So anyway, I truly hated the mother: she is so abusive, unfair and injustice, and was totally exaggerating with her actions beating up her daughter and lowering down her self-esteem!! (I believe that there is so much to say about her, I wouldn't bother myself type it) Weaknesses: His weaknesses within this book are mainly the themes and context that readers wanted - but readers need to be aware that this specific version of the story was adapted for children. Yes, I would have liked to see more of the struggle of his story and understand what he went through (the bullying, the pain, the thought process), but children don't always understand those aspects of an adult's story. Adults understand adults, children do not understand adults.

What about the thousands of kids worldwide that can't afford a miracle cure? What about when the miracle cure doesn't exist? My family has had 3 children with some form of disabilities born, NOTHING as severe as this, but certainly with some differences. So we are aware of how people perceive those who are different. Everyone acts as if the fault lies with the person who is different, just as if they do this on purpose. As you'd expect for someone who's been a journalist and a political speechwriter, he writes well. His style is casual, friendly and easy to read. There's a smattering of science-fiction mentions - for some reason I was expecting more - and he's had some remarkable highlights in his life (including being friends with writer Hugh Lunn, who is a bit of a hero of mine). My criticism is not on the book itself. I simply wonder why C so rarely asked for help. One could say, she was intimidated by her mother and the failure of her first attempt to get help. I still think she should have tried harder. This story is truly one of survival and triumphing over one’s volatile beginnings, and I wish more people would do that, rather than use those harsh starting points to justify becoming a statistic.Okay okay, you had a cr*p childhood, I get it. I found out she has written a follow up book that goes through her college years. That's the book that I Think would be more interesting - how she dealt with 'normal' life after having such an abnormal childhood. I’ve seen him interviewed several times on television, and after a while, I seem to just accept his looks and don’t really think about it. I cannot imagine being one of those so-called ladies in the elevator. Un-bloody-believable! This book is about a girl which has been mistreated and emotionally destroyed by her mother. She was always the one to blame between her siblings. Constance was called "Ugly" by her mother several times and has always felt very unwanted in the family, so she looked for Social services to take good care of her. Throughout the book, the writer describes how the child has suffered and was abused by her mother. Jika kamu pernah membaca buku "A Child Called IT", maka buku berjudul UGLY ini membawa tema yang serupa. Bagaimana seorang Constant Briscoe berjuang sedari kecil hingga tumbuh remaja melawan penyiksaan ibunya dan bagaimana ia akhirnya terkerdilkan oleh setiap perkataan ibunya bahwa ia adalah buruk rupa, sunggguh teramat jelek, and uncapanle of doing things...

This book has a similar premise as Push or Precious written by Sapphire but it is a biography/memoir so everything that was written is based in real life. This story of Robert's life is told simply and impactfully. I could understand his difference and his normalness. I loved the line at the end of the book: "I knew I was ugly. But everyone is uglier than they think. We are all more beautiful too. We all have scars only we can own." The mother was struggling with a house full of children and an errant husband who didn't maintain them, yet the author fails to admonish him and his violence, reserving her hatred for the mother who remained and retaliated. Heaven help any domestic violence victims that enter her courtroom. While I do sympathise with Constance Briscoe, this book was poorly written. I got bored after reaching a few chapters. So, I think this book is incredibly important - not only for normalizing disabilities BUT ALSO not curing them for the sake of a heartwarming ending.

He has, umm.. How many houses?? And he didn't bother himself help his children in any sort of way!! >< Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat." This book brought me to anger and near tears; and then spurred a discussion in the hair salon I was reading in, about how much some mothers and fathers were unfit for parenting. What I cannot respect are people writing comments on how ungrateful she was and that her mother simply was too stressed and didn't know what to do? Do people who write those things hit their children themselves? Telling your child that it should not breathe and that it is ugly has nothing to do with 'Not knowing what to do'. Abandoning the child at the Age of 14, without electricity and demanding Rent, is nothing a child should be grateful for. Robert is a straight shooter, and states his story plainly, in an easy to understand manner. This edition in perfect for the younger reader. I read it after my 11 year old son.