Janelle Molony, Dec. 2020
Read the official Writer’s Digest critic’s report in full…
“We can feel the tension, and our emotions are doubling and tripling by the second.“
-Judge, Writer’s Digest Annual Self-Published Book Awards.
Entry Title: Un-Adoptable? Faith Beyond Foster Care
Author: Janelle Molony
Category: Life Stories
Judged by 28th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards.
Scoring: Books are evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning “needs improvement” and 5 meaning “outstanding”.
Structure, Organization, and Pacing: 5
Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar: 5
Production Quality and Cover Design: 5
Plot and Story Appeal: 5
Character Appeal and Development: 5
Voice and Writing Style: 5
Comments: Author does a terrific job of starting the book by dropping us right into an awkward scene (‘”What should I call you?”) and author places us there by giving us a look at the silent eye conversation.
We can feel the tension, and our emotions are doubling and tripling by the second. We’re flipping pages eagerly, to see if this child placement will be seamless. Author then skips a jump in time to the fall-through of their first placement from foster care, a heartbreaking scene with presents under the tree and drawers full of baby clothes. Setting takes form and comes to life with well-chosen sensory details.
Wonderful sensory details when they’re looking at Sihara’s photo, wondering if her hair was soft and if she would like their dog. This is realism gold. Very human and relatable. Dialogue brings us natural sentence structure and timing, with character voices differentiated so that we always know who is talking and we’re not bored by one narrative tone giving us everything. Author does a wonderful job of intentionally styling tone. Excellent physical descriptions, such as Misty’s look.
Gripping emotional intensity, particularly when the answer had to be No, and an enduring sense of optimism. Heartbreaking at times, made successful by the author’s instinct to be direct and let sensory details work in the narrative. Life stories can sometimes lead an author to dance around a difficult topic, not knowing the phrasing that works, and perhaps avoiding self-permission to share details. This book doesn’t feel like it has shadowy corners and hidden truths. It feels very authentic and alive. Nice work.
Author Responds to the Scores
Thank you Writer’s Digest! There are so many quotables from that review, I’m flabbergasted!
Well, as we close out the year and take a holiday breather from all the pressures of the pandemic life, I appreciated seeing (and sharing) a little good news from a judge with the annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards.
While I’m delighted to share the critical review and PERFECT SCORE (5 out of 5 in EVERY category), the award-winning and bestselling memoir, Un-Adoptable? Faith Beyond Foster Care did not make it into the top whatever number to be listed as an official winner. Oh well, Bah-Humbug.
Well, as we close out the year and take a holiday breather from all the pressures of the pandemic life, I appreciated seeing (and sharing) a little good news from a judge with the annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards.
While I’m delighted to share the critical review and PERFECT SCORE (5 out of 5 in EVERY category), the award-winning and bestselling memoir, Un-Adoptable? Faith Beyond Foster Care did not make it into the top whatever number to be listed as an official winner. Oh well, Bah-Humbug.
~ WINNER Arizona Authors Assoc. Literary Awards for nonfiction (2020).
~ TOP 5 Finalist for parenting books by National Indie Excellence Awards (2020).
~ TOP 10 for books on fostering & TOP 100 for memoirs at WattPad.com (2019 preview).
~ 5-Star Reader’s Favorite Award (2020).
~ Nominated for best family and parenting book for BookLife Prize, in association with Publisher’s Weekly (2020).
If you don’t have a copy of the book in your hands yet…
There are several ways to enjoy the ride. Check out one of the links to the global resellers on this page, or check your local library to request the item as it is now on OverDrive/Libby for library acquisitions.
Don’t forget, your reader reviews are very important as well. If you’ve read the book and want to share your response, I may even read it and thank you in an upcoming video! – Janelle (@AdoptionToLife & JanelleMolony.com)