Raising Wild Ginger, Tara Woolpy (5 stars)

From Amazon: Parenting is hard. That's what Edward Rosenberg has always assumed, although his only experience with children has been as the drunken uncle. Now the love of his life, Sam DaCosta, is yearning for fatherhood. Edward's been sober for years. He and Sam are in a good place. Why rock the boat? On the other hand, how can he deny Sam his dream of a family? Then they meet Ginger. At twelve she's been through more than either Edward or Sam can imagine. She's seductive, secretive and dishonest. But somewhere between stealing his cash and alienating Sam, Ginger manages to wind herself into Edward's heart. Can the three of them create a family? Or will Ginger blow them all apart?

Excerpt from my Rebeccas Reads review:

Very few characters grab your heart like Ginger, and I must warn readers that her tale is a hard one to process. The abuse she suffers should never happen, much less to a child. When the author finally reveals the details, I could barely read the words through my tears. This book will stay with me for a long time. Kudos to Tara Woolpy for not shying away from exposing the horrors of sexual assault.

Raising Wild Ginger is the second book in the Lacland Story series, and I certainly hope there will be more. Maggie, a friend of Edward and Sam, is screaming for her own book. But this tale belongs to Edward, Sam, and Ginger. It’s a powerful stand-alone story of heartbreak and the ability of family to heal the wounds.

My full review can be found here.

Rating: 5 stars

I reviewed the first book in the Lacland series for Rebeccas Reads last year: Releasing Gillian's Wolves. Tara Woolpy is fast becoming a go-to author for me thanks to her character development and gripping stories.

Note: I received a complimentary copy for review purposes. A positive review was not requested or guaranteed; the opinions expressed are my own.