durch diesen Verlust dessen Wesen verändert. Er hat Alzheimer.
Foster kann gar nicht begreifen, was genau eigentlich passiert und zu allem Überfluss lassen die Erwachsenen ihn in den meisten Situationen komplett außen vor. Er kann gar nicht begreifen, warum sich sein Vater so verändert und auch nicht, warum seine Mutter sich ebenfalls komplett gewandelt hat. Sie kocht nur noch selten, hat mittlerweile zwei Jobs, ist ständig überspannt und resigniert und das Schlimmste: Sie behandelt Foster oft wie Luft.
Besonders das Verhalten der Mutter hat mich in diesem Roman häufig sehr wütend gemacht, denn es wirkt oft als würde sie Foster auf ein Abstellgleis stellen. Zeitgleich hatte ich aber auch enormes Mitleid mit ihr, sie ist hilflos, überarbeitet und vor allem überfordert mit der ganzen Situation, die wir hier ausschließlich aus Sicht von Foster erleben.
Ich fand es unglaublich spannend, wie gut es der Autorin gelungen ist, Fosters Perspektive auf mich als Leserin zu transportieren. Kinder spüren und sehen deutlich mehr als wir Erwachsenen glauben und man sollte sie, gerade in solchen Fällen, wie Krankheit oder Verlust, immer unbedingt in alles mit einbeziehen und versuchen ihnen die Situation zu erklären, statt ihnen ein Lügengeflecht oder einfach gar keine Informationen zu servieren.
"Foster vergessen" ist ein starkes und wichtiges Buch, das viele Emotionen auslöst und nachdenklich stimmt. Das i-Tüpfelchen ist Dianne Touchells brillanter Schreibstil, schnörkellos, aber gewichtig, leicht und trotzdem tief.
Ein ganz großartiges Königskind !
July 26, 2016
This book was a truly magnificent combination of beautiful and sad. I don't think I could ever recall reading a book and feeling such powerful emotion - emotion that seems so real you want to act out how the character is feeling - that actually makes you clutch your chest to aid your heartache.
Forgetting Foster is a story about a your seven year old who has to go through an incredible roller coaster ride of adjustment as his father slowly develops Alzheimer's Disease through the progression of the story line. Foster loves his father (Malcolm) more than any seven year old boy could love anything else in the whole world. They share stories together and sing together and play toys together, but when his father starts to forget, Foster doesn't know how he's supposed to be feeling about it. Soon people at school start to laugh because his dad is "going crazy" and Foster laughs along, making his own father the joke to avoid being bullied himself. However things get hard, and Foster finds himself getting increasingly angry with always being told, "Nothing for you to worry about, Fossie." He does worry, but he starts to push things aside until he explodes in fits of abnormal behavior just so he can once again be noticed by his mother instead of being 'invisible'.
You cannot help but want to cry out for everything this poor little boy is feeling and it will truly make your heart ache, while also teaching you the importance of mental health and how Alzheimer's can start to affect the life of a person you love. This book is amazingly accurate in the portrayal of Foster and how he finds it difficult to come to terms with his father's developing memory deterioration.
The following quote is my favourite in terms of awareness towards mental health and for me best describes the Alzheimer's Disease:
"Mum tried showing Dad photographs of Geraldine, photographs of Dad with Geraldine. Dad enjoyed that and talked affectionately about her. But when confronted by the living beast Dad could not connect the dots. She was no longer his Geraldine."
Forgetting Foster is a story about a your seven year old who has to go through an incredible roller coaster ride of adjustment as his father slowly develops Alzheimer's Disease through the progression of the story line. Foster loves his father (Malcolm) more than any seven year old boy could love anything else in the whole world. They share stories together and sing together and play toys together, but when his father starts to forget, Foster doesn't know how he's supposed to be feeling about it. Soon people at school start to laugh because his dad is "going crazy" and Foster laughs along, making his own father the joke to avoid being bullied himself. However things get hard, and Foster finds himself getting increasingly angry with always being told, "Nothing for you to worry about, Fossie." He does worry, but he starts to push things aside until he explodes in fits of abnormal behavior just so he can once again be noticed by his mother instead of being 'invisible'.
You cannot help but want to cry out for everything this poor little boy is feeling and it will truly make your heart ache, while also teaching you the importance of mental health and how Alzheimer's can start to affect the life of a person you love. This book is amazingly accurate in the portrayal of Foster and how he finds it difficult to come to terms with his father's developing memory deterioration.
The following quote is my favourite in terms of awareness towards mental health and for me best describes the Alzheimer's Disease:
"Mum tried showing Dad photographs of Geraldine, photographs of Dad with Geraldine. Dad enjoyed that and talked affectionately about her. But when confronted by the living beast Dad could not connect the dots. She was no longer his Geraldine."
July 13, 2016
Seven-year-old Foster loves playing games and making up stories with his dad, so when his dad first starts forgetting things, Foster thinks he’s just being silly. And when his dad uses his storytelling voice on the phone to work, it’s funny. But when his dad has to give up work and even can’t remember their dog, Foster starts to understand that he’s sick and getting worse.
Soon Foster finds himself shut out and shooed away from grown-up conversations. His mum and his auntie won’t listen to him, and he’s always getting in trouble when he only wants to help his dad and understand why he isn’t getting better.
Forgetting Foster (Allen & Unwin, 2016) is a sophisticated and sensitively drawn story of a family facing the loss of a person they love.
I had a little ‘squee!’ moment when I heard that Dianne Touchell had a new book out. I read her second novel, A Small Madness (Allen & Unwin, 2015) last year and found it deeply unnerving in the best kind of way. Mental health has been something of a hot topic in YA these past few years and, unsurprisingly, many of these narratives focus on characters who eventually get help and learn to cope. There’s a strong focus on resilience and hope. I enjoy these kinds of stories, but I loved that Touchell went the other way and explored what might happen if a girl got sick and the people she was supposed to be able to rely on turned a blind eye and refused to help. A Small Madness takes the reader to some really dark places that YA generally steers clear of and asks difficult questions about our responsibilities and moral obligations towards others. I haven’t read Touchell’s first book, Creepy Maud (Freemantle Press, 2012), but with a title like that, it’s got to be good and is up there on my reading list.
I’m sure you’ll be shocked to learn that I’m not one for sentimental, heartwrenching reads, and a story about a young boy coming to terms with his father’s early-onset Alzheimers seemed like a surefire recipe for waterworks. (I watched the film adaptation of Still Alice on a flight home a while back. Uh, Gud. Much tears. So sad.) There’s a risk with these kinds of narratives that the author will be insensitive with their subject, milking it for its entertainment value.
There’s also a danger in approaching complex subject matter through the eyes of a naive protagonist. When it works, it really works (think Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) and Sofie Laguna’s 2015 Miles Franklin Award-winner, The Eye of the Sheep (Allen & Unwin, 2014). But it can also be cutesy and gimmicky and, to use a highly technical term, naff. For me, that’s John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (David Fickling Books, 2006).
So it’s fair to say that I had some reservations about the premise of Forgetting Foster. However, from having read A Small Madness, I figured Touchell wasn’t out to drown her reader in pathos, and nor was she going to deliver cutesy prose or an overly sappy or easy ending. And I was right. Forgetting Foster is a quiet, nuanced book. No shock twists. No overblown climax. Just a slowly increasing strain on Foster’s family, forcing it into a new shape.
"He could no longer remember the first thing his father forgot. It came on slowly, his dad’s forgetting. Like a spider building its web in a doorway. For a while Foster could walk through it. He felt it cling to him each time he broke it down, each time he picked the broken bits of it from his face. But then it would reappear in the same place, so fine it was impossible to see unless his eyes were trained on its exact position. Eventually it was like a veil, this forgetting. He could no longer break it, only part it to gain a quick peek of his dad on the other side of his lost stories."
The characters are the heroes of the book. My favourite is Foster’s mum. In the early chapters, she has this wonderful wry sense of humour that’s such a great counterweight to Foster’s dad’s wild imagination. For example, his mum was in a car crash that’s left her disfigured, and his dad tells the story of why he loves how she looks now:
"…'Then she heard a restless horse approaching and knew it was her prince. She stood before him, frightened and ashamed, but he saw in her crooked face a courage and strength that eclipsed and beauty he had ever seen. He knelt before her and offered her his fealty for the rest of her life.’
‘What’s fealty?’ Foster asked.
‘Room and board in exchange for laundry and cooking skills,’ his mum said."
Later, when his mum is struggling to hold the family together, working two jobs and trying to wrangle a support network, Foster struggles to understand why she’s cross and exhausted all the time and why she doesn’t seem to pay him much attention. But Touchell gives us glimpses into her world too. Even in a simple sentence, such as ‘”That’s enough, Foster,” Mum said, reflexively resting her hand on Dad’s to still their busyness.’ there’s a small, intimate connection that reminds the reader that this woman has so much on her plate, and on top of the day-to-day struggles she faces, she’s also losing her husband. It’s quietly heartbreaking because, in Foster’s mind, his mum is becoming the villain.
The title is two-pronged: a reference to Foster’s dad’s literal forgetting but also Foster’s sense that he’s being forgotten and pushed aside by his mum too. And while it’s a story about his dad’s illness, it’s equally about Foster learning to give up his child-like and self-centric worldview and to see that his parents are suffering as much as he is, which is a difficult thing for a young child to do.
Even though Foster very much owns the story, it’s as much about his parents and how each character individually as well as the family as a whole navigates his father’s illness as it is about Foster.
I notice that A & U haven’t gone with a cover that screams, ‘THIS IS A YA NOVEL’ for Forgetting Foster, and I can see why. Similar to Markus Zuzak’s The Book Thief (2006) or Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (2003), Forgetting Foster is one of those novels that sits well in the crossover niche. For adults who are snobby about reading YA, you could comfortably pop this one in general fiction, and they’d be none the wiser.
I read a lot of US fiction. And I make no apologies for that. I’ve always been fascinated by the US, and as a postgrad, I largely studied American fiction. BUT every time I read a good Aussie title it’s the most wonderful homecoming, and I’m all like: ‘WHY DID I EVER LEAVE?’ Our YA, in particular, is gold standard (inserts shameless plug for #LoveOzYA), and Forgetting Foster is no exception. Great storytelling aside, it’s comforting to read a story set in a familiar landscape (even if the story itself is grim) and not have to make dozens of tiny cultural adjustments in my head (much of my fascination with the US is how similar and yet so different it is to Australia). Touchell is hardly blasting the national anthem, but even tiny things, like the syntax in the dialogue and seeing Mum written as ‘Mum’ not ‘Mom’ reminds me that this is a story that could be happening next door, and OS titles, for all their enchantments can’t give me that.
Forgetting Foster has been one of my favourite YA reads of 2016 so far. Touchell doesn’t shy away from or attempt to mask the slow and terrible loss that Foster and his family experience, but her story is punctuated by small moments of humour, joy and tenderness that make for bittersweet reading.
Thank you to Allen & Unwin for providing a copy of Forgetting Foster in exchange for an honest review.
For more bookish bits, head on over to Lectito, or get the latest Lectito reviews delivered to your inbox.
Soon Foster finds himself shut out and shooed away from grown-up conversations. His mum and his auntie won’t listen to him, and he’s always getting in trouble when he only wants to help his dad and understand why he isn’t getting better.
Forgetting Foster (Allen & Unwin, 2016) is a sophisticated and sensitively drawn story of a family facing the loss of a person they love.
I had a little ‘squee!’ moment when I heard that Dianne Touchell had a new book out. I read her second novel, A Small Madness (Allen & Unwin, 2015) last year and found it deeply unnerving in the best kind of way. Mental health has been something of a hot topic in YA these past few years and, unsurprisingly, many of these narratives focus on characters who eventually get help and learn to cope. There’s a strong focus on resilience and hope. I enjoy these kinds of stories, but I loved that Touchell went the other way and explored what might happen if a girl got sick and the people she was supposed to be able to rely on turned a blind eye and refused to help. A Small Madness takes the reader to some really dark places that YA generally steers clear of and asks difficult questions about our responsibilities and moral obligations towards others. I haven’t read Touchell’s first book, Creepy Maud (Freemantle Press, 2012), but with a title like that, it’s got to be good and is up there on my reading list.
I’m sure you’ll be shocked to learn that I’m not one for sentimental, heartwrenching reads, and a story about a young boy coming to terms with his father’s early-onset Alzheimers seemed like a surefire recipe for waterworks. (I watched the film adaptation of Still Alice on a flight home a while back. Uh, Gud. Much tears. So sad.) There’s a risk with these kinds of narratives that the author will be insensitive with their subject, milking it for its entertainment value.
There’s also a danger in approaching complex subject matter through the eyes of a naive protagonist. When it works, it really works (think Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) and Sofie Laguna’s 2015 Miles Franklin Award-winner, The Eye of the Sheep (Allen & Unwin, 2014). But it can also be cutesy and gimmicky and, to use a highly technical term, naff. For me, that’s John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (David Fickling Books, 2006).
So it’s fair to say that I had some reservations about the premise of Forgetting Foster. However, from having read A Small Madness, I figured Touchell wasn’t out to drown her reader in pathos, and nor was she going to deliver cutesy prose or an overly sappy or easy ending. And I was right. Forgetting Foster is a quiet, nuanced book. No shock twists. No overblown climax. Just a slowly increasing strain on Foster’s family, forcing it into a new shape.
"He could no longer remember the first thing his father forgot. It came on slowly, his dad’s forgetting. Like a spider building its web in a doorway. For a while Foster could walk through it. He felt it cling to him each time he broke it down, each time he picked the broken bits of it from his face. But then it would reappear in the same place, so fine it was impossible to see unless his eyes were trained on its exact position. Eventually it was like a veil, this forgetting. He could no longer break it, only part it to gain a quick peek of his dad on the other side of his lost stories."
The characters are the heroes of the book. My favourite is Foster’s mum. In the early chapters, she has this wonderful wry sense of humour that’s such a great counterweight to Foster’s dad’s wild imagination. For example, his mum was in a car crash that’s left her disfigured, and his dad tells the story of why he loves how she looks now:
"…'Then she heard a restless horse approaching and knew it was her prince. She stood before him, frightened and ashamed, but he saw in her crooked face a courage and strength that eclipsed and beauty he had ever seen. He knelt before her and offered her his fealty for the rest of her life.’
‘What’s fealty?’ Foster asked.
‘Room and board in exchange for laundry and cooking skills,’ his mum said."
Later, when his mum is struggling to hold the family together, working two jobs and trying to wrangle a support network, Foster struggles to understand why she’s cross and exhausted all the time and why she doesn’t seem to pay him much attention. But Touchell gives us glimpses into her world too. Even in a simple sentence, such as ‘”That’s enough, Foster,” Mum said, reflexively resting her hand on Dad’s to still their busyness.’ there’s a small, intimate connection that reminds the reader that this woman has so much on her plate, and on top of the day-to-day struggles she faces, she’s also losing her husband. It’s quietly heartbreaking because, in Foster’s mind, his mum is becoming the villain.
The title is two-pronged: a reference to Foster’s dad’s literal forgetting but also Foster’s sense that he’s being forgotten and pushed aside by his mum too. And while it’s a story about his dad’s illness, it’s equally about Foster learning to give up his child-like and self-centric worldview and to see that his parents are suffering as much as he is, which is a difficult thing for a young child to do.
Even though Foster very much owns the story, it’s as much about his parents and how each character individually as well as the family as a whole navigates his father’s illness as it is about Foster.
I notice that A & U haven’t gone with a cover that screams, ‘THIS IS A YA NOVEL’ for Forgetting Foster, and I can see why. Similar to Markus Zuzak’s The Book Thief (2006) or Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (2003), Forgetting Foster is one of those novels that sits well in the crossover niche. For adults who are snobby about reading YA, you could comfortably pop this one in general fiction, and they’d be none the wiser.
I read a lot of US fiction. And I make no apologies for that. I’ve always been fascinated by the US, and as a postgrad, I largely studied American fiction. BUT every time I read a good Aussie title it’s the most wonderful homecoming, and I’m all like: ‘WHY DID I EVER LEAVE?’ Our YA, in particular, is gold standard (inserts shameless plug for #LoveOzYA), and Forgetting Foster is no exception. Great storytelling aside, it’s comforting to read a story set in a familiar landscape (even if the story itself is grim) and not have to make dozens of tiny cultural adjustments in my head (much of my fascination with the US is how similar and yet so different it is to Australia). Touchell is hardly blasting the national anthem, but even tiny things, like the syntax in the dialogue and seeing Mum written as ‘Mum’ not ‘Mom’ reminds me that this is a story that could be happening next door, and OS titles, for all their enchantments can’t give me that.
Forgetting Foster has been one of my favourite YA reads of 2016 so far. Touchell doesn’t shy away from or attempt to mask the slow and terrible loss that Foster and his family experience, but her story is punctuated by small moments of humour, joy and tenderness that make for bittersweet reading.
Thank you to Allen & Unwin for providing a copy of Forgetting Foster in exchange for an honest review.
For more bookish bits, head on over to Lectito, or get the latest Lectito reviews delivered to your inbox.
March 21, 2017
My heart broke for 7-year-old Foster – Fossie, to his family—who is faced with parental loss of a kind arguably more devastating and far-reaching than death itself. My admiration for this story and its characters rests squarely with Dianne Touchell’s talent to portray a complex adult world—frictions, strained relationships, arduous health care processes, astute observations of adulthood—through the eyes of a small boy, while keeping us locked in Fossie’s innocent and endearing world. ‘Foster knew other true things he kept to himself. Mum was not a princess scarred by magic; she was an ordinary woman wearing her brain injury like a party mask courtesy of a drunk driver. He’d heard Mum say that on the phone to someone once. She’d been crying then too. That’s when Foster realised that truth often comes with crying so when a grown-up is crying you should pay close attention to the stuff they don’t want you to hear. Especially if you’re the one who made them cry’ (p. 118–119). The author’s accomplishment brought to mind The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, though the subject matter of each novel is vastly different. As Fossie’s family proceeds to crumble, the dynamics within the household tightens to a slow, relentless burn. I wavered between wishing for more tenderness and compassion from Fossie’s mother, and fully taking on her desperation and struggle to cope. Strong opposing forces make for a compelling flesh-and-blood character. The trajectory of Forgetting Foster is downright agonising, understanding full well from first page to last that there can be no shining light. I held tight to the pinpoints of reconciliation that bring this gripping story to a close. An important, no-holds-barred story for all age groups.
July 25, 2016
Whhhhhaaaaat was that ending? My hands are searching for more pages! But with this exception (that knocked it down a star for me, up until then it was a full five stars) I did love this book.
It was achingly beautiful, and totally innocent. It was the voice most of us forget, the utter simplicity in which we view the world. Tiny links and details that oddly echo in the General's story as well, which can only be told because of Foster. I won't give anything away there though.
One small odd thing; the front cover is really light. It's kind of hard to hold onto with the big hole and being so light. Halfway in that doesn't matter, but the physical sense of the book was missing, I guess? How odd it sounds trying to describe this small irritation, haha.
This is only a recent release, but I definitely recommend getting yourself a copy if you can. This is a beautiful story, and one that will stay with me for a long time. Four stars.
It was achingly beautiful, and totally innocent. It was the voice most of us forget, the utter simplicity in which we view the world. Tiny links and details that oddly echo in the General's story as well, which can only be told because of Foster. I won't give anything away there though.
One small odd thing; the front cover is really light. It's kind of hard to hold onto with the big hole and being so light. Halfway in that doesn't matter, but the physical sense of the book was missing, I guess? How odd it sounds trying to describe this small irritation, haha.
This is only a recent release, but I definitely recommend getting yourself a copy if you can. This is a beautiful story, and one that will stay with me for a long time. Four stars.
February 10, 2017
Forgetting Foster deals with early onset Alzheimer's disease and 7 year old Foster watches his father deteriorate before his naive child's eyes. His misunderstandings were at times humorous, but impending hopelessness permeates his story. The ending was very clever and introduced a shining light on the family's love, even if momentary, it was a perfectly chosen, uplifting denouement.
The book design by Ruth Grüner is superb. The hole in the cover signifying everything that is lost as the brain of an Alzheimer's sufferer atrophies. And the hole in Foster's family as Dad's condition worsens. The gibbous moon at every chapter heading reinforces this increasing absence.
"Foster had a hole in his heart the size of the moon."
The book design by Ruth Grüner is superb. The hole in the cover signifying everything that is lost as the brain of an Alzheimer's sufferer atrophies. And the hole in Foster's family as Dad's condition worsens. The gibbous moon at every chapter heading reinforces this increasing absence.
September 30, 2016
The best books ... hook you from the first page; endear the characters to you; have you inside their heads as they laugh, grimace, worry, cry, wonder and resent the bossy neighbour; ....
the best books .... take everyday observations and experiences and succinctly phrase them as a vivid image; and can balance pathos, sorrow and humour in humanizing something that many of us dread....
This is one of those best books
the best books .... take everyday observations and experiences and succinctly phrase them as a vivid image; and can balance pathos, sorrow and humour in humanizing something that many of us dread....
This is one of those best books
March 20, 2021
Incredibly well-written. The topic of Alzheimer’s is uncomfortable and sad at best, but written from the point of view of a 7 year old losing his beloved dad to the disease, it felt like a punch to the gut with every word. Funny and sad and touching, it served as a reminder to me to never take a single thing for granted. Sad, but brilliant.
December 5, 2016
This is a heart warming and heartbreaking look at a family suffering as young Foster's father succumbs to early onset Alzheimers. Told from Foster's point of view, it's often funny, mostly sad and totally gorgeous. Perfect for all ages.
April 9, 2018
Mir wurde bereits das Herz gebrochen, als ich den Schutzumschlag vom Buch entfernt habe und gesehen habe, wie es darunter aussieht. Ich wusste beim Lesen teilweise nicht, ob ich geweint habe, weil ich lachen musste, oder weil die Geschichte so traurig ist. Ich hätte das Buch noch ewig weiterlesen können. Es endete etwas abrupt, aber es war wirklich ein einziges Lesevergnügen, mit einem wirklich herzzerreißendem Thema. Ich hoffe, dass dieses Königskind noch viele weitere begeisterte Leser findet und nicht nur wie bei vielen anderen Königskindern, nur den gefallen der Buchhändler findet ❤️
October 28, 2022
Im Gegensatz zu den anderen Geschichten von ihr war mir das zu nah an der Realität und darum auch sehr traurig, das Ende ist sehr offen und bietet einen nicht viel Hoffnung.
September 16, 2023
Trigger warnings: Bullying, Alzheimer's disease
6/10, looking back at it I definitely wouldn't consider this book a masterpiece anymore, it was an OK book that I've read but I appreciate it being there to raise more awareness of the devastating effects of Alzheimer's disease and this one was a sad one to read but adding a happy ending would take away from the importance of this issue. It starff with the main character Foster Sumner who is only 7 and living with his father, everything appears normal right up until a few pages into the book when he notices something is going on with his father, he ignores it at first however it gets worse as I read more of the book and the father is eventually diagnosed with Alzheimer's. It provides a good look into what Alzheimer's is which is a disease that interferes with the brain's ability to memorise but it wasn't the most in-depth look into it ever and one would be better off actually researching this disease rather than just reading this book alone but it's a good start. Towards the last part of the book Foster's father eventually gets sent to therapy for his disease and that's basically the end of it, even though the name Foster is on the title and cover of this he was in the background most of the time and he just watched as the other major character, his father, takes the spotlight by showing me the disease that he had and I must mention that the cover itself is hard to read because of its design and the only other book similar to this is Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar. If you like sad books involving diseases pick this one or the one I mentioned earlier which revolves around a character developing dementia while all the other characters can do is just watch.
6/10, looking back at it I definitely wouldn't consider this book a masterpiece anymore, it was an OK book that I've read but I appreciate it being there to raise more awareness of the devastating effects of Alzheimer's disease and this one was a sad one to read but adding a happy ending would take away from the importance of this issue. It starff with the main character Foster Sumner who is only 7 and living with his father, everything appears normal right up until a few pages into the book when he notices something is going on with his father, he ignores it at first however it gets worse as I read more of the book and the father is eventually diagnosed with Alzheimer's. It provides a good look into what Alzheimer's is which is a disease that interferes with the brain's ability to memorise but it wasn't the most in-depth look into it ever and one would be better off actually researching this disease rather than just reading this book alone but it's a good start. Towards the last part of the book Foster's father eventually gets sent to therapy for his disease and that's basically the end of it, even though the name Foster is on the title and cover of this he was in the background most of the time and he just watched as the other major character, his father, takes the spotlight by showing me the disease that he had and I must mention that the cover itself is hard to read because of its design and the only other book similar to this is Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar. If you like sad books involving diseases pick this one or the one I mentioned earlier which revolves around a character developing dementia while all the other characters can do is just watch.
December 29, 2023
this book is so saddddd. i'm not gonna lie i was tearing up at some bits. like the whole concept of the book is so sad. even tho i think the demographic for this book is literally for kids, i think. anyways bro the way foster views the world is so childish and innocent. and its so upsetting the fact that his dad gradually forgets him every day and how the person foster loves is fading away piece by piece. one part of the book i really liked is when the dad went "home" but not to his actual home, like his old home on foot and all the moments that happened after. how worried foster's mum and sister were and the anger and disappointed that foster felt. throughout the book i feel like foster discovers new feelings he's never felt before and doesn't know how to handle them and the way the author describes it makes you relate to foster so much even though he's just a little kid. the ending was so sad bro like why was i hoping his dad's illness was just gonna go away like magic lol. overall i really liked reading this and it gave me a new perspective on handling emotions.
solid read, not absolutely outstanding but it has its teachings.
solid read, not absolutely outstanding but it has its teachings.
July 4, 2016
This book is heart-breaking but I guess I should have expected that from Dianne Touchell.
It's about seven-year-old Foster. It's about his dad, who gets Alzheimers. It's about, most importantly, stories. So wonderful.
It's about seven-year-old Foster. It's about his dad, who gets Alzheimers. It's about, most importantly, stories. So wonderful.
December 8, 2016
Another poor choice to read on the train. The tears and sniffing was allergies people - the odoriferous overload of body lotions, potions and poisons assaulting my sinuses in a confined space.
I most certainly was not sobbing because my heart was being crushed to a pulp.
I most certainly was not sobbing because my heart was being crushed to a pulp.
May 30, 2019
2.5 Stars
April 29, 2025
Dianne Touchells Art zu formulieren, zu beschreiben und einen Moment genau passed einzufangen, macht mir jedes Mal Spaß zu lesen. Love it. Die Story ist wahnsinnig herzzerreißend und fesselnd.
April 11, 2024
Authentisch, tiefschürfend und bewegend.
Mir war von vornherein klar, dass "Foster vergessen" mir eine emotionale Leseerfahrung bescheren würde, schon allein weil die zentrale Thematik so sensibel ist, aber DARAUF hätte mich wohl nichts vorbereiten können.
Ich habe bisher kaum Romane zu diesem Thema gelesen, schon gar nicht im Jugendbuchbereich, weswegen ich dieses Buch sehr wichtig finde, zumal es nicht nur greifbare Darstellungen liefert, sondern die Krankheit auch ganzheitlich behandelt. Dianne Touchell beschreibt die Auswirkungen auf die gesamte Familie, legt den Fokus dabei aber auf Foster, aus dessen Perspektive diese Geschichte auch erzählt wird.
Seine kindliche Sichtweise machte das Ganze irgendwie nur noch schlimmer und ergreifender. Ich habe beim Lesen ein Meer aus Tränen vergossen und musste das Buch zwischendurch immer wieder kurz aus der Hand legen, um mich zu fangen. Manche Charaktere ließen mich hier wirklich jede Fassung verlieren und waren für mich nur schwer zu ertragen. Sie haben mich erschüttert, angewidert und alles hinterfragen lassen. Ich war todunglücklich, traurig und wütend. In meinen Augen gibt es nichts Schlimmeres, als Kinder leiden zu sehen oder mitzuerleben, wie sie schlecht behandelt werden, wodurch dieses Buch für mich in doppelter Hinsicht schwerer Tobak war.
Die Autorin erzählt diese Geschichte authentisch, greifbar, schonungslos ehrlich und nah am Leben, und genau das ließ ihre Wirkung so intensiv ausfallen. Insgesamt ist ihr Schreibstil eher einfach gehalten, was zu der kindlichen Erzählperspektive passte und ihre Worte infolgedessen umso schwerer wiegen ließ. Sie fühlten sich beim Lesen wirklich und wahrhaftig an, gingen mir tief unter die Haut und wurden zu einem Teil meiner selbst.
Das Buch endet schließlich offen, was Sinn macht, denn alles andere wäre wohl kaum authentisch gewesen, nichtsdestotrotz lässt es mein Herz wehmütig zurück.
4/ 5 Sterne ⭐️
Mir war von vornherein klar, dass "Foster vergessen" mir eine emotionale Leseerfahrung bescheren würde, schon allein weil die zentrale Thematik so sensibel ist, aber DARAUF hätte mich wohl nichts vorbereiten können.
Ich habe bisher kaum Romane zu diesem Thema gelesen, schon gar nicht im Jugendbuchbereich, weswegen ich dieses Buch sehr wichtig finde, zumal es nicht nur greifbare Darstellungen liefert, sondern die Krankheit auch ganzheitlich behandelt. Dianne Touchell beschreibt die Auswirkungen auf die gesamte Familie, legt den Fokus dabei aber auf Foster, aus dessen Perspektive diese Geschichte auch erzählt wird.
Seine kindliche Sichtweise machte das Ganze irgendwie nur noch schlimmer und ergreifender. Ich habe beim Lesen ein Meer aus Tränen vergossen und musste das Buch zwischendurch immer wieder kurz aus der Hand legen, um mich zu fangen. Manche Charaktere ließen mich hier wirklich jede Fassung verlieren und waren für mich nur schwer zu ertragen. Sie haben mich erschüttert, angewidert und alles hinterfragen lassen. Ich war todunglücklich, traurig und wütend. In meinen Augen gibt es nichts Schlimmeres, als Kinder leiden zu sehen oder mitzuerleben, wie sie schlecht behandelt werden, wodurch dieses Buch für mich in doppelter Hinsicht schwerer Tobak war.
Die Autorin erzählt diese Geschichte authentisch, greifbar, schonungslos ehrlich und nah am Leben, und genau das ließ ihre Wirkung so intensiv ausfallen. Insgesamt ist ihr Schreibstil eher einfach gehalten, was zu der kindlichen Erzählperspektive passte und ihre Worte infolgedessen umso schwerer wiegen ließ. Sie fühlten sich beim Lesen wirklich und wahrhaftig an, gingen mir tief unter die Haut und wurden zu einem Teil meiner selbst.
Das Buch endet schließlich offen, was Sinn macht, denn alles andere wäre wohl kaum authentisch gewesen, nichtsdestotrotz lässt es mein Herz wehmütig zurück.
4/ 5 Sterne ⭐️
February 12, 2024
Seven-year-old Foster lives with parents: his Dad wears costumes to go to work, earns big money for other people, and invents fantastic stories; his Mum has survived a car accident and is more of the "bad cop" of the family. When Dad starts forgetting things and doing weird stuff, everyone finds it funny, but soon, it becomes so handicapping that Dad has to stop working. The diagnostic: early-onset Alzheimer's Disease. Soon, Dad is no longer a functioning, independent adult. Mum needs to work three jobs to keep the family afloat, Aunty Lydia is more and more needed at home, social workers set a plan, and home carers come one after another. Everything goes downhill from there.
This book is SO sad it made me cry. Foster's behaviour might seem unbearable at time, but ultimately it shows how sad and neglected he feels. This is definitely an original take on Alzheimer's Disease in children's literature.
- Typical elements related to Alzheimer's Disease: increasingly forgetting things, mixing names, living in the past, being a danger, labelling everything in the house, getting locked in the bathroom, escaping the house and getting lost, problems with getting dressed; writing Dad's stories in a handmade and hand-bound book, how others behave and treat Dad (esp. children at school calling him "crazy" or even relatives not understanding the situation).
- Elements that are less often mentioned: very early-onset Alzheimer's Disease, the partner's utter despair, the need for relatives' help (Aunty), the potential danger that Dad represents (his anger, etc.), social workers' visits, relationship with the different home carers, the child's pain and revolt when all the attention is given to his Dad, the realisation that his "Dad" is lost forever, how different people react to AD (Mum is inflexible and burnt out VS. Aunty is humourous and more light-hearted).
This book is SO sad it made me cry. Foster's behaviour might seem unbearable at time, but ultimately it shows how sad and neglected he feels. This is definitely an original take on Alzheimer's Disease in children's literature.
- Typical elements related to Alzheimer's Disease: increasingly forgetting things, mixing names, living in the past, being a danger, labelling everything in the house, getting locked in the bathroom, escaping the house and getting lost, problems with getting dressed; writing Dad's stories in a handmade and hand-bound book, how others behave and treat Dad (esp. children at school calling him "crazy" or even relatives not understanding the situation).
- Elements that are less often mentioned: very early-onset Alzheimer's Disease, the partner's utter despair, the need for relatives' help (Aunty), the potential danger that Dad represents (his anger, etc.), social workers' visits, relationship with the different home carers, the child's pain and revolt when all the attention is given to his Dad, the realisation that his "Dad" is lost forever, how different people react to AD (Mum is inflexible and burnt out VS. Aunty is humourous and more light-hearted).
April 18, 2018
It's hard to read a book knowing that there is no way it can have a happy ending, but this book is well written, and I enjoyed reading it.
Foster, who narrates the story, is 7 years old when his beloved Dad is diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, and the book tells the story of how his family adjusts to their new reality.
I love the choice of having this story told by a child, and Touchell has done it very well. You pick up the important parts of the story mostly through inference, in stops and starts, giving a real sense of the way the situation is unfolding for Foster.
I was increasingly frustrated at how little Foster's mother shares with him, or helps him to process what's happening. As much as I can appreciate how difficult it is for her, I found it really sad that she decided to shut Foster out so much.
I thought that Dianne Touchell was very clever in the way that she was able to tell the story in a way that was conceivably the view/voice of a seven year old, but also gave enough information to fill out what was really happening in the situation.
A good book, very sad, but worth the read.
Foster, who narrates the story, is 7 years old when his beloved Dad is diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, and the book tells the story of how his family adjusts to their new reality.
I love the choice of having this story told by a child, and Touchell has done it very well. You pick up the important parts of the story mostly through inference, in stops and starts, giving a real sense of the way the situation is unfolding for Foster.
I was increasingly frustrated at how little Foster's mother shares with him, or helps him to process what's happening. As much as I can appreciate how difficult it is for her, I found it really sad that she decided to shut Foster out so much.
I thought that Dianne Touchell was very clever in the way that she was able to tell the story in a way that was conceivably the view/voice of a seven year old, but also gave enough information to fill out what was really happening in the situation.
A good book, very sad, but worth the read.
October 9, 2018
Forgetting Foster is a simple, unassuming novel that will make you laugh aloud and break your heart as it takes you by surprise.
This book really sneaks up on you. Since it's a short book and the language is rather simple, I expected to read it over a single evening and go to bed. Instead, I read it in small chunks over the course of several days; a little of this book goes a long way. Foster endeared himself to me slowly, until I wanted to hug him and never let go.
This was difficult to read especially because I was raised by my grandmother, who is now getting on in her years and whose health I worry about often. She's still sharp, but my family members tend to be long lived and I worry about her aging and losing parts of herself. It was very impactful to be in the shoes of a son experiencing a parent's mental decline, and sadly, something I think we can almost all end up relating to at some point in our lives.
Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy.
This book really sneaks up on you. Since it's a short book and the language is rather simple, I expected to read it over a single evening and go to bed. Instead, I read it in small chunks over the course of several days; a little of this book goes a long way. Foster endeared himself to me slowly, until I wanted to hug him and never let go.
This was difficult to read especially because I was raised by my grandmother, who is now getting on in her years and whose health I worry about often. She's still sharp, but my family members tend to be long lived and I worry about her aging and losing parts of herself. It was very impactful to be in the shoes of a son experiencing a parent's mental decline, and sadly, something I think we can almost all end up relating to at some point in our lives.
Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy.
March 1, 2018
I cannot express the love I have for this book. It is so precious.
As the daughter of someone who suffers from early onset Parkinson's disease, granted not Alzheimer's, but they are similar, this book felt so very special.
The emotions conveyed so accurately and I think it's so important that it's set from the perspective of a 7 year old boy, because people need to see that you can't hide kids from these sorts of things.
I can't stress enough how much I believe more of this work needs to be out in the world.
As the daughter of someone who suffers from early onset Parkinson's disease, granted not Alzheimer's, but they are similar, this book felt so very special.
The emotions conveyed so accurately and I think it's so important that it's set from the perspective of a 7 year old boy, because people need to see that you can't hide kids from these sorts of things.
I can't stress enough how much I believe more of this work needs to be out in the world.
January 3, 2018
This book is such a simplistic, succinct and spectacular view of the effect of Alzheimer's Disease on not only the person who is suffering from it first hand but also of those around them.
It is really well written from the perspective of a child and I personally think this gives the book so much more worth.
Certainly an emotional journey fit for any reader to discover, with an important insight into such a tragic disease.
Kudos to Dianne Touchell for putting together this novel.
It is really well written from the perspective of a child and I personally think this gives the book so much more worth.
Certainly an emotional journey fit for any reader to discover, with an important insight into such a tragic disease.
Kudos to Dianne Touchell for putting together this novel.
January 24, 2018
I really loved this book. It was so emotion-filled and was a very accurate portrayal of a family in adversity. Having this story set in the point of view of Foster, a seven-year-old boy, made it so much more heartbreaking as he didn't fully understand his dad's diagnosis, and no one would pay him enough attention to explain. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely be recommending it.
September 18, 2018
Amazing! Heartbreaking! Touching!
Such a poignant story about Foster - his dad has early onset dementia - and the book tells the story from Foster's point of view. He does not understand why his dad is acting strangely - the dad who used to tell him such imaginative stories is now gone forever.
Brilliantly told. A must read!
Such a poignant story about Foster - his dad has early onset dementia - and the book tells the story from Foster's point of view. He does not understand why his dad is acting strangely - the dad who used to tell him such imaginative stories is now gone forever.
Brilliantly told. A must read!
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