What do you think?
Rate this book
My Sore Hush-a-Bye
Camille is a young girl stuck in the past. Classic TV shows, old music, and dresses that never made it into the 21st century.
After her mother left a puzzling note leaving her in the care of Uncle Bob, she had a rough go of it, not wanting to conform to his rigorous rules and this new life. But she learned. She learned to love and accept her sheltered life. For 8 years, Mama Cass' songs and reruns of I Love Lucy and other old TV shows were her only comfort, and Uncle Bob her only companion.
That all starts to change when Camille finally goes to public school once she reaches her teenage years. She meets a friend who mysteriously disappears. She has suspicions that Uncle Bob may not be the perfect man she once thought. She starts thinking about her mother.
Most important of all, she begins to grow up, and that is what changes everything...
After her mother left a puzzling note leaving her in the care of Uncle Bob, she had a rough go of it, not wanting to conform to his rigorous rules and this new life. But she learned. She learned to love and accept her sheltered life. For 8 years, Mama Cass' songs and reruns of I Love Lucy and other old TV shows were her only comfort, and Uncle Bob her only companion.
That all starts to change when Camille finally goes to public school once she reaches her teenage years. She meets a friend who mysteriously disappears. She has suspicions that Uncle Bob may not be the perfect man she once thought. She starts thinking about her mother.
Most important of all, she begins to grow up, and that is what changes everything...
154 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 14, 2012
2 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 17, 2013
Renata Barcelos is an amazingly talented writer. In her work like Mean and My Sore Hush-A-Bye, she peels the layers from topics that most writers are loathe to explore. She explores topics of dysfunctional families, abuse,and psychopathology relentlessly. My Sore Hush-A-Bye is her new novel, one which takes a close look at Camille, a sheltered young woman who has lived with her Uncle Bob for around ten years - since her mother abandoned her into Bob's care. Uncle Bob chose to home school Camille and has taught her well. However, Camille has been caught in a time warp at Uncle Bob's, immersing herself in the movies, TV shows and music of another generation. The music of Mama Cass Elliott of the Mamas and Papas has helped Camille deal with the loneliness of her life. Oddly enough, after all of the years being sheltered and isolated in Uncle Bob's world, Uncle Bob's feelings about her start to change. She feels abandoned by him, in an echo of the earlier abandonment of her mother. Uncle Bob sends her to the local public high school for her senior year. There she feels more like an outsider - she understands nothing of the language of kids her age. One girl does befriend her - though not publicly at Camille's request. When her new friend disappears, Camille is horrified and worried - worried that her friend's disappearance may have something to do with Uncle Bob and her. The only negative about My Sore Hush-A-Bye is that it's a lot like a mini Snickers bar; it tastes wonderful but leaves me yearning for more.
December 3, 2012
I won the print version of this book in a Batty For Books blog giveaway, and I read this book in 8 hours today. From the first few pages, I was definitely hooked. I warn you, I have minor spoilers throughout, so if you don't want me to ruin it for you, don't read past this paragraph. You're safe 'til then. This little girl Camille, is kidnapped, only she doesn't realize it. She thinks Uncle Bob is taking her to stay with him because her mom abandoned her. She's only 7'ish, and has nothing else to believe and no one else to trust, so she becomes his property for the next 8 years, his prisoner brainwashed to believe she is his welcomed and beloved guest. She believes him when he said he loved her, and he even had a "note" from her mom that validated what he said.
I can't tell you how into this story I became. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out what in the world was going on. It was very well written as far as keeping the reader in total bemusement and curiosity. I almost didn't want to put it down to do my Sunday housework, but I had to force it out of my own hands. I had to find out what happened to this girl, and the other missing girl, Ashley, who she kept mentioning and implying she had something to do with. Uncle Bob was the lowest form of life imaginable, the things he told her to keep her under his thumb, like how her "blackness" wasn't accepted in regular society (in his city) so she was much safer hiding away in his house, doing whatever he wanted. The "games" he made her play and the way the author describes it without being too over-the-top was just outright compelling. My heart pounded at some of the scenes like when she snuck in his room to search for her mom's contact information after being too scared to attempt anything of the sort in 8 years. That's the point when desperation overtakes her, and she finally takes control of her life no matter how terrified she. But she thought she was doing it to run away and rid Uncle Bob of herself because she thought he didn't love her anymore since she'd outgrown his taste.
I totally pictured this girl being shown only 60s and 70s sitcoms and classic movies to keep her mind under total control from the outside world. And I loathed that psycho doctor who came to "take care" of her and kept giving her pills! I knew he was some kind of partner with Uncle Bob in a child porn ring, but it was just too sick to imagine. I was baffled by why Uncle Bob would take the chance to send her to high school knowing she had a full-scale chance to running and exposing him. Was he that sure he had such strong mental control over her that she wouldn't dare challenge him? Now that is some kind of ego! But eventually she did, and that was the down-spiraling of the story. When she managed to find her mom, it was magical.
I love, love, love how all the things that didn't make sense to me throughout the book made perfect sense at the end. Barcelos wraps up the story quite skillfully. It's very disturbing to think this crap happens in real life. I read a story very similar to this a few months back in the local paper. A child porn ring busted, and the things I read about literally traumatized me.
This book gets my 5-star rating! The only kinds of books that earn my 5-star are ones that totally freak me out somehow, touch on my emotions and make me ponder it long after I finish reading.
I highly recommend this book. Good stuff!
I can't tell you how into this story I became. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out what in the world was going on. It was very well written as far as keeping the reader in total bemusement and curiosity. I almost didn't want to put it down to do my Sunday housework, but I had to force it out of my own hands. I had to find out what happened to this girl, and the other missing girl, Ashley, who she kept mentioning and implying she had something to do with. Uncle Bob was the lowest form of life imaginable, the things he told her to keep her under his thumb, like how her "blackness" wasn't accepted in regular society (in his city) so she was much safer hiding away in his house, doing whatever he wanted. The "games" he made her play and the way the author describes it without being too over-the-top was just outright compelling. My heart pounded at some of the scenes like when she snuck in his room to search for her mom's contact information after being too scared to attempt anything of the sort in 8 years. That's the point when desperation overtakes her, and she finally takes control of her life no matter how terrified she. But she thought she was doing it to run away and rid Uncle Bob of herself because she thought he didn't love her anymore since she'd outgrown his taste.
I totally pictured this girl being shown only 60s and 70s sitcoms and classic movies to keep her mind under total control from the outside world. And I loathed that psycho doctor who came to "take care" of her and kept giving her pills! I knew he was some kind of partner with Uncle Bob in a child porn ring, but it was just too sick to imagine. I was baffled by why Uncle Bob would take the chance to send her to high school knowing she had a full-scale chance to running and exposing him. Was he that sure he had such strong mental control over her that she wouldn't dare challenge him? Now that is some kind of ego! But eventually she did, and that was the down-spiraling of the story. When she managed to find her mom, it was magical.
I love, love, love how all the things that didn't make sense to me throughout the book made perfect sense at the end. Barcelos wraps up the story quite skillfully. It's very disturbing to think this crap happens in real life. I read a story very similar to this a few months back in the local paper. A child porn ring busted, and the things I read about literally traumatized me.
This book gets my 5-star rating! The only kinds of books that earn my 5-star are ones that totally freak me out somehow, touch on my emotions and make me ponder it long after I finish reading.
I highly recommend this book. Good stuff!
January 28, 2013
There are some truths not to be denied about “My Sore Hush a Bye” by Renate Barcelos. The first is that Barcelos is a talented writer. We are told by Camille about her life. We know from the start that Camille has been kidnapped from her home and is being isolated and sexually abused. She reminisces to us about the three times she tried to kill herself before realizing how lucky she was to have Uncle Bob and, consequently, is now embarrassed about not having come to that realization sooner. The second truth not to be denied is that this sort of work has its place in the literary world. Call it bringing society to a certain awareness of events happening to which we, as a society, may not have tuned in. Camille tells us herself toward the end of her narrative, ”There are probably thousands of Camilles crying in basements, just here in Iowa. So many children left behind, left unspoken, left abandoned…” (Location 3052 Kindle Edition).
The third truth about “Sore Hush-a-Bye” by Renate Barcelos is that it is a brutal, horrible, crushing read. This is a book that had I not agreed to review it, I would not have finished. Child abuse, in general, is a hard topic. The story is told from the victim’s standpoint and is so believable that it’s hard not to feel sick as she talks about how she fears she’s getting too old for Uncle Bob and he’s looking to replace her. In Camille’s stream of consciousness we learn of her journey from a home with a mother who is likely prostituting herself (Camille doesn’t know what’s going on but describes random men coming and going and getting sweets for staying in her room) to Uncle Bob’s bringing her into a home where things happen that seem wrong and dirty but are a vehicle to being loved and cherished. People love you when you’re good and do what they want. It’s clear that she knows she’s too old for Uncle Bob and as much as he tries, he simply can’t love her anymore so how will he resolve the problem of having a child who is no longer of use to him? The reader worries deeply about Camille’s fate especially when Uncle Bob hits her. Is this just a slippery slope to a greater violence?
From a child psychology standpoint, I can see this narration being a believable representation of a child coming to identify with a love their abuser and the challenges they face when they do have the freedom to leave. While I’m no expert of child psychology or social work relating to the victims of isolation and sexual abuse, I can see this novel being used in a social work course of study. The emotion and tragic nature of the text takes talent but I will not be reading this book again. “Sore Hush-a-Bye” is valuable but its written so well that my heart has broken.
Well written, emotional, gut wrenching, heart rending. This is what good literature is made of and Renata Barcelos has those qualities down.
The third truth about “Sore Hush-a-Bye” by Renate Barcelos is that it is a brutal, horrible, crushing read. This is a book that had I not agreed to review it, I would not have finished. Child abuse, in general, is a hard topic. The story is told from the victim’s standpoint and is so believable that it’s hard not to feel sick as she talks about how she fears she’s getting too old for Uncle Bob and he’s looking to replace her. In Camille’s stream of consciousness we learn of her journey from a home with a mother who is likely prostituting herself (Camille doesn’t know what’s going on but describes random men coming and going and getting sweets for staying in her room) to Uncle Bob’s bringing her into a home where things happen that seem wrong and dirty but are a vehicle to being loved and cherished. People love you when you’re good and do what they want. It’s clear that she knows she’s too old for Uncle Bob and as much as he tries, he simply can’t love her anymore so how will he resolve the problem of having a child who is no longer of use to him? The reader worries deeply about Camille’s fate especially when Uncle Bob hits her. Is this just a slippery slope to a greater violence?
From a child psychology standpoint, I can see this narration being a believable representation of a child coming to identify with a love their abuser and the challenges they face when they do have the freedom to leave. While I’m no expert of child psychology or social work relating to the victims of isolation and sexual abuse, I can see this novel being used in a social work course of study. The emotion and tragic nature of the text takes talent but I will not be reading this book again. “Sore Hush-a-Bye” is valuable but its written so well that my heart has broken.
Well written, emotional, gut wrenching, heart rending. This is what good literature is made of and Renata Barcelos has those qualities down.
December 8, 2012
Oh my, this story got me going emotionally! Child abuse is something I feel very strongly about anyway, but this author tells a tale that really gets to grips with what it is like for a child – what it feels like, how they comprehend it, what comes of its terrible doing.
I was completely in tune with the main character (in first person), had empathy for her, felt sorry for her and felt her strength of character.
For me, if I feel very emotional when reading a book, then it must be a great book, and I can tell if this is going to occur in the first 10 pages. I love Chris Cleave, Mark Haddon and Emma O'Donoghue books, (and many more) because they make me think, and touch on real and traumatic circumstances, and this is why I love this book so much, even if I did find it disturbing and influential. It needs to be read by many.
I was completely in tune with the main character (in first person), had empathy for her, felt sorry for her and felt her strength of character.
For me, if I feel very emotional when reading a book, then it must be a great book, and I can tell if this is going to occur in the first 10 pages. I love Chris Cleave, Mark Haddon and Emma O'Donoghue books, (and many more) because they make me think, and touch on real and traumatic circumstances, and this is why I love this book so much, even if I did find it disturbing and influential. It needs to be read by many.
October 23, 2012
What I loved the most about this was the way it was written, you truly felt as if you were seeing into this confused girl's mind. As the story has such tender and complicated issues, it has to be portrayed delicately and sensitively, and I think Renata did exactly that. It was an excellent read, which did make me cry at the end, and it truly stays with you after reading it, and I think that's important in a book. You have to be able to almost live what the character goes through. The only reason why I didn't give this the full 5 stars was because of some of the switching between tenses got a little confusing, but apart from that, a very thought provoking read.
October 29, 2013
This review is from: My Sore Hush-a-Bye by Renata F. Barcelos(Kindle Edition)
I am a seventy-five year old man, reasonably well educated and psychologically sound. For the past few evenings I have been inhabiting the mind of a socially inept teen-age girl. This should have been an alien landscape for me, a place where I would have expected to be bemused, awkward, perhaps even uncomfortable. I have just finished Renata Barcelos's new book, 'My Sore Hush-a-Bye' and, thanks to the writing skills of Ms. Barcelos, I found the experience fascinating.
This is a book that can be read on several levels. The writing, simple, direct, fast-paced, is cleverly pitched throughout to represent the internal musings of a young girl. On the surface, the naive, unsophisticated retrospections of this simple black girl are mundane in their very ordinariness. But lurking below the simple tale of Camille's life with Uncle Bob is a burgeoning foreboding that is never explicit but hurtles inevitably towards an unspeakable truth. Such is the writer's skill that, despite the fact that we are seeing the victim's existence through her own rose-tinted viewpoint, the reader remains in constant dread that explicit and unsavoury details must inevitably present themselves. There are places in the book where I would rather not have continued reading for fear of what might transpire but throughout Barcelos relies solely, and with great effect, on the power of suggestion.
WARNING: THERE ARE SOME MINOR SPOILERS IN THE PARAGRAPHS THAT FOLLOW
Subtle though the clues are, however, it does not take the reader long to divine Uncle Bob's character and to realise that all his kindnesses are simply part of the pervert's 'grooming' process.
Despite the artful simplicity of the writing, My Sore Hush-a-Bye can also be read as a serious examination of the Stockholm Syndrome. This syndrome refers to a group of psychological symptoms that occur in hostage victims, the most common of which is the victim's adaptation to the perspectives and behaviours of the captor, usually resulting in an emotional dependence when the captor shows any kindness. Close reading of My Sore Hush-a-Bye reveals many of these unconscious behaviours in Camille who comes to believe that Uncle Bob is the only person in the world she can trust and love.
The reader begins to fear for Camille's safety when it becomes obvious that she has "grown too old" for her paedophile captor. What awful fate does he have in mind for her, especially when he finds a 'new love'? This ratchets up the tension and readers will find themselves racing through the rest of the book seeking, hoping for, an outcome different from the tragic end that so often occurs in such situations in real life.
This is not my normal choice of reading material but in the safe hands of Renata Barcellos it is an absorbing, if harrowing, read. I can safely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good read and is willing to move away from their customary genre.
I am a seventy-five year old man, reasonably well educated and psychologically sound. For the past few evenings I have been inhabiting the mind of a socially inept teen-age girl. This should have been an alien landscape for me, a place where I would have expected to be bemused, awkward, perhaps even uncomfortable. I have just finished Renata Barcelos's new book, 'My Sore Hush-a-Bye' and, thanks to the writing skills of Ms. Barcelos, I found the experience fascinating.
This is a book that can be read on several levels. The writing, simple, direct, fast-paced, is cleverly pitched throughout to represent the internal musings of a young girl. On the surface, the naive, unsophisticated retrospections of this simple black girl are mundane in their very ordinariness. But lurking below the simple tale of Camille's life with Uncle Bob is a burgeoning foreboding that is never explicit but hurtles inevitably towards an unspeakable truth. Such is the writer's skill that, despite the fact that we are seeing the victim's existence through her own rose-tinted viewpoint, the reader remains in constant dread that explicit and unsavoury details must inevitably present themselves. There are places in the book where I would rather not have continued reading for fear of what might transpire but throughout Barcelos relies solely, and with great effect, on the power of suggestion.
WARNING: THERE ARE SOME MINOR SPOILERS IN THE PARAGRAPHS THAT FOLLOW
Subtle though the clues are, however, it does not take the reader long to divine Uncle Bob's character and to realise that all his kindnesses are simply part of the pervert's 'grooming' process.
Despite the artful simplicity of the writing, My Sore Hush-a-Bye can also be read as a serious examination of the Stockholm Syndrome. This syndrome refers to a group of psychological symptoms that occur in hostage victims, the most common of which is the victim's adaptation to the perspectives and behaviours of the captor, usually resulting in an emotional dependence when the captor shows any kindness. Close reading of My Sore Hush-a-Bye reveals many of these unconscious behaviours in Camille who comes to believe that Uncle Bob is the only person in the world she can trust and love.
The reader begins to fear for Camille's safety when it becomes obvious that she has "grown too old" for her paedophile captor. What awful fate does he have in mind for her, especially when he finds a 'new love'? This ratchets up the tension and readers will find themselves racing through the rest of the book seeking, hoping for, an outcome different from the tragic end that so often occurs in such situations in real life.
This is not my normal choice of reading material but in the safe hands of Renata Barcellos it is an absorbing, if harrowing, read. I can safely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good read and is willing to move away from their customary genre.
November 3, 2012
‘My Sore Hush- A -Bye’ I was one of those books I could read in one sitting, if I had the time course. Which currently real life is really getting in the way of my reading habits, so it took me a little bit longer to finish. However, this was such an amazing book. Renata really has rare writing talents. This book made me cry, I loved that it was told from the girls point of view so that you could really see how everything affected her. You could really grasp just how deeply she was victimized, how she couldn't even like a normal human being with think because of the things that had been done to her. Almost like Stockholm's syndrome but until the end, she didn't know she was the victim. It was such a sad story. But unfortunately things like this happen more often than we'd like and this book gave us insight into the damage it causes in the victim's mind.
Hopefully Camille’s story can help other people that have been victimized realize that they can move on. They can recover and be okay and I hope that this book really opens people eyes to see what really is going on outside and to pay attention to the signs because there are so many children out there that need help and don't get it because people do not know what to look for.
I think were not does amazing work, her writing is just phenomenal and I think she is just a great person all around and her writing goes much deeper than just writing the book. She has a much bigger purpose for why she writes the stories that she writes. ‘My Sore Hush- A- Bye’ is a book that you absolutely have to read it would just blow your mind and make you really think about this world and the people in. So please take the time out and check this book out and check out this author. It means a lot to me. I know I don't normally say that, but this one definitely hit home.
Hopefully Camille’s story can help other people that have been victimized realize that they can move on. They can recover and be okay and I hope that this book really opens people eyes to see what really is going on outside and to pay attention to the signs because there are so many children out there that need help and don't get it because people do not know what to look for.
I think were not does amazing work, her writing is just phenomenal and I think she is just a great person all around and her writing goes much deeper than just writing the book. She has a much bigger purpose for why she writes the stories that she writes. ‘My Sore Hush- A- Bye’ is a book that you absolutely have to read it would just blow your mind and make you really think about this world and the people in. So please take the time out and check this book out and check out this author. It means a lot to me. I know I don't normally say that, but this one definitely hit home.
June 22, 2014
This is the second book I have read by this author, I thoroughly enjoyed her debut novel so I was looking forward to reading this book, it did not disappoint at all so much so I am already looking forward to her third book.
Camille lives with her Uncle Bob after her mother abandoned her when she was a young, only recently has she started to attend school and she does not fit in well. She dresses strange and does not have any friends. She doesn't like school and would love to spend all her days with Uncle Bob. She soon finds comfort when she forms a friendship with one of the girls from school, a younger girl named Ashley and they become quite close. What Ashley doesn't realise is that Camille is about to change her life forever.
The book is written in different tenses but it is easy to follow and I particularly liked the way this was written, it piqued my interest even more.
I could not put this book down, it kept me thoroughly engaged throughout and there were some very clever twists and turns in the story. The subject is dark but it is written about in a tasteful way and does not go in to too much detail.
I also enjoyed how the story ties up at the end which is very well written.
I have given this book 4 stars, a true rating for me would be 4.8 stars, I eagerly await the third book by this author.
Becky Sherriff (The Kindle Book Review)
Camille lives with her Uncle Bob after her mother abandoned her when she was a young, only recently has she started to attend school and she does not fit in well. She dresses strange and does not have any friends. She doesn't like school and would love to spend all her days with Uncle Bob. She soon finds comfort when she forms a friendship with one of the girls from school, a younger girl named Ashley and they become quite close. What Ashley doesn't realise is that Camille is about to change her life forever.
The book is written in different tenses but it is easy to follow and I particularly liked the way this was written, it piqued my interest even more.
I could not put this book down, it kept me thoroughly engaged throughout and there were some very clever twists and turns in the story. The subject is dark but it is written about in a tasteful way and does not go in to too much detail.
I also enjoyed how the story ties up at the end which is very well written.
I have given this book 4 stars, a true rating for me would be 4.8 stars, I eagerly await the third book by this author.
Becky Sherriff (The Kindle Book Review)
July 11, 2014
This book is a hard book for me to honestly review. I want to lie about the things it made me feel. I want to make myself look better and pretend that I was outraged and sickened throughout the entire story. It made me feel things that I didn't want to feel, and I find myself rewriting this review over and over to try to make myself feel better about the feelings this book made me have. Its obvious from the beginning that this narrator is the victim of a pedophile. Its terrifying to see just how easy it was for Uncle Bob to manipulate this child into loving him, craving the attention she got from his abuse, and blindly trusting him for all the years of her captivity. Renata Barcelos gave Camille a voice that caused me, an intelligent adult with intense feelings against pedophilia to wish Uncle Bob would give Camille the attention she so clearly craved, after she was too old to satisfy his particular depraved needs any longer. I don't want to add anymore to this review because doing so would be a spoiler. Let's just say that I ended up proud of Camille and hating Uncle Bob again before the story was over.
March 7, 2014
I felt for Camille from the start, and it was so sad going through that experience with her, from her perspective. I think it was a very insightfully written novel portraying the experience of her abuse. This was the first book I read by Renata. I am looking forward to her other work, as I've finished them all.
April 10, 2014
I couldn't stop thinking about this character for days. I wonder about her future, and wish I could talk with her to find out how her life is now. She was/is so real to me! I couldn't put the book down.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews