Disclosure: I received this book to review. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

Thirteen-year-old Oksana lives on the streets of Russia with her pregnant mama and abusive aunt—both prostitutes. When Mama swells into labor, Oksana makes a decision to save herself from abandonment, a decision that torments her forever. But her plan fails when her aunt dumps her in an orphanage before she has the chance to say goodbye to her mama or tell her the secret that haunts her.

My take………
Reading Scattered Links was a wake up call for me.  It reminded me to pray for those children who are lost and abandoned, whether due to parental choice or by outside forces like war and natural disaster.  The story also moved me to be more diligent in giving to organizations who help those lost children.  I’ve had students in my class who were adopted from countries such as China and Romania.  Some of those children had lingering issues from spending their formative years in an orphanage.  The attachment disorder that Oksana suffers from makes complete sense, considering the life she endured prior to coming to America.  When a child’s basic needs are not met, survival instincts kick in.  Although Scattered Links is a fictional story, it’s all too real for many little ones.  It’s wonderful that adoptive parents are willing to open their homes and hearts to these children.

Having known many people from foreign countries, I think that many of Oksana’s fears are common.  For example, she becomes terrified by the thought of having her “body parts” cut out and sold in the United States.  I’ve met foreigners who believed that all animals could talk (due to the American cartoon industry, I presume) or that Scrubbing Bubbles really do clean with animated bubbles and no elbow grease.  Though the story is very choppy, the pacing of the events was appropriate.  Oksana was a typical teenager and tried to rebel against her American adoptive parents.  Her behavior was maddening, as I felt that she was being quite ungrateful and rather obnoxious most of the time.  However, I could understand why she felt the desperation to return to the only life she’d ever known.

There are mature situations in this book that include prostitution, near rape, and a childbirth scene. Most teens would be able to handle it.  In fact, it’s a great way to address the disparity between the US and other countries.  Overall, Scattered Links proved to be a moving tale of a young girl’s physical and emotional healing.  Although the people who cared most for her were her chosen family, not biological, Oksana was given the gift of love.

Scattered Links is a story of family and the consequences that come from never learning how to love. It’s a story of a girl’s inability to bond with her adopted family and the frustrations that follow.

How can a child understand the mechanics of forming a healthy relationship when she never had a mother who answered her cries, held her when she was frightened, fed her when she was hungry, or loved her unconditionally?

Only when the child meets a rescued abused horse, and recognizes the pain in his eyes, does she begin to trust again.

“CAPTIVATING! SCATTERED LINKS takes you down the street of nearly any Eastern European town, arm-in-arm with the orphaned. Michelle has captured the beauty and horror millions of children live everyday. The attention to detail is impressive. Having lived in a post-Soviet country for a time, visiting orphaned children, this fictional account rings with truth, from the heart-wrenching pain of abandonment to the realization of self-worth, and the love family and faith brings. Thank you for such an uplifting book, appropriate for the young reader, as well as adult. May your heart be encouraged, as mine was.” – Kim de Blecourt, speaker and award-winning author of “Until We All Come Home: A Harrowing Journey, a Mother’s Courage, a Race to Freedom”

“Scattered Links is a novel that pulls its characters from the gutters and, in the end, celebrates the tenacity of the human spirit.” A reviewer comment.

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About the Author

Michelle grew up in the suburbs of Detroit with five brothers.  She enjoys writing her novels and encouraging writers and readers alike. She is living her dream writing stories of real people searching for their dreams and confronting their fears, showing the passion of the characters’ plights, often giving her the ability to show the reader the ‘other’ side of the story. When she is not writing she enjoys life on the tennis court and is known as “Queen of the Rim Shots.”

Her debut novel, CACHE a PREDATOR, a geocaching mystery. was launched in July, 2013 and has been an Amazon best-seller in the crime/thriller category.  Her other works include: Willow, Scattered Links, Kelly’s Story, Eclair Series, and The Vision in a Kiss.  She has won contests in both The Writer’s Journal and The Writer’s Digest. Love is Just a Word (Scattered Links) was a bronze medalist is the 2010 Frasier Contest, a 2011 semi-finalist in the ACFW Genesis Contest, and won the Aspiring Writer’s Contest withe THE READING ROOM, 2013.

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I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books Book Tours, all the opinions above are 100% my own. NOW FOR THE AUTHOR’S GIVEAWAY     ONE LUCKY WINNER will win a $50 Amazon Giftcard Open Worldwide Ending on Sunday 4th May at 11.59pm EST   Enter Below and Good Luck !! a Rafflecopter giveaway