Stella's Story

Thrown Away Children #1

by Louise Allen

“Stella is just like a tiny bird. This is my first impression of her. A quiet little sparrow of a girl.” In her brand new series ‘Thrown Away Children’, Louise Allen shares the harrowing stories she is exposed to as a foster mother. The first in the series, Stella’s Story, tells the astonishing true story of a young girl scarred by an abusive past. Named after the lager that christened her at birth, Stella’s life is characterised instability and neglect. Her teenage mother abandons her in the first few weeks of her life, and left in the ‘care’ of her father, she ends up lying deserted in a house with no food, no water, no clothes, and no warmth. For little Stella, it seems as if she’s been discarded for good. Constantly shifted back and forth between caregivers, she eventually lands in the care of foster carer Louise, who is determined to change her life for the better. Things seem to be going well – but when Stella has a startling response to having her photo taken, it becomes clear the scars of her abuse run deeper than anyone could have ever guessed. Often painful, but ultimately uplifting, this is a story of rebuilding a childhood from the ground up, and the heroism of one woman helping her recover.

Genres: Audiobook, Nonfiction, True Crime, Memoir, Abuse, Biography, Contemporary

300 pages, Paperback

Published July 2, 2020

About the author

From an early age, Louise was adopted into a family who, from the beginning, said they didn’t want her. Her first book, Thrown Away Child, reveals the abuse and neglect she and a fellow adopted child suffered at the hands of their adopted mother, Barbara. Ten years ago, Louise and her family became a fostering family. They have looked after over twenty children, some have stayed long term. This led to the bestselling series, Thrown Away Children, where Louise is inspired by the stories of children in the care system. Within days, the book became a bestseller.

Louise now draws on her experience to write a new series of ‘How to’ books about adoption, fostering and parenting. How to Adopt a Child is the unvarnished truth about adoption. Louise is well known for “saying it as it is,” so not only is it witty and engaging, it also empowers adopters to feel confident and in control and to know where to turn to for help.

Reviews

[Sarah Vigue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the slow start, it’s pretty good

[Book Barbarian (Tammy Smith) · Rating 4 out of 5]

eARC received from NetGalley, thank you to NetGalley and Mirror Books.

3.7 out of 5.

Expected publication: July 2nd 2020.

This is the first book in the “Thrown Away Children” series.

I haven’t read a non-fiction book like this in age’s because they usually leave me in tears. When I say “like this” I mean an in depth look at the dark and messed up, true world we live in, most often taken out on the most vulnerable – children. As a mother myself, and a reader of dark fantasy and horror, nothing I read could ever come close to the true horror that so many children go through on a daily basis. That some people carry around with them every day.

Louise Allen is like the old favorites Cathy Glass and Torey Hayden. I do believe that for the first time though, I actually find Louise Allen very relatable. Louise also talks candidly about her own abusive path, her issues with the system and I feel that she sounds more real and overall more interesting.

The initial part of the book I was skeptical about, it puts you in the mind of everyone around Stella in the early years of her life, even Stella herself, and the detail does make you wonder just how untrue every sentence is. How do you know what her mother and father were thinking? The baby talk and reasoning of the adults in her life could not have been known by the author and I wonder why she decided to leave this in when it really could bash her credibility, and if it is true where did she get that detailed information from?

But, that aside, it was well written. The story of Stella is one that will stay with for a while.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review. Books about child abuse and foster care are always very sad. The horror these children experience is difficult to read about. The lack of funding for helping the children is frustrating. This book, part of a new series, is as sad as the others I have read. It's fairly well written and I probably will read any future books in this series.

[Amy Gill · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't bring myself to read this entire book because it is so problematic. I don't think anyone has the right to tell other people's stories.l, let alone profit off them like this. If Stella wants to share her life story, then she should be the one to do so. From the foster carer's perspective, the tone of this book aggrandises the author, who frames herself a saviour for the child. The author could have written it in a much more appropriate way, at the very least.

[Bookworm86 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for 'Stella's story' by Louise Allen

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Mirror books.

This is the first book that I have read by this author. It is part of the 'Thrown away children' series. I am looking forward to reading more from this very talented and caring lady.

Part one is told from the perspectives of Shannon and Stella and gives in depth descriptions of Shannon's labour and Stella's early life. However, this dies make me wonder how the author got this information or is it purely speculative which made it harder to get into. I must say I did struggle with the style here but it wasn't long before it was written from Louise's perspective which is when it became a page turner for me.

Social services should definitely have been involved alot sooner especially considering Shannon was ignoring the health visitor when she came for appointments, that should have raised a red flag. To be honest, they failed Stella completely and I'm disgusted in the way Louise and Stella were treated by them throughout and it makes you wonder if they are the reason why there aren't more foster carers!!

I think this sentence is brilliant as I get it all the time with us being vegan and kids being picky eaters!
" one that really annoys me: ‘we all eat together and my children eat everything. The focus isn’t on the food, it’s a time to share news.’" I also love the honesty with offering kids money to go back to play a game and then feeling like a terrible mum for doing so, nothing wrong with that I've done it myself and it certainly doesn't make anyone a bad parent!!

This book is a very honest account which is refreshing as some foster carer biographies don't seem to open up and make the carer seem very regimented on the rules whereas Louise openly admits to bending when necessary and disagreeing with many of the rules in place , which I wholly agree with, even more so when social services don't seem to be of much (any) help.

Throughout the book it feels like Louise is talking direct to you and explains everything needed.

This is the first foster carer book I have read where the carer herself has been abused and I think it's amazing how she has made the most of her life after a tragic upbringing by helping children who had been in similar situations and being able to actually understand on their level how they are feeling and because of this Stella opened up to her in this book.

Overall this is a very tragic story of Stella written very well by an honest, upfront, caring and passionate foster carer. I am definitely looking forward to reading more of her books!!

Due to how the book started being written from Shannon and Stella's perspectives I would have thought I would have Rated this a max 4/5 but it definitely deserved a 5/5 and that didn't put me off wanting to read more at all.

Trigger subjects of child abuse and some strong language (rare).

304 pages

£5.49 to purchase on kindle. I think this is a good price for this book.

Rated 5/5 (I loved it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon.Com and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

Feel free to add me on Goodreads for more reviews

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[Yasmin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sad story about a little girl called Stella, however due to the authors way of writing I really struggled to finish it.
I found it repetitive and felt like there was a lot of pointless details added to bulk the book out and because of that I found it very slow and hard to read.

[Sarah Burridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the book slow to get into, and for me, it ended very abruptly. This could be due to the fact that I'm used to reading Cathy Glass books. I will try more in the series and see how I get on

[Maryshell · Rating 5 out of 5]

read all of the fostering books by Cathy Glass, Casey Watson, Maggie Hartley, Angela Hart, and Rosie Lewis, so I was looking forward to reading this fostering book by author Louise Allen, who I just discovered, and I was not disappointed. I will say, though, that Louise’s writing style is quite different from the other foster carers mentioned above. Louise tells the story of what happened, but not with as great “day to day detail” as the other authors, and she also spends a lot of time explaining her thoughts and feelings about what is going on, as well as talking about things that don’t necessarily have to do with the current story, and sometimes going off on tangents—yet, it doesn’t take away at all from the story. I was absolutely still very interested in what she had to say. You can tell Louise is a great “storyteller”, as she will go into great detail setting up a scene so that the reader can truly understand how profound something is when it happens.
This book was about Little Stella, and how her past traumas were revealed during her time with Louise, and what happened to Stella in the end. At the beginning of the book, Louise also went into great detail about some of Stella’s back story, from Stella’s point of view, including the moment she was born, and the moment she was taken into care, which I think really helped to understand Stella’s perception of things, and I really liked that Louise did that.
As for the story of little Stella, it was heartbreaking, but I was glad to see that Stella was able to be a child, and experience some happiness during her time with Louise. (*****SPOILER AHEAD******) I didn’t feel that Stella should have ended up where she did at the end, because at the time, I think a male carer would have totally scared her, and I also thought the guy was strange. However, apparently I was wrong, as things turned out okay, and as best they could under the circumstances.
I definitely recommend this book, especially to those who read the other fostering books.
I’m looking forward to the Kindle release of Louise Allen’s next book, “Abby’s Story”. I’m glad to have found a great new author.

[Bekah B · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an avid reader of Cathy Glass books and those of other similar foster carer authors I jumped at the chance to read Stella's Story. However, I found this one to be written in a slightly different way to the norm. The first section is told from the little girl, Stella's, point of view and is from when she was living at home with her Dad, and later with her Mum. It was quite interesting to read and did sort of provide the background of the case but as readers we are left wondering if any of it is accurate. Louise herself states repeatedly that she and it seems, Social Services, had little information on Stella's background so Louise knowing very specific details about the time before Stella was taken into care seems dubious.
That aside, this was a good book and I really enjoyed it. If you have read any of these types of books before then you'll know how they follow the story of the child and the foster parents, usually discovering more about the child's background and mistreatment as the book progresses. And as usual there are trigger warnings for significant child abuse. Having worked in a career role where I dealt with children and had contact with Social Services on a regular basis I could readily understand and empathise with Louise's frustrations at a system that is supposed to protect and help these children but faces so may restrictions and barriers that practically make it not fit for purpose.
What I particularly liked about Stella's Story was the section at the end where we return to Stella's point of view when she is an adult and we get to see how things have turned out for her. This is the bit that I often feel is missing in other foster carer stories.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.

[Eugenie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why just three stars?

So, first of, this entire book is written in the past tense which I am just not a fan of at all.

(SPOILERS)

Even the "pre-story" about the foster child's mom is written in present tense. Then there's the issue of this pre-story and the fact it exists in the first place. While certainly "enlightening" and adding to the story and understanding of the child's early years, I assume it's completely made up, since it's in very great detail, down to the mom's thoughts etc. How could the author possibly know those? The birth mother disappeared shortly after her child came into care and was part of a pedophile ring; I doubt she was later sitting for an interview with the author.

Generally, the tone of this book and the author's attitude bothered me. It's nothing like a Maggie Hartley or Cathy Glass book. There is hardly any direct quotes, though it is generally well written. More like actual literature. The author certainly has a nice sense of humour, but often reverts to writing about her own life and her own experiences as child, which can be distracting from a scene at time (e.g. in the middle of a chat with her supervising social worker). She is generally very anti-system and anti-social workers, therapy etc. Which, fair enough, I'm sure, in many cases. The generalisations are still a little annoying.

Sometimes this foster carer just baffled me. While understanding her wish for continuity for the child, surely as an experienced foster carer, she can't be surprised that SS would push for adoption of a 5 year old cute little girl? How could that be such a surprise to her? The girl is adopted in the end and it worked out very well for her btw.

She was angry because the IRO had never met the child before that first review. Again, that isn't unusual at all. The IRO and social worker in this case were really insufferable though, that is true. They all only met at the one review though.

The author/carer was also shocked that the social service immediately informed the police to send an officer to "interview" the child after a clear sign of s. abuse (the child couldn't tell it was an interview at all, the officer was really nice and kind and just played and chatted for bit with her). Which, again, is normal practise, not at all unusual. After all, there could be criminals involved that need to be stopped as they are likely prying on other vulnerable children in the meantime. As indeed was the case here (an entire pedophile ring, actually). Her reaction just seemed unreasonable. And again, it turned out fine and the officer (and later also her colleague) turned into her biggest allies.

And lastly, the book felt pretty rushed. Especially towards the end. She didn't describe the moving process at all or how they broke it to her that she had found a forever home or anything. We learn about the plan of adoption and within a couple of pages - she's gone. No description of telling her, the settling in process, the last days, maybe having a little celebration in the end, like C. Glass always does - nothing. Pretty unsatisfying.

Maybe nice as a literary experience but not very useful if you want to hear details or let alone if you want to learn about the real process and day-to-day in the life of a foster carer. I was disappointed.

I probably won't be checking out any more books by this author.

[Jennifer Shanahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sad story of a little girl who is born to parents who don't really want her. The young mother is unable to care for an infant and the father is absent. Poor Stella is moved around to different houses as an infant and toddler until she ends up back with her birth father after he gets out of prison. Stella narrates a chapter or two at the age of four. She has been left alone, naked, with her dog in a garbage, feces ridden apartment with no food or power. Finally the police show up and take her to the hospital where she then is put in foster care. Stella actually ends up in a nice foster home with an older sister and two older brothers, stable parents and a nice place to live. After 5 years of instability and unknowns, Stella is finally able to slowly settle into her new life with a good family. However, her behavior is some situations warrants concern by her foster mother who rallies Stella's social worker and support team to try and help her. Clearly she was abused, molested and forced into child pornography as a toddler as her actions/words seem to indicate. Sadly, Stella has a long trek back to some semblance of normalcy. The book is written in very basic writing but it is written by the foster mom and how Stella came to be wit her family. A very sad story of abuse and neglect, but redeeming in the end where Stella is able to move on eventually and live her life as best she can.

[Michelle B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stella’s Story is a true story told by a wonderful foster carer, Louise Allen. I have read approximately ten books of this genre and this is very different and one of the most interesting, heartbreaking, difficult to read in places (due to the horrendous abuse that Stella suffered) but also one of the most amazing (due to the compassion and amazing skill and warmth of Louise).
The book opens with the story of how Stella, then age five, ended up in Louise’s care. It details her birth and her early years. Although it may appear a fictional account as the birth parents would not have been involved, I have no doubt it would have been based on the social work files of Stella (all suitably anonymised of course).
Moving on to the time Stella spends with Louise, it makes for difficult and emotional reading at times but this should not be shied away from. I was so struck by the strength of Louise and her wonderful family and their ability to show so much care and compassion for their foster child and to fight for what is best for her.
It is a very good book and one which should be read for an insight into what happens to children in the most horrendous households, in the care system and in the best foster placements and beyond.
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stella was born to a teenage mother & named for her parent's favourite lager! Her early years seemed to have consisted of being passed from one household to another. When she was nearly five she was taken into care & went to into the foster care of the Allen family. Louise herself had suffered abuse as a child & now with Lloyd, her husband & two boys now strive to provide a stable environment for the children they care for. Lily has been with them for a long time & like the rest of the family she soon falls under the spell of this quiet gentle soul with the huge eyes. However when everyone is lined up for a group photo & someone says, "Say 'Cheese'" the family realises that Stella has been through even more trauma than they had been led to believe.

This is a heartbreaking story. The battles Louise goes through with social services etc are a sad reminder of how overworked, understaffed & often disillusioned they are. The Allen family are ,I'm sure, just one such family trying to do their best for these forgotten children. It is a story I won't forget for a long time. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

[Julie Haigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, an excellent example of this genre.

The book begins where 17 year old Shannon is giving birth alone. She'd left home, her family not knowing she had been pregnant. It didn't seem like Terry, the father, would bother to turn up for the birth of his child, either.

In Part 2, author Louise Allen tells her side of the story. She is a foster carer. But more than that, Louise is an ex looked-after-child herself; her adoptive mother had been abusive. So this certainly adds another dimension to her book, in fact, series of books-I was so glad to find out there will be more. And Louise Allen has also written about her own childhood experiences in her book 'Thrown Away Child'-I will definitely be reading this.

I really liked her book. I've read quite a few other fostering memoirs, but I do find, eg. Cathy Glass writes to a formula, and when you've read a few of hers, it can be repetitive to a certain extent. It's nice to get a different voice, different style, a new angle, and new circumstances; someone who has been there herself, and knows what her charges are going through.

A page turner, quick reading. Not repetitive at all. Loved it.

[Claire Herbaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heart-breaking story, part of the new seriers "Thrown Away Childen". The name of the series says it all - these children have been treated - first and foremost by their parents.
Stella is five when she is brought to her foster mother Louise Allen. The girl who is named after a beer has had a lot of back and forth in her first five years. From living with her mother, to being abandoned, to living with family members, then her father, and finally her mother again. But even though her short life has been difficult, she seems an easy child, quiet and polite.
Allen describes Stella's first days in her family and also the difficulty foster families have to access information about the child's history. It is a guessing game of what happened to Stella - and what the diffiulties may be. That is, until something triggers a disturbing behaviour in Stella. Allen has to do her own detective work to try and understand what the girl has gone through - and how to help her.
It is a well-written mix of a harrowing, non-fiction story, and an insight into foster care and the struggles of foster families.

[Caitlynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stella’s Story is the first in a new series called Thrown Away Children. A true story about Louise, a foster mother and Stella a young girl who suffered horrible abuse. This was a difficult read for myself. I personally have experienced childhood abuse, most painfully around the same age as Stella in the beginning of the book. I also am now a mother to a daughter of that age. It’s heartbreaking. It was difficult to read at parts. But over all I felt a sense of hope and thankfulness to Louise and the other adults that helped Stella. I believe it’s an important read even if it is difficult. It shows other survivors they are not alone. Stella was not alone. It shows that there are caring, loving and wonderful people out there that want to make a difference. I recommend to fans of Cathy Glass’s books. I look forward to reading more in the series as they are released. Thank you Netgalley for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
Release Date: July 2 2020
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

[julianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book and the author will invariably invite comparison with similar books by Cathy Glass.

The first parts are told from the point of view of a toddler, so the language is basic and obviously childlike. Once the narration changes to that of an adult so does the language.

While it was good to get a more in-depth background than is usual in these books, I kept wondering how much of it was actually accurate. Personally I think it would have been better if just told from the POV of the foster carer.

I won't read this again and highly doubt I will purchase any more books in the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

[Hayley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book starts out with our main character telling what happened to her.
The only downside of this was the main character was/is an abused child so I found the writting to be
not the best because of how childish it was. When the story progressed however and the point of view
changed to our foster mother however the writing got a lot better. The first part of the story was a
nice introduction to really understand what our poor character Stella was going through however the
second part when she is placed with her foster mother was a lot more interesting of a read. Very good
read however I did find parts of this book very slow and I struggled to finish it, which was surprising
considering the subject matter, they usually hold me captive for a while.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

An account of one foster child and the family who took her in. The author, the foster carer in question, had been taken into care as an abused child, which gives her an insight into the child's situation that most foster carers probably don't have. The little girl, Stella, is the child of a mother who was adopted herself, but rebelled against the adoption in ways detrimental to both her and her child. Stella spent her first 5 years being passed between her mother, her father and her paternal grandmother, suffering abuse and neglect whoever she was with. She was eventually happily adopted - this is the story of her fostering placement and her gradual learning how to live as part of a family, with a brief chapter on how she got on after her adoption.

[Julie Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting but very sad story about the life of a little girl called Stella. Rescued by police and social services at the age of 5 and taken into care. Found in appalling conditions with no real knowledge of what had happened to her. Her mother had been in care herself and fallen pregnant at a young age. Finding herself on her own she had turned to prostitution, then when Stella’s dad came out of prison he decided to prostitute out his own little girl. Truly heartbreaking.

It was lovely to learn how her foster parents nurtured and cared for her and she learnt to trust them. Like the foster mother Louise says, no amount of counselling or therapy can erase the damage caused by her experiences at such a young age.

[Lisa Carlile · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is narrated by Louise Allen. A foster carer who along with her husband loyd were allocated with the care of 5 year old Stella. It's. Well written true a count of Stella' life and the issues that arise when she went to stay with Louise and her family.
It is well written and is interspersed with facts from the Foster carers regulations and so, touches on louises feelings and her frustrations about the plans for Stella's future and the social care bureaucracy that unfortunately happens when sense is replaced by a need to save money.
A happy ending is good to read and I look forward to more of her accounts of her experiences.

[Cristie Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a woman that cannot have children, this book was extremely upsetting of a read. The author's honesty about the failings of our foster system and the injustice that Stella endured as she was shuffled between homes was eye-opening. I have always wanted to be a foster parent, but have been afraid of becoming too emotionally attached and not being able to hand the child back to a home that I know is not safe. Louise's experiences with foster care showed me how much children like Stella need foster parents that will love and support them. I cried several times while reading this, so I will warn you that this is an emotional read.

[Lu Whelan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I will be honest, I had high hopes. But this author is nothing but playing god, with the children she fosters. Social workers are weighing up a number of things when processing the best care plan for a child. This book is just condescending of the social workers. A lot of presuming & not putting the child first. Just merely point scoring. I hope the author goes for counselling. I won’t ever choose to read any more of her book and have unfollowed her from my reading lists.. That is how I see things. If you want to read something that is portrayed in a better manner then Cathy Glass is your women.

[Nicola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Allen has written an immensely powerful, thoroughly unsentimental and ferociously honest book about one life among many in the world of abused children. It's grim, unblinking and critical of the systems that are overworked, understaffed, underbudgeted and often driving people to burnout. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in social justice, child protection and fostering. Sidebar: I am so impressed by the way Allen's own children continually rise to the occasion in very confronting circumstances.

[Katie Brugger]

Woah! I don't know why I thought this was a book that you would find in a middle school library, but I would hesitate in giving it to my seventh grader to read. There are some very heavy topics in this book. There are a lot of triggering moments shared in this book as well. I would say that if you are going into fostering it would be a book you should read. I believe it is set in England, but the psychological content would be the same. I would hope the system has improved, but I'm sure there are still many issues that fosterers and social workers face.

[Lynn Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first time I have read a book by Louise but I like the way she writes. She is honest but not brutal. She tells you what foster care is like honestly but not brutally. She adds a human touch to it which needs to be added because of course that is what it is all about! I worked as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for a bit and I can tell you there are good fosters and not so good fosters. This is a great book. Thanks Louise!

[Georgina Abbotts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can relate in places to this story although the trauma I went through was different I can relate to how it affects you even when your out of the situation and safe

This is the first book by Foster carer Louise Allen I have read and won't be the last I enjoyed ger style of writing.i love that although Louise was in care she wanted to do something to help children who are in the care system

.im so glad Stella got her forever family and a dream job.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can’t say I enjoyed the book-as it is not an enjoyable tale. But, I enjoyed Louise’s telling of her side of things. What she sees, hears and wants. I could not stop turning the pages.
A hallowing tale of a little girl and can’t even imagine what she had been through.
I particularly enjoyed how Louise put a sort of update at the end of Stella being older, but I think a little more of what happened to the perpetrators would be a good insight too.

[Steph's_Creepy _Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audible Review - I always find it hard to rate and review true stories. Anything less than 5 stats feels like injustice to the victims story and experiences.
This is monumentally sad. Be prepared going into this. This is a child's journey with neglect, abuse and SA, and how it shaped her entire life. It was enraging at some points. Knowing that adults had treated a fragile little girl this way. And the social system that really did fail her because of budget cuts.

[Rhona · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Stella's Story" by Louise Allen is a heartbreaking yet powerful read. The accounts of child abuse make it a difficult book to get through, but Stella's resilience and the kindness of those who helped her shine through. It’s a stark reminder of the cruelty some children endure, but also a testament to the goodness that exists in the world. This book is both painful and inspiring, leaving a lasting impact on the reader.